Have you been told before that you cannot wear contact lenses? Contact lenses are a terrific alternative to glasses and offer many advantages. By offering more natural vision, they help to reduce peripheral distortions that glasses may create, reduce glare, and promote safer driving at night.
Contact lenses are quite safe and can be very beneficial for children, particularly for those who are self-conscious about wearing them. They can self-confidence, while also allowing children to be involved in activities that may, otherwise, be hindered with glasses. Additionally, studies have shown that contact lenses can help to reduce the progression of myopia (nearsightedness).
Contact lenses can correct myopia, hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism (a condition resulting in blurred vision at all distances), and presbyopia (a condition resulting in poor vision while reading for individuals over 40 years of age). Many patients wear bifocals, progressives, or reading glasses from the drugstore, not knowing that they may be a good fit for contact lenses that may free them from the need to wear glasses. Multifocal or monovision contacts can be help those patients over 40 eliminate the need for reading glasses.
While contact lenses can correct a variety of routine conditions, they can also be prescribed for patients with corneal diseases such as keratoconus, corneal ectasia (a condition resulting in an irregular cornea causing blurred vision), and high levels of astigmatism. In these cases, scleral contact lenses can be prescribed. Scleral lenses can be used with these types of corneal conditions to give the patient a virtually new cornea. Many of these patients cannot achieve proper vision with glasses, and scleral lenses give them the ability to see more clearly.
Studies estimate that 20 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from dry eye syndrome. Many use over the counter or prescription eye drops. Many believe that contact lenses aren’t an option for them. While this may be the case for certain conditions, several soft contact lenses can be used in mild to moderate dry eye with great success. In extreme cases of dry eye, scleral contact lenses can help the patient see better and help relieve the symptoms of dry, watery, or burning eyes,
At Summit Eye Care, we seek to offer the very best in contact lens comfort, affordability, and innovation. Dr. Keith Biggs is a contact lens specialist, trained in the fitting of complicated specialty contact lenses, like scleral lenses.