What to Expect During a Contact Lens Exam
Are you considering getting contact lenses? Before you make the switch, it's important to understand what to expect during a contact lens exam. A contact lens exam is an essential part of eye care and helps ensure a successful fit for your new contacts. At Advanced Optometry of Mission Viejo, our experienced optometrists will provide the necessary testing to ensure your contacts are the perfect fit for you.
What Is a Contact Lens Exam?
A contact lens exam is a comprehensive eye exam that assesses your vision. An optometrist evaluates the health of your eyes to determine the best type of contact lenses for you. For instance, you may need specialty contact lenses if you have irregularly shaped corneas. You may get toric contact lenses if you have astigmatism, which causes blurry vision.
During this evaluation, the doctor will monitor both your vision and corneal health to ensure you get the best possible fit. Your optometrist will also provide instructions on the proper way to insert, remove, and store the contact lenses.
What Is Included in a Contact Lens Exam?
During the contact lens exam, your optometrist will check for any pre-existing conditions or diseases such as glaucoma or cataracts. Some eye conditions may be an issue with wearing contacts. We will also take measurements such as your corneal curvature, pupil size and shape, and intraocular pressure. We will use these measurements to determine the type of lens that would work best for you.
The eye care professional may use a computerized imaging system or hand-held lenses to assess your vision with contact lenses. We will ask questions about any allergies or sensitivities you may have to certain contact lens materials. From there, we will discuss the type of care that is necessary for proper maintenance of your lenses.
How Are Contact Lens Exams Different From Regular Eye Exams?
A contact lens exam is more comprehensive than a regular eye exam because it includes testing to determine the type of contacts that are best suited for your needs. Since contact lenses must fit properly to be comfortable and effective, the measurements taken during this exam will play an important role in determining which type of contacts you should get. In addition, your eye care professional may also discuss lens options and different types of lenses available.
After the Contact Lens Exam
Once the exam is complete, your eye care professional will provide you with instructions on how to insert, remove, and store your contact lenses properly. We will also discuss the frequency of replacement for your lenses as well as any additional care that is necessary. It's important to ask questions and be sure you understand everything before leaving the eye doctor's office. Your optometrist will also recommend the best contact lens solution for cleaning and storing the lenses, so be sure to ask anything you don't understand about that.
What are you contact lens options?
Scleral Lenses
Dr. Grichine is a contact lens expert who specializes in helping patients obtain accurate, comfortable vision through the use of scleral contact lens technology.
Scleral lenses are highly customizable contact lenses that are designed to correct even the most difficult vision. Their unique features maximize hydration and provide clear vision that cannot be matched by other types of corrective devices. These lenses have a larger diameter than regular contact lenses and are fit on the sclera (whites) of your eye, leading to comfortable crisp vision.
For those patients that suffer from dry eye syndrome, Dr. Grichine can specially design these lenses to optimize comfort and provide long-lasting hydration with constant lubrication. Scleral lenses can also correct irregular corneal shapes like keratoconus to provide fine-tuned vision that was previously unavailable in other lens types.
Informative Links Scleral Lens Education Society: https://sclerallens.org
Soft Lenses
There have been huge advancements in material and availability in soft contact lenses. These comfortable lenses are now available in many types of prescriptions, including spherical, toric (astigmatism), and multifocal. Advanced Optometry will work with you to find the best lens to provide clear comfortable vision.
Gas Permeable Lenses
Gas permeable contact lenses were the original lens material when contacts were first introduced. Although not as well-known as soft lenses, they offer the advantages of durability, crisp vision and high oxygen permeability.
Hybrid Lenses
This blend of gas permeable and soft material provides crisp vision with a soft feel. This is a great option for soft lens wearers wanting clearer, more stable vision.
Schedule an Appointment With Us
At Advanced Optometry of Mission Viejo, we are committed to providing our patients with the best possible vision care. We are dedicated to making sure you get the highest quality contact lenses. We also offer comprehensive eye exams, so if you have any symptoms like pain, blurry vision, or watery eyes, call our team today at (949) 770-8505 to learn more or to schedule an appointment.
