Can I Still Wear Contacts If...?

Have you ever been told you can’t wear contact lenses or assumed you wouldn't be a good candidate? Or have you tried contacts in the past only to have to throw in the towel due to discomfort, poor vision, or both? First of all, you aren’t alone! Secondly, all hope isn’t lost yet! Thanks to advances in vision technology, there is an option out there for nearly all contact lens hopefuls regardless of how high your prescription is or how “irregular” your eyes may be due to past surgeries, injuries, or issues such as keratoconus. Curious to find out more? Keep reading for a quick description of some of the contact lens services we offer.

High Prescriptions & Astigmatism

Think your prescription is "too high" for contact lenses? Think again! There are many companies that offer an extended range of powers for those of you who do have a high prescription, including a lot of astigmatism. We are even able to order in a pair of soft contact lenses made specifically for your eyes based off of your unique prescription and corneal curvature. This helps to ensure clear vision without having to sacrifice comfort or vice versa.

Multi-focal & Mono-Vision

It’s inevitable... the more birthdays we have the shorter our arms become (you’ll get that joke if you currently need readers or a bifocal lens). Presbyopia - which is a natural part of the aging process - causes your eyes to gradually lose their ability to see things up close clearly. This doesn’t have to mean that you have to be tied to those readers exclusively, however. There are a number of multi-focal contact lenses that can help you function in your daily tasks without the need for glasses. These lenses contain both a power for distance and a power for near.

Mono-vision is another option for presbyopes and works by setting your dominant eye for distance and your non-dominant eye for up close. This may sound strange, but your brain puts the two images together so that you are able to see at both distances.

Depending on your prescription and your visual needs these two modalities can even sometimes be combined.

Cosmetic Colored Contacts
Have you ever wanted to change your eye color? Whether it’s for every day or just a special occasion we also offer prescription and non-prescription colored contact lenses to help you achieve your #eyecolorgoals.

Prosthetic Lenses

A custom colored contact lens or prosthetic lens can help provide cosmetic, therapeutic, and emotional relief for those who have experienced trauma or congenital defects causing any level of disfigurement to the eye(s). There are several kinds of lenses that can be considered depending on your needs and expectations and range from basic light tinting to a fully customized hand-painted lens that matches the color of the normal eye. In addition to improving cosmetic appearance, lenses can also be used to help to relieve visual disturbances like light sensitivity and double vision.

Traditional Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses (RGPs)

If you have what is considered to be an irregular prescription, or other conditions such as keratoconus, or have had refractive surgery, standard gas permeable lenses might be a good option for you. Rigid gas permeable lenses are - as the name suggests - contacts that are made of a rigid plastic material that still allows for oxygen to be transmitted to the eye. In addition to providing sharper vision than soft lenses, RGPs also offer better eye health. This is because they don’t contain water like soft lenses do and as a result resist deposits and are less likely to harbor bacteria. There is an initial adaptation period to these lenses, however, and most people will find that during this period, these lenses do not provide the same amount of comfort as soft lenses.

Scleral Lenses

If you haven’t checked out our other post about scleral lenses - you are missing out! These lenses are a great option for anyone who wants crisp vision and optimum comfort. Scleral lenses work especially well for those with high amounts of astigmatism, dry eyes, keratoconus, scarring from past injury, infection, or refractive surgery, corneal transplants, and number of other corneal degenerative issues. Like standard sized RGP lenses, scleral lenses are made out of a rigid gas permeable material. However, they are much larger than standard RGPs and are more closer to the size of a soft contact lens. This might sound intimidating, but in fact, when the fit of these lenses is correct you should hardly be able to tell you are wearing anything at all.  Read the full run-down on scleral lenses.

So now that you know you have options, what do you need to do next? Give us a call!  We are more than happy to answer any questions you might have and provide you with detailed information about each option available to you. Once any questions you may have are answered it is as simple as setting up an appointment! You can reach us by phone at 405-341-2062. We look forward to hearing from you!