ADJUSTING TO PROGRESSIVE LENSES
Progressive Bifocal Lenses Explained
By Dr. Dhavid Cooper
|
| |
Around the age of 40, most people start to have difficulty focusing at
close range. The first indication that something is changing is that your
single vision lenses can no longer be satisfactorily used for focusing on
small print or near objects.
In the past, the most common solution was to prescribe reading glasses or
line bifocal lines. With today’s technology and the outstanding developments
in the optical industry, a simple solution to the need for reading lenses is
the use of multi-focal progressive lenses.
Traditional bifocal lenses provide clear vision of objects in the distance
and near ranges, but everything in between is blurred. The visible dividing
line is also a telltale sign to everyone that you are wearing bifocals!
Multi-focal progressive lenses are a better solution in many instances
because they offer the crispest, smoothest, most comfortable vision at
all distances. There is no need to have 2 pairs of glasses (one for
distance and one for reading) or unsightly bifocal lines, and adapting
to your progressive lenses takes practically no time at all!
While there are many progressive brands of lenses on the market, I have
researched what I consider to be the best progressive lens brands available
today. Below you’ll find information about my favorite progressive lens brands;
Zeiss, Zeiss Brevity, Gradal Top® E, and Varilux, with a brief description
of each provided by the manufacturer. While each manufacturer may tout some
aspects of its lens over the other, believe me, they are all
fine-quality products.
We typically use either Zeiss or Varilux premium brands for your progressive
lenses, depending on your prescription, or in some instances, the frame
type you select.
If you have any questions or require assistance, please call our
friendly online opticians who can guide you to the right lenses
for you.
|
Zeiss |
Custom-Design
Your eyes are unlike anyone else's in the world. And
for the first time ever, your progressive lenses can be, too. With Gradal®
Individual premium progressives, Zeiss gives you lenses uniquely engineered
for your personal anatomy.
|
|
For truly individualized lenses, customization is key. Whether you prefer traditional
size frames or fashionably smaller frames, Gradal® Individual progressives
are the best choice for you. In fact, no other progressive allows for so
many styling options. And no matter what you use your progressives for --
reading, computer work, gardening, home projects or hobbies -- Gradal®
Individual technology gives you crisper, more comfortable vision than you've
ever thought possible.
|
Age Related Focus Difficulty
For intermediate and short-range focus difficulty associated
with aging, there's no better choice than Zeiss Gradal® premium
progressives which provide perfect vision all day long, indoors and out.
You'll enjoy comfortable, natural vision from the outset with no adaptation
delays or conspicuous rocking or swimming effects. Choose from a variety
of materials and lens sizes. For traditional style frames, the outstanding
design of Gradal® Top outperforms all other multifocal and progressive
lenses on the market. Gradal® Brevity is a progressive lens better suited
for today's fashionable smaller frames.
|
On the Job
If you work on a computer or engage in any activity that requires
even wider fields of vision at intermediate and near distances (like
cooking, sewing, studying, even model-making) you need glasses that
allow your eyes to focus smoothly between near and intermediate distances.
With Zeiss Business, no longer will you have to move your head around to
see the computer screen clearly. And Gradal® RD offers a viewing distance
of up to 10 feet so you can move around while wearing your glasses. With
both Zeiss Business and Gradal® RD, there's no need to peek over your
lenses or exchange your eyeglasses while working; everything in the middle
and near distances will be crystal clear.
|
|
*Gradal® RD and Zeiss Business are not suitable for driving.
|
| |
How
does it work?
In 1984, Carl Zeiss launched a lens that set a new standard for comfort
and quality in progressive lenses. The Gradal® HS lens design
introduced the patented Horizontal Symmetry technology still used
today. It's an innovation which guarantees your vision will be identical
in either eye anywhere on the lens (even with two different prescriptions)
and preserves normal depth perception. Zeiss applies the same strict standards
of Horizontal Symmetry to all of its Gradal® lenses.
|
Zeiss Brevity
|
|
So much science, so little space
Gradal® Brevity offers your patients all the
benefits of renowned Zeiss Gradal® progressives in lenses that are
now specifically designed for today's smaller frame fashions:
-
Fitting heights as low as 16mm broaden the selection of frame styles
-
Soft progressive design enables smooth transitions from distance to
near zone
-
Wide near area sustains extraordinary clarity and identical impressions
-
Fully optical aspheric surface reduces distortions and astigmatism in
thinner, flatter lenses
-
Variable inset based on power and add maximizes corresponding fields
of view
Style
options for your patients - practical options for you. Gradal® Brevity
is available in traditional plastic 1.5 index and super-high 1.67 index
lenses, so you can fill every prescription in any frame with fitting heights
as low as 16 mm
|
Gradal Top® E:
A New Landmark in the Evolution of Progressive Lenses
|
|
Ongoing product enhancement is a way of life at Carl Zeiss: it is
an integral part of the company's corporate philosophy.
|
|
Now, Zeiss Optics designers have achieved something really spectacular: in meticulous
development work they have succeeded in focusing the top-of-the-range progressive
lens Gradal Top® even more sharply on wearers' requirements. The size
of the distance zone has been increased by up to 15% by reducing the astigmatic
error effective in its periphery. To achieve this goal, all processes -
from development right up to the finished lens - were re-examined and optimized.
