Adjusting to Your New Multifocals

Advice to Ease Your Eyes into Your New Multifocal Lenses

Date: Thursday, 10 May 2018

The first time you are prescribed and wear your new multifocal lenses (AKA varifocals or progressive lenses), you will probably be warned by your optometrist that there is an adjustment period. 

Torga’s multifocal lenses are made using the latest German precision lens technology. With multifocals, there are none of the tell-tale signs of ageing (like the lines in the lenses of bifocals, for example). However, they often take the newbie-wearer a bit of time to adjust.

So, if you’re thinking about upgrading to some sophisticated multifocal lenses, or if you’re new to multifocal lenses and possibly struggling to adjust, here are some tips to make the process easy on your eyes: 

• Firstly, ensure that your glasses are properly fitted by your optometrist. Your frames need to be positioned correctly for you look through the correct part of the lens for each distance of vision – near, intermediate and far. This will ensure that you are getting maximum visual benefit and comfort from your new lenses.
•  Point your nose at what you need to focus on. Move your head to see different things, not just your eyes.
•  You will need to practice focusing at varying distances. For example, you can do this by looking at your cell phone and then your television screen; or by reading a magazine and then looking across the room, and so on.
• Persevere! Don’t lose sight of the goal. Try not to switch back to your previous glasses as this will just make the adjustment period so much longer.
• Most people take approximately two weeks to adjust fully to their new multifocal lenses, but don’t panic if you take longer. Your new spectacles will make your vision so much clearer and it is not uncommon for some wearers to take as long as six weeks to fully adjust. Keep your eye on the ball – before you know it, your new specs will be out of sight and out of mind.

If you are thinking that you might need to upgrade to multifocal lenses – or if you have any questions relating to these lenses and how they could improve your quality of life – speak to your nearest Torga optometrist.

The above article was written with professional consultation from Claire Wiggill (BOptom (UJ)).