Contact Lenses

Soft Contact Lenses

These are the most widely used contact lenses in the world. They conform to the cornea and allow for proper hydration of the eyes. Daily disposable lenses provide the safest, healthiest, and most comfortable soft contact lens option. Soft contacts used to correct myopia or hyperopia are called spherical and are the most basic fit. There are also options for astigmatism and presbyopia correction.

Contact Lenses For Astigmatism

Many patients tell us that their previous eye doctors told them “they can’t wear contacts because they have astigmatism.” This could not be further from the truth. There are many contact lens options to correct astigmatism, from soft toric contact lenses to rigid gas permeable lenses to scleral lenses. Most of the time, astigmatism can be easily corrected with traditional soft lenses. Higher degrees of astigmatism or irregular astigmatism may need more specialized lenses such as rigid or scleral lenses.

Multifocal (Bifocal) Contact Lenses

We understand the hassles of reading glasses. That’s why we offer bifocal contact lenses to help you see far away and up close, without the need for glasses. These lenses are typically used by people 40 and older but can have benefits to help the eye focus across all ages. If you’re tired of wondering where you laid down the readers last, digging them out of your purse, or find yourself struggling to focus after hours on the computer, you’ve come to the right place.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) and Scleral Lenses Compared to soft lenses that conform to the cornea, these lenses are hard and hold their shape. Most often, we fit these lenses for keratoconus, corneal transplants, or extreme dry eye. Rigid gas permeable lenses are smaller and sit on the cornea. Since they hold their shape, they actually use the tears to correct astigmatism, which is especially beneficial in cases of keratoconus. Scleral lenses are much bigger and actually vault over the cornea. Similar to RGPs, they use the tears between them and the cornea to correct irregular astigmatism. Because they don’t move on the eyes, they can keep the cornea hydrated throughout the day in cases of severe dry eyes.

What Are Hard-to-Fit Contacts?

These specialty lenses are made for patients who have extreme vision disorders or eye health problems, but still want to wear contacts. These lenses have different shapes and compositions. Special contact lenses are comfortable and still allow you to see clearly.

What Conditions Make It Difficult to Wear Traditional Soft Contacts?

There are a few conditions that are considered hard to fit for contacts. These include:

• Keratoconus: This is a condition that causes the cornea to lose its round shape and bulge into a cone shape. Since the cornea is not properly shaped, soft contacts won't fit properly.

• Giant papillary conjunctivitis: This form of conjunctivitis causes the inner eyelid to become swollen. Traditional soft contacts cause a buildup of protein, which can make the condition worse.

• Astigmatism: This is a common refractive error. It occurs when the front of the cornea has two curves instead of one, which requires a special contact lens.

• Dry eye: Dry eye syndrome occurs when your eyes don't produce enough natural tears. Traditional soft lenses absorb the moisture in your eyes, which will make the condition worse.

What Are the Common Hard-to-Fit Contacts?

There are a few types of hard-to-fit contacts that our optometrist can provide to help you see clearly.

• Gas permeable lenses: Gas permeable contacts are rigid, and can hold your cornea's shape, making them a good option if you have keratoconus. Since protein doesn't build up on these lenses, they are a great option if you have giant papillary conjunctivitis. They also don't absorb as much moisture from your eye, making them a good option for dry eye syndrome.

• Scleral contacts: Scleral contact lenses rest on the white of your eye and vault over the cornea without touching it directly. These contacts are often prescribed for keratoconus and dry eye syndrome.

• Toric lenses: Toric lenses are special lenses designed to treat astigmatism.

• Bi-focal lenses: Bi-focal lenses contain two prescriptions, one for distance and one for closeup vision. They are often prescribed if you have presbyopia and are nearsighted.