To ensure that this product enhancement is openly communicated to customers,
an "E" has now been added to the product name Gradal Top®
- "E" for evolution.
|
Surveys have shown that experienced PAL wearers particularly appreciate large
distance and near zones - a requirement which has been fully taken into account
in Gradal Top® E progressives. The result: wearer tolerance has been increased
even further, giving opticians and optometrists the certainty that they
are making the right recommendation to presbyopic patients for crystal-clear,
natural vision.
|
Varilux Lenses
|
The Varilux Authenticity Guarantee
Most Varilux lenses are designed with a new technology
called Airmark, visible only when you breathe on the front of your lenses
or expose them to steam. As the technology availability grows, more Varilux
lenses will have the Airmark. If you don't see the Varilux Airmark, check
your authenticity card and Varilux reference mark toward the nasal side
of the lens, or talk to your eye care professional to ensure you've received
authentic Varilux lenses.
|
Adjusting To Varilux Lenses
Progressive lenses will introduce some changes to
your peripheral vision due to power changes that occur in the periphery
of the lenses. You may feel an initial difference in your peripheral vision
that will require some slight changes in horizontal head and eye movements.
Sensitivity to this area of the lens will diminish with wearing time as
you become more accustomed to the lenses.
|
These guidelines will help you adjust quickly and comfortably:
-
Stop wearing your old glasses immediately.
-
Wear your new glasses high on the bridge of your nose and as close to
your face as possible.
-
To look at an object, turn your head (and not just your eyes) toward it.
-
Move your head vertically until the object glides into focus.
For
most, this period of adaptation will be only a few hours. Some individuals
may require as much as several days to two weeks to become completely
comfortable. If you have been wearing your lenses for this period of time
or longer and feel uncomfortable in any way with your vision, contact
your eye care professional for an evaluation.
|
How do Varilux lenses reduce vertical head and eye movement?
A Unique Power Progression: The higher location of
the near vision zone of Varilux lenses results from a unique power progression
profile consisting of three parts (See the figure below for an example of
a lens with +2.00 D addition, the amount of magnification needed to increase
near vision).
|
|
|
Part 1 (from the optical center to 8mm below):
A quick increase in power up to 85 percent of the addition. At this point,
the near vision zone is considered to start since 85% of the full addition
power is sufficient to read the top part of a document that is naturally held
further away from the eyes than the bottom part. The physiological length
of progression of Varilux is thus 12mm compared with an average 14 to 15mm
for other progressives.
|
|
Part 2 (from 12 to 18mm below the fitting cross):
Slow increases in power up to the full add power at the center of the near-vision
circle. The shape of the power progression, in this part, follows the variation
in proximity of the document to the eyes as the gaze lowers, thus creating
a truly physiological near-vision zone.
|
|
Part 3 (below the vision center):
A stabilization of the power progression and then a slight power decrease
in the very bottom of the lens below normal reach of the gaze.
|
|
A Non-Presbyope
To reach the bottom of the page, the non-presbyope
does not have to move his head but simply lower his eyes 20º. With
the head raised and the eyes already lowered 30º to reach the top portion
of the page, the wearer of a non-Varilux progressive cannot produce the
additional 20º lowering of the eyes that is necessary to read the bottom
of the page.
|
|
With
Non-Varilux Progressive lenses
To achieve the required additional 20º, the wearer
lowers his eyes another 10º and the head another 10º. Reading
with non-Varilux progressive lenses requires significantly more vertical
head movement.
|
|
With Varilux
To achieve the same additional 20º required to
read the bottom of the page, the Varilux wearer is able to lower his eyes
15º and is required to produce only 5º vertical head movement,
half of the head movement required for non-Varilux progressives. Therefore,
reading with Varilux lenses is much more comfortable since head posture
and eye movements are more natural.
|
|
==============================
If you would like to publish this information
on your website, include the following information with a direct link to
www.framesdirect.com
Dr. David Cooper and Dr. Guy Hodgson are the founders of
FramesDirect.com that has been recognized for outstanding customer
service and satisfaction.
FramesDirect.com is fast becoming the global leader of prescription eyeglasses,
contact lenses and sun glasses sales online.
==============================
|
