Contact lenses
Exams and fittings for soft, toric, multifocal and hard-to-fit lenses.
Your fitting
A good contact lens fit starts with a thorough eye exam.
The exam
We make sure your prescription is up to date and rule out any existing condition that could interfere with contact lens wear. A contact lens exam includes extra testing to measure the curve of your eye.
Choosing the lens
We find the best-fitting lens for your lifestyle and for the shape and health of your eye.
Trying them on
In most cases you can try lenses on the same day as your exam, and even go home with a few samples before making a final decision.
Follow-up
We follow up the first fitting and change the fit or material if needed. We teach every patient proper lens care, and what can happen when it is skipped, then keep following up over the long term to check your lenses and your eye health.
Lenses we fit
We offer a wide range of contact lenses, including disposable soft lenses, bifocal and multifocal lenses, toric lenses and colored lenses. Whether you wear daily, weekly or monthly disposables or conventional (vial) lenses, we can find a lens that fits your needs.
The contact lens lines we work with include Acuvue, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision and Ciba.
We provide optometric services only. You may buy your lenses and eyewear at the Vision Center where we practice, or from any other provider you choose.
Astigmatism and toric lenses
"I can't wear soft contacts; I have astigmatism." This once-true statement is now a myth.
Toric contact lenses are designed to correct astigmatism and are custom made for the patient's eye. They come in soft or rigid gas permeable (RGP) materials, soft being the more common, and are designed to stay in place on the eye so your vision stays clear. If a soft toric lens keeps rotating, a rigid gas permeable lens may work better.
Toric lenses come in every wearing schedule, from daily disposables to long-term wear, and sometimes in colors. Because they are customized, they tend to cost more and can take more laboratory time than standard lenses.
Bifocal and multifocal lenses
If you are over 40 and find it hard to see up close, you probably have presbyopia, the natural loss of the eye's ability to focus on near objects. If you do not like the look, feel or bother of reading glasses, bifocal and multifocal lenses are available in soft and RGP contact lenses.
Multifocal contacts let you look in any direction, up, down and to the sides, with similar vision. Another option is monovision, which uses your dominant eye for distance and the other eye for near. Your eye doctor will test which approach suits each eye. Both usually take about a week for the eyes and brain to adjust.
Hard-to-fit eyes
Some eyes are harder to fit because of their shape, a condition, or the aftermath of surgery. These need more time and patience, but they need not be a barrier to wearing contacts. You may be a hard-to-fit patient if you have:
- Dry eyes
- Astigmatism
- Giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC)
- Keratoconus
- Pellucid marginal degeneration
- Had LASIK or other refractive surgery
- Presbyopia
- Corneal scarring
Rigid gas permeable lenses help many hard-to-fit patients. They let the eye breathe, resist the protein deposits that build up on soft lenses, and hold moisture under the lens. For keratoconus, RGP lenses can often correct vision when soft lenses or glasses cannot. If you have chronic dry eye, we treat that first, then find the lens and solutions that suit your eyes.
Questions
Aren't all contact lenses the same? Shouldn't I just buy the cheapest ones?
They are not all the same. Contact lens companies keep improving their lenses and introducing new technology. Newer materials let much more oxygen through, which makes them healthier to wear and lets people wear them in comfort for 14 hours or more a day. We recommend these newer materials to most patients, even though they cost a little more, because we think they are better for your eyes in the long run.
Will my contact lens prescription let me buy any brand I want?
Your prescription is for the specific brand of lens that the exam, and Dr. Terry's experience, show is best for your vision and eye health.
Is it safe to wear a contact lens with a small tear in it?
No. A torn lens can damage the delicate outer tissue of your eye and lead to a serious infection. If you tear a lens and have no replacement, come into the office right away and we will provide a lens at no charge that you can wear until your new supply arrives.
Why does a contact lens exam cost more?
We do additional testing to measure the curve of the eye so the lens fits well and feels comfortable, and we check again after you have worn the lenses for a while to make sure there are no complications.
Ask about contact lenses
Tell our assistant what you wear now and what you would like, and the office will set up your fitting.