What are progressive lenses?
Progressive lenses aid in an eye condition called Presbyopia. This is a very common vision condition that usually starts around the age of 40 and results in the loss of the ability to focus on near things. If you have an add power listed on your prescription you are presbyopic. As this condition progresses with age people usually transition from wearing single vision lenses to multi-focal or progressive lenses.
Lens Design
Getting used to your new progressive lenses
| How it feels | Likely Issue | Explanation | Advice |
| The most common complaint when adjusting to progressive lenses is blurry vision, headaches, nausea, and balance issues. | New Wearer | It can take some time to train your eyes and brain to see clearly at a distance and close-up. Most people will adjust to their new lenses in only a few days but for some, it could take up to two weeks. | Wear the glasses as much as possible, and do not switch between your new and old pair. The longer you spend wearing. your glasses, the faster your eyes and brain will adjust. |
| “When I turn my head it makes me feel weird” “If I look to the side it is blurry” |
Describing peripheral distortion | In order to create multifocal lenses in progressive glasses, the lens design features a unique shape that allows for the gradual transition from distance to close-up vision correction. But, in order to create this shape, the bottom left and bottom right of each lens are distorted, which can lead to blurry vision if you look through that part of the lens. | So, when you’re adjusting to your new glasses, you may notice some distortion in your peripheral vision if you try to look through that part of the lens. Your peripheral vision when you look straight ahead won’t be affected. But because that part of the lens is so far to the edge of your vision, moving your eyes to look through it is uncomfortable anyway. Instead, move your head. Practice pointing your nose in the direction of any object you want to look at. This will allow you to see everything clearly, and soon you won’t notice the distortion at the edge of your lenses. |
| “Looking down makes me trip” | Looking through magnification for when distance zone should be used | If you look down through the bottom part of the lens, you’re looking through the area that corrects your close-up vision. Since your feet are far away, they’ll look blurry — just like if you were to look at your feet through a pair of reading glasses. This blurry vision can make it difficult to see the stairs and your feet, which makes you more likely to trip. | Keep your eyes up. Most of us don’t look at our feet as we ascend the stairs. We look a few stairs ahead of where we’re stepping. But if you only feel comfortable when you look at your feet, remember to move your head, not your eyes, to look down. Point your nose down toward your feet so you can look through the top part of the lens. And while you get used to going up and down stairs with your new eyewear, make sure to hold onto the handrail — safety first! |
| Distance vision is blurry when looking straight ahead | Seg Height may be too high | The frame may be able to be adjusted with local optical. If there is a nose pad the frame can be lowered on the face. | Please bring the glasses to your eye care provider. They may be able to assist. If this is not an option please reach out to our customer service team for assistance! |
| Must tilt your head back to read | Seg Height may be too low | The frame may be able to be adjusted with local optical. If there is a nose pad the frame can be lifted on the face. | Please bring the glasses to your eye care provider. They may be able to assist. If this is not an option please reach out to our customer service team for assistance! |
| Must tilt the head down to see the distance clearly | Seg Height may be too high | The frame may be able to be adjusted with local optical. If there is a nose pad the frame can be lowered on the face. | Please bring the glasses to your eye care provider. They may be able to assist. If this is not an option please reach out to our customer service team for assistance! |