Presbyopia is most often corrected by wearing glasses. If you have no other vision problems, you may only need reading glasses. As long as you have had an eye exam and you know the strength of the reading glasses you need, you can purchase them at a pharmacy without a prescription. If you are also nearsighted or farsighted, your eye healthcare provider can prescribe bifocals, trifocals, or progressive lenses.

Bifocals correct near and far vision (bi means two). A small half-circle in the lower part of the lens magnifies objects that are close. In some cases, the whole lower half of the lens magnifies these objects.

Trifocals correct near, middle, and far vision (tri means three). The lower part of the lens has two magnifying powers. One magnifies near objects. The other magnifies objects that are about an arm’s length away.

Progressive lenses change magnifying power from near to middle to far vision gradually. You do not notice a change from one power to the next. And you do not see any lines on the lenses. But the sides of the lenses will be blurry.