Contact lenses, when used properly, are very convenient, and with the latest advancements in technology, they are extremely comfortable. Most of the time, you will hardly know you are wearing them, though you will certainly notice how clear and accurate your vision is. Contact lenses are small lenses worn on the surface of the eye, or cornea, to correct vision. Lenses are sometimes worn for cosmetic purposes only. We recommend wearing contact lenses in conjunction with eye glasses. This allows you to best meet your overall lifestyle needs while protecting the integrity of your overall eye health.

We will discuss the option that is best for you. Many patients choose contact lenses for their primary vision correction and glasses as a backup option. Many patients who wear glasses have activities and events where they would rather not wear their glasses and they choose contact lenses for these times.

Contact Lens Types

The types of contact lenses available have exploded in the past few years. There are contact lenses available for almost everyone. Many or our patients were told in the past that they could not wear contacts, or they tried unsuccessfully to wear contact lenses. You owe it to yourself to see what is new. We carry many options, and promise to do our best in selecting contact lenses that you will love wearing. Choose from the following list for a brief look at some of the options available.

Soft lenses are very comfortable and come in a variety of types, depending on the wearer’s needs. Conventional soft lenses are worn during the day, and cleaned and stored at night. Usually once a week the lenses must be cleaned using an enzymatic cleaner, which removes protein deposits. These lenses can last for a year or more if you take good care of them and your prescription stays the same.

These lenses are similar to conventional soft lenses except that they are replaced more frequently. Oftentimes, they are worn for one-month periods and then replaced. Other frequent replacement soft lens types are worn two to three months before they are replaced. Like conventional soft lenses, they have to be cleaned and stored at night and cleaned once a week with an enzymatic cleaner to remove protein deposits.

Disposable soft lenses are much more popular than conventional soft lenses. These lenses are worn for a period of time and then, of course, thrown away. Disposables may be designed to last for one day or up to a couple weeks. These are perfect for many patients who were told they could not wear contact lenses because of allergies or mild dry eye conditions. They have a low cost per lens and are also popular for athletes and hobbyists who do not necessarily want to wear contact lenses every day.

Interested in a new look?  Then tinted lenses might be a good fit!  These soft lenses are available in conventional, disposable, or frequent replacement types. With tinted soft lenses, you can change or enhance your eye color. Even if you do not need corrective lenses, you can use “plano” colored contacts to change your eye color.  It is important to be fitted by an eye doctor for colored contact lenses even if you do not need a prescription; wearing the wrong style can damage your eyeball.

Recent technology has greatly improved bifocal soft lenses. Many patients past their 40s who need bifocals can now enjoy the comfort and benefits of soft contact lenses.  Ask your doctor to see if this would be a good fit for you.

Toric lenses are used to correct astigmatism. Astigmatism is a vision condition where an irregularly shaped cornea affects the vision. In the past, the only options for those with astigmatism were either glasses or hard gas permeable contact lenses. But toric lenses, which are lenses with a special shape, now offer an alternative. There are several types of toric lenses to choose from.

Extended wear lenses, the result of new technology in lens materials, transmit more oxygen to the cornea of the eye. Some of these lens materials can be worn up to 30 days, day and night, without removal. Extended wear lenses can last one week, two weeks, or one month, depending upon the lens material and your doctor’s recommendations.

As the name implies, these lenses are hard and gas permeable. If you’ve been told you cannot wear soft lenses, RGP lenses are often a great alternative. RGP lenses are available in specialized designs to correct just about any vision disorder.

There are a variety of solutions available from many different manufacturers. The important thing to remember is that not every solution is right for every type of contact lens. Some contact lenses require the use of multipurpose solutions, while others require separate solutions for the four steps in contact lens care: disinfecting, cleaning, rinsing, and enzyming. Use only the lens solutions that are recommended by the eye doctor. If you wish to change brands, check with our office first.

If you play sports, you should keep two things in mind related to your vision: protection and precision.

Sports lenses protect the wearer’s eyes. Sports such as tennis, baseball, softball, and racquetball may see ball speeds of 90 mph or more. In baseball alone, there are over 500,000 injuries per year! But that is not the most common cause of sports-related eye injuries. Most eye injuries occur in basketball, where an elbow or a finger jabbed into the eye can cause corneal abrasions, fractured bones, retinal detachments, or even blindness. Polycarbonate lenses are more resistant to impact than glass or plastic and offer protection for 90% of eye injuries. Protective eyewear fits well, features a padded bridge, has prescription or non-prescription lenses, and has deep-grooved eyewires to prevent the lens from falling out.

The specialized lenses also optimize your vision. Depending on your sport, certain lenses are more appropriate than others. Dark, UV protection lenses are great for baseball and other outdoor sports. Golfers can benefit from gray-brown colored lenses which make it easier to outline the course. Even if you do not normally wear glasses, non-prescription sports lenses can benefit your performance. Some people think that lenses prevent the wearer from seeing the action, but many sports lenses have anti-fog, glare reduction, and scratch resistant properties. Some are also designed to maximize peripheral vision.

To reduce exposure to UV rays and their effects, we recommend you invest in a set of sunglasses which can provide at least 98% protection from UVA and UVB rays. While cheaper sunglasses can range from poor to excellent UV protection, our sunwear lines provide top quality protection from the sun. We carry a large selection of styles and colors.

Another product to consider is a pair of polarized sunglasses. Polarized lenses block light reflected from surfaces such as a flat road or smooth water. If you are involved in activities such as water sports, skiing, golfing, biking, fishing, and even driving, polarized lenses can be very helpful in reducing glare and giving a clearer view.

Finally, if you have a youngster in the family, it is never too early to fit them with sunglasses. Children under the age of 20 are the most susceptible to the damaging effects of UV light. One concern of parents is that their child will scratch, break, or lose the sunglasses; we are here to help you make the best choice for your child.

