Once we enter our 4th decade, the ability to focus weakens which in turn makes our reliance on up close correction more prominent. This weakening is called presbyopia and it will eventually affect 99% of people. While some patients can get away with just wearing over the counter readers, many people require a more precise and customized pair of glasses. Glasses that correct for both distance and near are called bifocals. Glasses that correct for distance, intermediate, and near are called trifocals or progressive addition lenses (PAL.)
Even more specialized than any of those types of glasses are glasses that primarily correct for intermediate and near, specifically computer distance and closer. These glasses are called computer or office lenses. In this day and age, when we as a generalized population are more reliant on technology and computers in general, we have found that many patients’ primary glasses are an office or computer style lens.
Office/computer lenses are not worn to see clearly far away, but instead allow you to see your computer and up close/reading material clearly. While a bifocal, trifocal, or PAL would help in those situations as well, office/computer lenses remove the unnecessary correction needs so that vision is more comfortable and easier to access since we’re limiting the amount of distances we need to correct for in one pair of glasses.
Many patients who utilize office/computer lenses find the don’t have to adjust their head position as frequently throughout the day, have less strain or eye fatigue, and are better able to add coatings like blue light blocking.
