Your eyes are unique, and that means they require careful and dedicated care. A comprehensive contact lens exam isn’t complete without your optometrist conducting a contact lens fitting to get a comfortable and precise fit for your new contacts.
Let’s explore the contact lens fitting process, what to expect, and how it benefits your vision.
Getting the Right Fit
Contact lenses are classified as a medical device, and while proven effective and safe, they are not risk-free and require a precise fit to your eyes. Contact lenses can be a great alternative to prescription glasses and are worn to correct refractive errors such as:
- Myopia (nearsightedness)
- Hyperopia (farsightedness)
- Astigmatism
During your contact lens exam, your optometrist will check your visual acuity to determine how well you see letters and symbols from a distance.
Your optometrist will conduct a comprehensive contact lens exam and fitting to ensure that your eyes’ health and vision correction needs come first. A contact lens fitting works much like a regular eye exam but requires a few extra steps and measurements using innovative technology to get precise measurements of your eyes.
The fitting process also involves assessing the health of the cornea to ensure that you can wear certain contact lenses comfortably.
Along with getting precise measurements and assessments of your corneal health, your contact lens exam and fitting will allow your optometrist to go over proper maintenance and hygiene protocols when it comes to maintaining your contact lenses. You will be given complete instructions for insertion, removal, and care.
Following comprehensive testing, your optometrist will fit you with trial lenses and schedule follow-up appointments to monitor your comfort with your new lenses.
Types of Contact Lenses
When going through a comprehensive contact lens exam and fitting, you may consider what type of contact lens is right for you. Let’s explore some options.
Contact lenses usually fall under 2 main categories, soft contact lenses and rigid gas permeable (RGP). Among these are specialty contact lenses that correct various vision problems.
Toric Contact Lenses
Toric lenses correct vision on the horizontal axis and vertical axis of your eye. Toric lenses contain multiple powers, one vertical and the other horizontal. These different powers mean they must sit precisely on your eye to enable clear vision.
They are available in both the soft and RGP variety.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Multifocal lenses feature 2 distinct lens powers for near and distant vision. These lenses can help correct presbyopia and eliminate the need for reading glasses. Varilux Xclusive lenses are an excellent option for people with presbyopia.
Multifocal contact lenses are available in soft and RGP forms and are available for daily wear or extended overnight wear.
Hybrid Contact Lenses
Hybrid contact lenses have a rigid gas permeable center and are surrounded by a soft outer ring. These lenses combine the comfort of soft contact lenses and the clear vision of RGP lenses. Hybrid contact lenses are an excellent option to help manage keratoconus.
Scleral Contact Lenses
Scleral lenses are larger than traditional contacts and rest on the sclera or white of your eyes. These lenses allow for space over your cornea’s surface for extra breathability.
These lenses can be an excellent option for people with keratoconus, a condition that causes cone-shaped irregular corneas and dry eye syndrome.
Comfortable & Clear Vision
Contact lenses are an excellent option when you want to switch up your look from glasses or just feel more comfortable without glasses. Contacts offer excellent vision correction, but it’s essential to get a precise contact lens fit to ensure your comfort and safety.Book an appointment with your optometrist to get your contact lens exam and fitting done today.
