Contact lens examinations are not a general part of a well-vision exam, but can be completed in the same visit as a routine. If a patient has an up-to-date well-vision examination within the last six months, they may return for a standalone contact lens exam.
Contacts & Specialty Lenses
Contact Lenses
New Contact Lens Wearers
After a thorough comprehensive examination, a prescription can be determined by your doctor. Vision, comfort, and fit quality are all considered in the pursuit of the best lens fit for you. Before coming in, consider how many days a week you intend to wear them, or for what purpose. This may determine the best type of lens, such as a daily or monthly, for your lifestyle. After the examination, your doctor and technician will teach you how to insert and remove the lenses safely, how to care for the lenses, and how to care for your eyes with healthy contact lens habits.
After finishing the exam, if you have successfully demonstrated insertion and removal of the lenses, you will be sent home to try out your new lenses! A no-charge follow-up will be scheduled one week later to check in on your progress, and if they are a good fit, the prescription would be finalized, allowing you to place an order for a supply of contact lenses.
Current Contact Lens Wearers
The focus of your exam will be checking for prescription changes, examining the surface of your eye, and making sure the lens you’re wearing is the best choice for your comfort and lifestyle.
If the lens you’ve been wearing is no longer working well, our doctors will work with you to determine some better options before ultimately refitting you with a new lens.
Common Contact Lenses
Soft lenses are generally considered to be the most comfortable and “breathable” option. There are different types of soft contacts to suit a variety of needs and lifestyles, including lenses you switch out monthly, bi-weekly, and daily.
Toric lenses correct for astigmatism. Unlike spherical lenses, which have one uniform power throughout, toric lenses have differing powers in different sections of the lens to uniquely match what your eye needs.
Multifocal lenses can be very useful for patients over the age of 40 who have developed issues with their near vision but also need correction for their distance vision. This type of lens simultaneously corrects both nearsightedness and farsightedness.
Specialty Contact Lenses
Sometimes, normal contact lenses just don’t cut it.
Time and time again, patients are rejected from common soft contact lens fitting or laser procedures such as LASIK or PRK due to issues such as uniquely high prescriptions and/or astigmatism, irregular corneal shapes, corneal disease, or severe dryness.
In other cases, some parents may find their children rapidly becoming nearsighted. Many patients perceive there are not many options in correcting their unique visual issues.
CFV is passionate about empowering our patients in finding the best specialty lens options available to treat their unique visual conditions and concerns.
Utilizing state-of-the-art technology, including corneal topography, and custom-fitted by our specialty lens experts, here are some the specialty lens options we offer:
Scleral lenses
They may be the largest of the specialty lenses, but they are often the most comfortable. Scleral lenses contain a protective reservoir of tears that, combined with the superior optics of this hard lens, can account for many corneal irregularities.
SOME CONDITIONS SCLERAL LENSES MAY BE IDEAL FOR ARE:
High prescriptions
High astigmatism
Irregular corneas:
- Keratoconus
- Pellucid marginal degeneration
- Some types of corneal scarring
Post-surgical irregular corneas:
- LASIK/PRK induced ectasia
- RK (Radial Keratectomy)
- PKP/Corneal Transplant (Penetrating Keratoplasty)
Severe dry eye
Severe ocular allergies
Aphakia
Neurotrophic Keratitis
Burn and chemical injuries
Graft vs. Host Disease
SJS (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome)
Ortho-K (Orthokeratology)
This is a hard lens worn overnight while sleeping that reshapes your cornea and is removed when you wake.
In another sense, Ortho-K is to your vision as what retainers are to your teeth. When worn through the night, they mold your cornea to an ideal shape in order to maximize daytime vision.
ORTHO-K HAS A NUMBER OF BENEFITS:
Freedom from contact lens or glasses wear during the day.
Myopia control, or slowing the progression of nearsightedness in children.
Can be prescribed at any age.
Reversible and free from risks of refractive surgery.
Multifocal Soft Lenses
A soft lens aimed to help those who are getting “less young”, have difficulties seeing up close, and may want to break away from wearing reading glasses all of the time. Multifocal lenses are aimed at reducing, or even sometimes eliminating, dependence on reading glasses in your day-to-day life. Ideal for the on-the-go lifestyle and outdoorsy types who would rather forego readers on their day out.
SOME BENEFITS INCLUDE:
Comfortable option for those over 40 with near vision problems.
Available for astigmatism.
Improves near vision, reducing the need for reading glasses.
Myopia control, or slowing the progression of nearsightedness in children. Item description
Hybrid Lenses
The best of both worlds.
Combining the comfort of soft contact lenses with the superior optics of a rigid gas permeable hard lens, hybrid lenses are a great option when adaptation to a standard RGP (hard) lens is difficult.
There is a lot of overlap in the conditions of use of a hybrid lens compared to a scleral lens.
SOME BENEFITS INCLUDE:
Multifocal options
Ideal for patients with astigmatism and presbyopia
Better, more consistent vision than soft lenses
Easy to maintain
Most patients are good candidates
Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Lenses
Sometimes referred to as “hard lenses”, RGPs offer superior optics compared to that of soft lenses, compensating for many issues ranging from prescription, astigmatism, to corneal irregularities.
SOME CONDITIONS RGPS ARE GREAT FOR:
High prescriptions
High astigmatism
Keratoconus
Corneal scarring
Post-surgical corneas
Great multifocal options for those over 40
