Guide · contact lenses · over forty
Varifocal contact lenses: do they work, and could they work for you?
If you are over forty, reaching for reading glasses, and wondering whether contact lenses can still work for you, they very likely can. This guide explains what is possible, why some people give up, and how to make them work.
Free 15-minute trial if you are new to lenses. Already wear them? Book a fitting (£95).
In two minutes
The short version
- Can you get them?
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Yes: soft dailies and monthlies, lenses for astigmatism, and rigid lenses for complicated prescriptions.
- Do they work?
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For most people who want to put the reading glasses away, yes, with a small compromise the fitting places carefully.
- Why do people give up?
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They were handed a lens instead of being fitted, and nobody fine-tuned it after a week.
- How long to get used to them?
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About a week or two for soft lenses, a little longer for rigid ones.
- Glasses as well?
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Yes. Plenty of people wear lenses for work, sport or evenings out, and glasses at home.
The problem
What people over forty tell us about contact lenses.
- “I thought reading glasses meant the end of contact lenses.”
- “I tried varifocal lenses once and nothing was sharp.”
- “I was told my prescription is too complicated.”
- “My eyes are too dry for lenses.”
- “I’m in my sixties and have never worn them.”
- “I didn’t know I could wear lenses and glasses.”
We hear every one of these each week, and very few of them are a real reason to say no.
Why us
Our optometrists fit varifocal contact lenses every week at all five practices, from first-time dailies to rigid lenses made to measure.
4.9 ★ from 600+ Google reviews
“Very friendly, very helpful. Not pushy.”Patient survey
The honest answer
Do varifocal contact lenses work?
For most people who want to stop reaching for reading glasses, yes. You can read your phone, see the road and get through a normal day without glasses.
But they are a trade. Near and far are both good, and neither is quite as crisp as a lens made for one distance. For most people that trade is well worth it. For a few it isn’t, and we will tell you honestly which you are likely to be.
They tend to suit you if you want freedom from glasses for most of your day, for work, sport, evenings out or holidays, and your eyes are healthy.
They can be harder if you do hours of very fine close work, drive a lot at night, or have dry eyes that haven’t been treated. None of those rules you out. They change which lens we choose, and sometimes the answer is lenses plus a pair of glasses for that one job.
How the rings of power inside the lens work is explained on our varifocal contact lenses page.
The two kinds
Soft or rigid varifocal contact lenses?
Most people start with soft lenses. Rigid lenses are the answer when soft ones can’t give sharp enough vision.
| Soft varifocal lenses | Rigid varifocal lenses | |
|---|---|---|
| How they feel | Comfortable from the first day | You feel them for the first week or two, then most people stop noticing |
| How sharp | Good for most prescriptions | The sharpest vision of any lens |
| Strong or unusual prescriptions | Within the standard ranges | Made to measure, well beyond soft lenses |
| Astigmatism | Soft lenses for astigmatism, up to a point | Corrects high and irregular astigmatism |
| Settling in | About one to two weeks | About two to three weeks |
| Replaced | Daily or monthly | Made for you, usually replaced yearly |
Both are fitted at all five practices. Rigid lenses explained →
Why some people give up
Why the first pair often fails, and what we do instead
A varifocal contact lens is not something you can pick off a chart. The first lens is a starting point, and the result comes from what happens next.
- We measure your pupils in bright and dim light.
Your pupil decides how much of each ring in the lens you use. A pupil that opens wide in dim light is why some people see halos at night, so we choose a design to suit yours.
- We find the eye that leads.
Most people have one eye that takes charge for distance, and the lens for that eye is set up differently.
- We look at your tears first.
A contact lens floats on your tears. If they are not right, vision blurs and comfort goes, so we sort that first.
- For rigid lenses, we map the front of your eye.
So the lens is made to the shape of your cornea, not an average one.
- We see you again after a week.
Then we fine-tune the balance between your eyes or change the design. Only then do we order your supply.
Other ways
Other ways to see near and far with contact lenses
- Monovision.
One eye set for distance and the other for reading. Some people prefer it to a varifocal lens, and the fitting can compare the two.
- A mix of both.
A varifocal lens in one eye and a distance lens in the other, to sharpen distance for drivers.
- Distance lenses and readers.
Simple, and right for some people who mostly want lenses for sport or going out.
- Lenses and glasses together.
Contact lenses for work, the gym or evenings out, and varifocal glasses at home. Plenty of people find this is the best of both.
Settling in
Your first two weeks in varifocal contact lenses
Your brain learns to use the lens. Give it real life, not the first hour.
- The fittingTaught, not told
We put the trial lenses in, check how they sit and how you see, and teach you to put them in and take them out until you are confident.
