What are multifocal contact lenses?

After around age 40 the eye's natural lens stiffens and stops focusing close-up — a condition called presbyopia. The usual fix in glasses is bifocals or progressives; in contacts, the equivalent is a multifocal.

Multifocal contacts use concentric zones of different power. The most common designs:

• Centre-near: near power in the centre, distance in the periphery.
• Centre-distance: opposite arrangement — distance in the centre, near in the periphery.
• Aspheric: power changes smoothly from centre outward.

The brain learns to use whichever zone gives the clearest image at the distance you're looking at. Adaptation takes 1–2 weeks. Some compromises:

• Contrast at low light is slightly reduced.
• Halos or starbursts around point sources at night are common in the first weeks.
• Very fine reading sometimes still needs a small + boost from reading glasses.

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