What is the difference between soft lenses and multifocal lenses?

Are you searching for the difference between soft lens and multifocal lenses? You have come to the right place. These two are types of contact lenses you can opt for depending on the doctor’s prescription.

Here, you will learn the difference between soft and multifocal lenses by looking at each type of contact lens and its purpose and advantages. In the end, I will make a comparison to determine the differences.

What is a Soft contact lens?

Soft contact lenses are a type of lens you can find in the market, and they are categorized according to the material used to manufacture them. These are among the most popular contact lenses, and they are made using flexible, soft plastics. This type of material enables them to pass oxygen to the eyes. Soft contact lens comes in daily replaceable and extended-wear versions.

Soft contact lenses are often used by those who want to adjust for minor refractive defects such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. They’re the simplest lenses to use and care for: they’re simple to put in and take out, and they rarely cause discomfort. Soft contact lens durability, which is daily contact lenses, bi weekly contact lenses, monthly contact lenses, or yearly contact lenses is determined by the needs of each patient.

Advantages of soft contact lens

The following are some of the advantages associated with soft contact lenses. These advantages serve to showcase how they are used.

Helps in cosmetic enhancement

One of the uses of the soft lens is for beauty or aesthetic purposes. There are different types of contact lenses that are meant for aesthetic enhancement. The wearer has not eye problem but would like enhancement.

In most cease people who wear this contact lens for enhancement would like to make some defects on the eyes noticeable. These defects can be injuries.

They look natural.

Soft lenses are designed to mimic the appearance of their natural eyes as precisely as possible. There are various methods for making lenses that closely resemble the look, shape, size, color, and even patterning of your genuine eyes, ranging from translucent tinting to unique hand-painting.

They boost confidence.

The appearance or feel of a prosthetic contact lens isn’t always the most significant considerations—one of the less tangible benefits these lenses can bring is a boost in our patients’ confidence and self-esteem.

Because eye injuries or deformities are so obvious, they can impact how patients feel, whether they are out in public or interacting with others. Patients who wear cosmetic lenses that resemble a natural eye feel more at ease in their skin.

They help with excessive light sensitivity.

Photophobia, or light sensitivity, is a common side effect of eye injuries. An eye injury can limit the eye’s capacity to filter light correctly by injuring or altering the iris in a way that causes excessive pupil dilatation or irregular pupil opening. Soft lenses can aid with light sensitivity by simulating a more normal pupil size and dilation.

They can enhance contrast and color vision.

The soft contact lens can help correct color deficits in your vision, increase contrast, and provide other benefits. Also, soft glasses can help you enhance your visual performance during sporting activities, whether you have partial color blindness or are seeking a technique to improve your visual performance during sports.

What is Multifocal Lens?

Multifocal contact lenses are a type of contact lens with which combines different prescriptions into a single lens.  A multifocal lens is prescribed to a patient who has a problem seeing objects. There are those who cannot see an object that is far; others cannot see an object when it is close. This type of lens help either see an object which is far r close.

Additionally, the multifocal lens helps patients with presbyopia correct age-related vision issues such as the inability of the eye to focus on objects up close.

Multifocal contact lenses have a progressive transition from a prescription for close reading to normal distance seeing on one end and normal distance viewing. They look a lot like progressive spectacles.

The modern solution for mono visual contact lenses is multifocal lenses. Multifocal lenses come in various prescriptions to aid with a variety of vision issues, including near and far vision issues.

Varifocal or progressive lenses are other terms for multifocal contact lenses. Multifocal contact lenses come in a variety of styles to help with distance and near vision. Concentric multifocal lenses are a typical design.

Multifocal contact lenses provide higher visual acuity for various distances; yet, they are more expensive due to their advanced construction. It may also be difficult for certain people to adapt to multifocal lenses’ viewing experience if other types have previously been used.

Benefits of Multifocal Lens

There are several benefits of Multifocal Lens, and they help understand the use of this type of lens. Among the benefits of Multifocal Lens include;

They are comfortable

Mostly the Multifocal Lens is prescribed to presbyopic patients, and instead of buying glass, they prefer this type of contact lens as they allow them to participate in various activities. More so, the multifocal lens provides better peripheral vision.

They help reduce light eye invasion.

Most people use computers, and they get disturbed by the computer light. Multifocal contacts eliminate the need for patients to tilt their heads back as they do with glasses.

They are comfortable

Glasses can also cause discomfort on the bridge of the nose and on and behind the ears. Patients who desire to appear their best can also benefit from multifocal contacts.

Children with accommodative or convergence excess difficulties can also benefit. Most kids don’t want to wear bifocal glasses, so multifocal contacts give them the extra plus they need at close range.

Help boost patient confidence

 Younger patients can gain more self-confidence with multifocal contact lenses. Multifocal contacts offer improved, mono-visible, and binocular summation that improves the stereopsis and usually distance and understanding.

Conclusion

From above, it is clear there are differences between soft lenses and multifocal lenses. The key difference is that soft contact lens can be used for aesthetic purposes, unlike multifocal contact lenses.  Additionally, multifocal contact lenses are meant to help view things, which is not the case with soft contact lenses.

Another difference that cannot go without mentioning is that soft contact lenses are categorized according to the material used to manufacture them, while multifocal contact lenses are according to a problem they are meant to solve.