Recently Fitted For Bifocals? How Can You Ensure Your Vision Remains Protected On The Job?

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If you work in a manufacturing or production facility, you may spend a lot of time peering out behind safety goggles designed to protect your eyes from flying shards of glass, metal, or other hazardous objects. Even if you haven't been nearsighted or farsighted enough to require vision correction during your adult life, you may find that your strong vision begins to slip once you hit age 40 and a condition called presbyopia makes it more difficult to see objects at close distances. Wearing bifocal glasses beneath your safety goggles at work could be uncomfortable or inconvenient -- but going without vision correction could leave you unable to properly do your job. What are your best options for presbyopia correction in a workplace requiring personal protective equipment? Read on to learn more about some innovations in vision technology that can allow you to see clearly no matter what you're doing.

When will you need vision correction for presbyopia?

If your presbyopia has had enough of an effect on your vision to spur you to see an ophthalmologist for diagnosis, it's likely you need some sort of vision correction in order to continue to be able to read, drive, and perform other tasks at maximum efficiency. Those who already have nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism that requires the use of glasses or contacts will get bifocals -- glasses or contacts with a smaller lens designed specifically for presbyopia correction within the full lens -- while those who don't already have vision problems may just need "reading glasses" for close work.

Over time, your presbyopia may continue to advance to the point where you need separate lenses for near, intermediate, and far vision -- trifocals. These lenses can take some getting used to as you learn to angle your head different ways to most clearly see something in your line of vision.

What corrective devices can help you see at work?

Keeping your vision sharp while protecting your eyes from environmental hazards can be tough, especially if you're used to wearing safety goggles that hug your face and don't allow much room for additional glasses. Fortunately, there are a couple of products that can help you seamlessly integrate your bifocal lenses into your work life.

• Bifocal safety goggles

Whether you already have eyeglasses or your presbyopia is the first foray into the world of prescription vision correction, it's now possible to have scratch-resistant and long-lasting safety goggles custom-made in your prescription -- eliminating the need to wear additional glasses or contacts underneath your safety goggles at work. This can be ideal if you find yourself frequently glancing back and forth from small print on a piece of paper to a machine you're repairing or product you're processing. If you go this route, it's always a good idea to have a backup pair of prescription safety goggles in your locker or vehicle to ensure you'll be able to see through your entire shift. In addition, if your prescription changes at any point in the future, it's important to have new safety goggles made. Trying to get by with an outdated pair of glasses can lead to on-the-job accidents. 

Check out a company like Rx-Safety to find bifocal safety eyewear.

• Bifocal contact lenses

Another option that can help eliminate the need to wear glasses underneath your safety goggles is bifocal contact lenses. Just like bifocal glasses, bifocal contacts include one smaller presbyopia lens within the larger lens. However, because contacts can constantly rotate around your eye's lens (making it difficult to keep a specialty lens in one location on your eye), bifocal contacts are designed so that the presbyopia lens is slightly weighted and stays in place. 

28 March 2016