Progressive addition lenses, otherwise known as PAL's, no-line bifocals, or no-line trifocals, have come a long way from their original designs.  They used to be a harsh hour-glass design with a large distance zone, a very narrow intermediate (computer) zone in the middle, and a moderate-sized reading zone at the bottom of the lens. The technology these days has allowed for a "softening" of the design in which the intermediate zone has been significantly widened for more comfortable computer use.

Older "hard" design

More representative of a "soft" design

There are 2 types of patients that are typically going to be ready for progressive lenses. The first are current single-vision distance glasses wearers who are having trouble reading with their glasses. This is usually an easy transition to make because the patient is already used to wearing glasses basically full-time, and they just have to get used to the new lens design.

The more hesitant patient is usually the one that has decent distance vision without glasses, but needs reading glasses more and more frequently. For this patient, a progressive lens will be more convenient, and should allow the patient to be more functional throughout the day. With reading glasses, you cannot look through the lenses and see clearly in the distance. Therefore the glasses are constantly on and off throughout the day, and frequently getting lost, broken, and are just not available when needed. Progressive lenses allow the wearer to put them on and leave them on. You can see across your office, your computer at arm's length, and the documents on your desk, all with the same pair of glasses. Or another example I often give is that when you go to the grocery store, you don't have to wear your readers down on your nose while walking around the store. Progressives will allow you to see what's on aisle 7 (distance), what's on the shelf in front of you (intermediate), and what ingredients are in your Cheerios (near). Transitioning into progressives does not mean that you will be a full-time glasses wearer from then on. What is does mean is that you will have more freedom with your glasses in situations where you need to see clearly at multiple distances.

As previously stated, the technology of progressives has come a long way. We are putting most of our patients into a lens called Unity PLx which allows us to give a patient more intermediate/computer room or more reading room in the lens, based on their specific needs. There are also computer-specific progressives that I can talk about in future articles. Therefore, if you have heard horror stories about your cousin that tried progressives 15 years ago and had a horrible experience, or even if you tried progressives 15 years ago and had a horrible experience, you may want to give them another chance if they will significantly improve the quality of your life with glasses. They do still take some getting used to, but it is rare these days to have to convert a new progressive wearer back into single-vision or bifocal lenses.

*  If you are a current progressive wearer and are having some difficulty at your computer, visit Dr. Charlie Bittel's blog for some tips and tricks related to progressives and computer vision.