Don’t remember the lessons on eye anatomy from your highschool biology class?  That’s OK—we have provided the following eyeball illustration and terms just to give you a refresher course.  And we won’t give you a pop quiz afterwards…

Select from the following list or scroll to learn more about the symptoms and treatments for:

When rays are focused correctly on the retina of a relaxed eye, the eye is said to be emmetropic. Emmetropia is the medical term for 20/20 vision, vision that needs no corrective lenses, contact lenses, or reading glasses. It occurs because the optical power of the eye can perfectly focus an image to the retina, giving it “perfect” vision.

The opposite of emmetropia is ametropia. With ametropia, the focal point of the eye is some distance in front of or behind the retina.  The following vision conditions are types of ametropia.

Hyperopia is more commonly known as farsightedness. As the name suggests, people with farsightedness are able to focus on objects that are further away, but have difficulty focusing on objects which are very close. This is because the eyeball is shorter than normal, which prevents the crystalline lens in the eye from focusing correctly on the retina. About a fourth of the population is farsighted. Hyperopia can lead to chronic glaucoma, a more serious condition, later in life.

A family history of hyperopia is a risk factor for developing hyperopia. Babies are often born with hyperopia but they can usually outgrow the condition as their eyes develop into the correct shape.

Hyperopia can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses. There are also new surgical procedures that can correct hyperopia.

Myopia is the condition of being nearsighted. When it is an inherited condition, myopia begins early in life.  People with this condition can usually see near objects, but they struggle to see distant objects. Myopia is the opposite of hyperopia, or farsightedness.  In myopia, the anatomy of the eyeball, or globe, is longer than normal. This causes the light to focus in front of the retina, blurring the distance vision.  Myopia is corrected with glasses and contact lenses, or with laser vision correction. Laser vision correction is only recommended for people over 18 years old, when the eye has finished growing to adult size.

To correct the symptoms of myopia with glasses, lenses are used that are thicker on the edges and thinner in the middle. This is known as a concave lens, which can be cosmetically improved in higher prescriptions with a high index lens.

Myopes are also at increased risk for a retinal detachment. The signs and symptoms of a retinal detachment are flashing lights, black floaters, or a curtain over the vision. The risk of detachment is typically less than 3 percent.

Amblyopia defined

Amblyopia is also known as lazy eye. It is a condition, usually found in children, in which one or both eyes do not develop properly. An easy way to explain this is that the "eye-brain" connection does not communicate properly; therefore, the child does not know what clear vision is...or what 20/20 vision is. The eye anatomy itself is normal, but the neural pathway to the brain is not normal, causing decreased vision.

Prevalence of amblyopia

Amblyopia is one of the most common treatable forms of vision impairment in children. Its prevalence is as high as 3-5% in some studies. It is most common in infants and young children and it is imperative that this condition is caught early.  The chance of successful vision restoration goes down dramatically after age 8, therefore the earlier this condition is caught the better chance of successful treatment.

Causes of amblyopia

The causes of amblyopia are varied. A very common condition that can cause amblyopia is strabismus, a misalignment of the eyes. This occurs when one eye has an abnormal turning in or out, causing the brain to stop using the misaligned eye. Other causes may come from a high prescription such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. In the case of these conditions, the eye’s vision is out of focus and so the brain turns off that image. Eye disease processes can also cause amblyopia. One of these conditions is known as a cataract. A cataract is a condition of the lens of the eye developing an opacity so that light cannot pass through. Abnormal retinal conditions and hereditary factors can also cause amblyopia.

Treatment of amblyopia

In order to increase the chances for success, this condition must be detected early. The recommended ages for early eye examination are 6 months old, then 2-3 years of age, and then school age.

Patching, or occlusion therapy

One of the most common treatments for amblyopia is patching, also known as occluding, the better or stronger eye.  This forces the brain to use the weaker eye.  An adhesive eyepatch on the skin or a slip-on patch over glasses can be incorporated for occlusion therapy. A blurring contact lens or dilating eye drop can also be used to occlude the good eye.

Surgery

Cataract, eye muscle, or retinal surgery can be incorporated to help treat the underlying cause of amblyopia in some cases.

Vision therapy

Vision therapy has been proven to be successful in the treatment of amblyopia. Vision therapy, or VT, incorporates a series of vision training procedures that helps improve eye movement control, visual acuity, depth perception, and eye coordination. Vision therapy can be done in an office or home setting.

Signs and symptoms of Amblyopia

The most common way amblyopia is diagnosed is a detection of a decreased red reflex in the child's eye.  A diagnostic instrument used by the optometrist, ophthalmologist, or pediatrician, can pick up a bright reflection in the normal eye and a dim reflection in the amblyopic eye. Upon further examination, the eye is dilated to see if a refractive error of myopia, astigmatism, or hyperopia is the cause.

Another sign of amblyopia is an eye that turns in or out. A symptom that may be indicative for amblyopia is if the child prefers the vision out of one eye.  This can sometimes be detected when occluding the better eye--the child may become fussy and upset because she cannot see out of the lazy eye.

 Citations:
1. Amblyopia informational patient brochure. APOS.org. January 2013

As people get older, usually when they hit their 40s, a condition called presbyopia can set in. Presbyopia is the inability to focus on objects near the eye. One usually notices that it is harder to read or use the computer. Bifocals or reading glasses are a way to remedy this condition.

Presbyopia is a natural consequence of the aging process. There is no known cure, though researchers are constantly looking for one. Even if someone has never had vision problems before, he can still develop presbyopia. It may seem to occur suddenly, but it actually occurs over a long period of time. Symptoms include having to hold things at arm’s length to see them clearly, eye strain, fatigue, and headaches from near work.