Among the many unlikeable parts of getting older is that our vision changes. You may have had perfect vision throughout your 20s and even your 30s, but as we age it is almost inevitable that we won’t be seeing as well as we used to. And, if you are having trouble seeing both up close and far away, you may need bifocals, which can be difficult to adjust to even if you’ve worn glasses for years. Read on for some more information about bifocals and help on getting used to them!
What are bifocals used for?
Bifocals are glasses with the top half of the lens that allows you to see far away and the bottom half of the lens that allows you to see things up close. There are even trifocal lenses available, which have a spot in the middle for “intermediate vision.” You can also get progressive lenses – unlike bifocals, which have a visible line separating the top and bottom, progressive lenses have a more gradual change.
As you might imagine, it can take some time to adjust to wearing bifocals. It may help if you think of it as “retraining” your eyes where to look; for instance, if you are going up steps it won’t help you to look down like you used to, because the lower part of your bifocals are for seeing things up close. And, you might have to adjust your eyes when looking at the computer or reading to find that “sweet spot” where you can see just right.
Adjusting to your bifocals may even make you feel nauseous or dizzy at first, but it is important to keep wearing them so that you get used to them. It can take up to 2 weeks to really adjust to them, and if it takes longer than that you might want to contact your eye doctor and make sure you have the right prescription.
Eyes that don’t see as well as they used to are an unpleasant part of getting older, but bifocals can help! If you just aren’t seeing as well as you should, call Southside Eye Care. Call (757) 484-0101 for an appointment today!
