Blended bi-focal reading glasses?!


Question: I am 46 and require glasses when reading or using the computer. I went to an eye doctor (sorta) and found that one eye is also weaker than the other. Regular reading glasses were straining my eyes. I decided to go ahead and buy glasses that I could wear all the time, bi-focals with the lines blended so it wouldn't look so stupid. The glasses came in and while I understand there is some adjustment time involved in getting used to them I feel that the reading part is too low and too narrow. I made a deal with the eye glass people for them to redo the lens as per my percieved need but now I am worried that if the new lens come in and I still cant adjust I'll be out the 1000 (RMB) I spent. My question is should I risk losing the functionality of these glasses with new blended lens that may not work or should I forget about wearing them full time and just get reading glasses?


Answers: I am 46 and require glasses when reading or using the computer. I went to an eye doctor (sorta) and found that one eye is also weaker than the other. Regular reading glasses were straining my eyes. I decided to go ahead and buy glasses that I could wear all the time, bi-focals with the lines blended so it wouldn't look so stupid. The glasses came in and while I understand there is some adjustment time involved in getting used to them I feel that the reading part is too low and too narrow. I made a deal with the eye glass people for them to redo the lens as per my percieved need but now I am worried that if the new lens come in and I still cant adjust I'll be out the 1000 (RMB) I spent. My question is should I risk losing the functionality of these glasses with new blended lens that may not work or should I forget about wearing them full time and just get reading glasses?

If the two eyes are significantly different, ready-made glasses are obviously going to be a poor compromise.

A reading Rx in single vision form will be fine, but will blur you distance vision, requiring you to take them off when you've finished with reading or computer.

The bifocal /variifocal option keeps the top of the lens dedicated to clear distance vision, while providing the reading strength further down the lens.
This is usually fine for reading, but not so clever for most computer screens when the near vision is required in an almost horizontal direction of gaze.
(This is where you see people doing the "nodding dog" as they try to bring the right bit of the lens into the line of sight.)
Additionally with varifocals, although there is no visible line, the blending and intermediate power means the pure reading are of these lenses is relatively small, and again for working on a big desk pure readers may do better.

For "general purpose" most people incline to the varifocal approach, but for the best performance for specific tasks, it's a fudge, a compromise.

There are office varifocals, intermediate/near blended glasses, half-eye glasses... lots of variants to suit particular people for particular work/hobby requirements, but once presbyopia has set in, one pair that does everything perfectly is not really a possibility.

How can you "sorta" go to an eye doctor? Wearing glasses full time will make it easier to find them when you need them. In the long run, you will be better off if you get used to those rather than just using reading glasses.





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