By Michael Hutton 

Monovision contact lenses  worn only while sleeping then removed the following morning provide an excellent alternative means of eyesight correction for the short-sighted over 40's who begin to find that they encounter reading difficulties due to age-related presbyopia and thus require additional correction for close work. Traditionally, this has involved purchasing reading glasses to go with either conventional daytime contact lenses or glasses used for distant vision. More recently there has been a trend in favour of wearing multifocal contact lenses which do the job of correcting eyesight for close work and distance vision in the same way as bifocal glasses do. However, overnight ortho-k monovision contact lenses provide a solution requiring no daytime glasses or contact lenses at all.

According to a recent study in Australia reported in the journal Contact Lens Spectrum, more aging contact lens wearers than ever are choosing to be fitted with multifocal contact lenses. In the 1980s, 27 percent of presbyopic contact lens wearers chose monovision contact lenses (one eye corrected for distance and the other for near) and only 9 percent chose multifocal lenses, with the balance opting to additionally use reading glasses. Today, 13 percent are choosing monovision and 28 percent choose multifocal contact lenses. However, this trend is based on comparison with the old version of monovision using different power daytime contact lenses in each eye. With the new overnight ortho-k monovision contact lenses , only one lens is worn while sleeping to correct short-sight - typically in the dominant eye - whilst the other eye is uncorrected to deal with close work like reading. After lens removal each morning, the wearer has clear natural vision all day long.

Whilst the quality and range of multifocal contact lenses has grown significantly over the past ten years and together with the advent of overnight ortho-k monovision contact lenses  has provided excellent alternative ways of avoiding the need for reading glasses, it is still the case that the majority of short-sighted over 40's who develop reading difficulties end up using the latter solution. This appears largely due to a lack of technical knowledge on the part of optical practitioners who have not kept up to date with developments in contact lenses over the last five years and accordingly have more limited fitting experience with specialist contact lenses. This means consumers need to do more research when they look for solutions to their eyesight problems rather than just accept at face value what less informed practitioners may propose.

Check if you are suitable for overnight ortho-k corrective monovision contact lenses .