- Days 1 to 3Wear them in your normal day
At work, on your phone, in the car. Reading may feel a little soft at first, especially in dim light.
- Days 4 to 7It starts to click
Your brain begins picking the clear image without you trying. Note anything that still bothers you, like night driving or small print.
- After a weekFine-tuned, then ordered
We check your eyes with the lenses in, hear what you noticed, and adjust. Only then do we order your supply.
The habits that help
- Judge them at a week, not an hour. The first day is not a fair test.
- Read in good light. Bright light shrinks your pupil and sharpens close work.
- Don’t add reading glasses on top. Unless we have suggested it, they stop your brain learning the lens.
- Tell us about night driving. Halos can usually be reduced with a different design or balance.
Costs
What varifocal contact lenses cost
The fitting is £95. That includes the teaching and the follow-up check, and the trial lenses are free if you are new to contact lenses.
Your lenses are paid by monthly direct debit, from £11 a month. Varifocal lenses cost more than simple ones, and rigid lenses are made to measure, so you see your exact monthly cost before you decide.
Aftercare is £70 a year, whoever fitted your lenses, to keep your eyes healthy in them.
The plan
How to find out if they will work for you
- 1Book a contact lens fitting
Thirty minutes with an optometrist, £95. We look at your eyes, your tears and your day first.
- 2Try them in real life
A week of trial lenses at work, at home and in the car.
- 3Fine-tuned, then ordered
We adjust until near and far both work, and only then do we order.
What you get. Your phone, the menu and the road, without reaching for your readers.
Assume you can’t, and you keep juggling reading glasses for years longer than you need to.
Find the right lens, and you read, drive and get through your day with nothing on your face.
Five practices
Book at your nearest practice
Varifocal contact lenses, soft and rigid, are fitted at all five practices.
CheadleAbra & Co · 19 Wilmslow Road★ 4.9 · 106 Google reviewsOpticians in Cheadle → Also near: Cheadle Hulme · Gatley · Bramhall · Stockport
MiddletonAbra & Co · 36 Long Street★ 4.9 · 164 Google reviewsOpticians in Middleton → Also near: Heywood · Chadderton · Blackley · Rochdale
Heald GreenAshworth Opticians · 214 Finney Lane★ 4.9 · 131 Google reviewsOpticians in Heald Green → Also near: Gatley · Wythenshawe · Sale · Altrincham
WinsfordWinsford Eye & Footcare · 27 Delamere Street★ 4.9 · 75 Google reviewsOpticians in Winsford → Also near: Northwich · Middlewich · Knutsford · Crewe and Nantwich
HeckmondwikeArmitage Opticians · 14 Market Street★ 4.9 · 133 Google reviewsOpticians in Heckmondwike → Also near: Dewsbury · Batley · Mirfield · Cleckheaton
Free on the NHS if you qualify, £55 privately, at every practice. All five, with the towns each one serves →
Frequently asked questions
Can you get varifocal contact lenses?
Yes. They come as daily and monthly soft lenses, as lenses for astigmatism, and as rigid lenses for higher or unusual prescriptions. We fit all of them at every practice.
Do varifocal contact lenses work?
For most people who want to stop reaching for reading glasses, yes. You get good vision near and far with a small compromise somewhere, which the fitting places where it matters least to you.
Why do varifocal contact lenses sometimes fail?
Usually the lens was handed over rather than fitted: nobody checked which eye leads, how big your pupils get in dim light, or your tears, and nobody saw you again after a week to fine-tune them.
Can I wear glasses some of the time and contact lenses the rest?
Yes, and many people do. Daily lenses suit this well: a fresh pair when you want them, glasses the rest of the time.
I have been told my prescription is too high or too complicated.
Rigid lenses are made to measure and cover prescriptions well beyond soft lenses, including high astigmatism. Come and let us look before you give up.
I have dry eyes. Can I still wear them?
Often, yes. We look at your tears first, and if the dry eye needs treating we treat it, then fit the lenses. Our dry eye clinic →
I have had laser eye surgery or have keratoconus.
Rigid and scleral lenses are often the best answer for a cornea with an unusual shape, and they can include reading correction too. Keratoconus and scleral lenses →
Am I too old to start contact lenses?
No. What matters is the health of your eyes, your tears and your prescription, not your age. We teach everyone, first-timers included, until they are confident.
Show all 9 questions
What do they cost?
The fitting is £95, including the teaching and the follow-up check, with free trial lenses if you are new to lenses. Your lenses are then paid by monthly direct debit, from £11 a month. Varifocal lenses cost more than simple ones, and you see your exact monthly cost before you decide.