Correcting blurry vision with lenses tailored to your eyes
Often, blurry vision is caused by a refractive error, which is a condition that makes it difficult for your eyes to focus light well enough for you to see clearly. To correct your vision, contact lenses and glasses apply the same basic principle—they bend the light coming into your eye. Here’s how it works: when light hits a transparent curved surface (like water, glass or plastic), it changes direction before coming to a focus. By tailoring the curvature and thickness of the lens to your unique refractive error, the light focuses closer to your retina (the part of the eye that makes visions possible).
Concave lenses (curved inward)
When you have myopia (nearsightedness), your eyes focus light in front of the retina. Thinner in the center and thicker at the edges, concave lenses spread light out so it focuses further back, right on the retina to improve vision.
Convex lenses (curved outward)
When you have hyperopia (farsightedness), light focuses behind the retina. Thicker in the center and thinner at the edges, convex lenses bend the light inwards so it focuses directly on the retina, improving vision.
Toric lenses
Designed for those with astigmatism, these lenses have two different focusing powers (curves) to correct for an irregularly shaped cornea.
Multifocal lenses
These are ideal for people with presbyopia, improving distance and close-up vision at the same time. Each lens has two or more prescriptions to correct your vision at different distances.
Multifocal contact lens basics
Orthokeratology lenses
Rather than correcting vision while you’re wearing them, these lenses are meant to be worn at night. While you sleep, they gently and temporarily reshape your cornea so that you can see more clearly during the day, typically without contacts or glasses.
