Contact Lenses
According to the CDC, an estimated 45 million people in the United States wear contact lenses. Contact lenses offer many benefits for people who need vision correction, which is why they are so popular.
Some of the benefits of wearing contact lenses include:
- Freedom of movement and a wider field of vision while exercising or playing sports
- A more natural appearance because they sit directly on the eyes
- A highly effective option to improve vision
Partnering with an expert optometrist skilled at fitting patients in the right contact lenses for visual needs, eye health, and lifestyle is a key part of successfully wearing contact lenses. Because contact lenses sit directly on the eyes, they also require proper care to avoid developing discomfort or infection. It is important to follow your doctor’s instructions on how long you should wear your contact lenses, how to properly store them if you aren’t wearing a daily use contact lens, and when to replace them. You will also need an annual eye exam so your doctor can make sure your eyes are healthy and to keep your contact lens prescription up to date.
We offer many different options for contact lenses.
contact lens fitting
Soft contact lenses
Toric contact lenses
Multifocal contact lenses
contact lens fitting
Specialty contact lenses
Orthokeratology
Scleral contact lenses
Soft contact lenses
Most people who wear contact lenses are prescribed soft contact lenses. If you have a common refractive error such as farsightedness or nearsightedness, single-vision soft contact lenses are a great option. There are a variety of wear schedules for soft contact lenses, from daily use to monthly lenses.
Toric contact lenses
If you have mild to moderate astigmatism and good eye health, a soft toric contact lens can be a good option. People with astigmatism have a cornea which is shaped like a football instead of round, like a baseball, which results in blurry or distorted vision, headaches, eye fatigue and discomfort, squinting, and difficulty with night vision. Toric contact lenses are designed to correct astigmatism.
Multifocal contact lenses
As we age, the lenses in our eyes become less flexible. This age-related change in our eyes is called presbyopia, and it makes it harder to see things up close. Multifocal contact lenses can be a good option for people with presbyopia as they can allow you to see things up close and far away, without wearing reading glasses.
Customized
vision correction
Rigid gas permeable lenses
Rigid gas permeable lenses are made of a firm material which is highly breathable, allowing plenty of oxygen to pass through to the eyes. They are customized to fit the eyes, so they can allow for a wider range of vision correction. If your corneas (the front surface of the eyes) are shaped irregularly, custom rigid gas permeable lenses can be a great solution to provide the vision correction you need.
Orthokeratology
Orthokeratology, otherwise known as ortho-k, is a process of fitting special gas-permeable contact lenses to reshape the cornea. Patients wear the special contact lenses at night, while they sleep, and can then enjoy clear vision during the day, without the need for eyeglasses or contact lenses. While the patient sleeps, the surface of their eyes are gently and gradually reshaped by the special contact lenses, and this reshaping of the cornea can help to improve nearsightedness and farsightedness. In some cases, patients can eliminate their need for eyeglasses or daytime use of contact lenses entirely.
Orthokeratology is an ideal procedure for patients who no longer wish to wear eyeglasses or contacts during the day, and do not want to undergo laser vision correction surgery. Orthokeratology is a safe procedure when performed with high-quality lenses from a reputable practitioner. Adults and children can benefit from ortho-k.
Scleral contact lenses
Scleral contact lenses are large-diameter rigid gas permeable lenses designed to vault over the entire front surface of the eye and rest on the sclera, otherwise known as the white part of the eye. Even though scleral lenses are rigid gas permeable lenses, they tend to be more comfortable then regular RGP lenses because they are larger and rest on the sclera, the white part of the eye, which tends to be less sensitive than the cornea.
Scleral contact lenses offer many benefits for people who cannot wear standard soft contact lenses due to eye health issues or lifestyle.
- If you have chronic dry eye disease, then you may find wearing standard contact lenses to be very uncomfortable. Since scleral contact lenses vault over the front surface of the eye, there is a small space in which a reservoir for tears is created, providing a cushion of moisture for the front surface of the eye.
- If you have a moderate to severe case of astigmatism, then you may have found that standard contact lenses don’t provide the clearest, sharpest vision for you. Scleral contact lenses are stable due to their size, and the liquid under the scleral lenses can compensate for the astigmatism.
- If you have keratoconus, which causes your corneas to become thin and cone shaped and causes distorted vision, you may have been told in the past that you aren’t a suitable candidate for contact lenses. Since scleral lenses vault over the entire front surface of the eye, they effectively replace the irregularly shaped corneas and allow light to focus properly on the retina and provide vision correction for people with keratoconus.
- If you have experienced complications after eye surgery, then you may have found that wearing standard contact lenses doesn’t provide you with the vision correction you need. Since scleral contact lenses vault over the entire front surface of the eye, they will provide you with the sharp vision correction needed.
- If you frequently play sports and are very active, then you may find that standard contact lenses tend to be uncomfortable because they are too easily dislodged, or because they slide around on your eyes. Scleral contact lenses are much more stable than standard contact lenses, so it’s harder for them to become dislodged from your eyes or slide around on your eyes, offering you sharp vision during sports.
Our eye doctors in Newton and Mooresville are experts at fitting patients in the right contact lenses for visual needs, eye health, and lifestyle. Book an eye exam with us today and let us know you’re interested in a contact lens exam and fitting.