Contact lenses are an excellent alternative to eyeglasses. Contacts give you a more natural appearance, without needing to worry about eyeglass frames or dirty lenses obscuring your view. They are also great for active people who find eyeglasses to be a hassle.
Unfortunately, not everyone can wear traditional soft lenses. Certain diseases and conditions of the eye can make you hard to fit for contacts. Fortunately, the professionals at Christensen Eye Care can help you find a pair of contacts for your hard to fit eyes.
Conditions That Make You Hard To Fit For Contacts
Several conditions of the eye can make it difficult or impossible to wear traditional soft lenses. These include:
- Dry eye: Dry eye occurs when your eyes do not produce enough tears to keep them lubricated. Soft contacts can dry out your eyes, causing your dry eye symptoms to worsen.
- Keratoconus: This condition occurs when your cornea bulges out into a cone shape. It can be difficult for a traditional lens to fit correctly.
- Presbyopia: As you age, the lens of your eye can lose its elasticity. This can cause your closeup vision to worsen very quickly. If you need glasses to see far, also, traditional contacts will not work for you.
- Giant papillary conjunctivitis: This is a type of conjunctivitis that causes the inside of your lids to become red and itchy. Traditional soft lenses can make the symptoms worse.
- Astigmatism: Astigmatism is a common refractive error characterized by a misshapen cornea.
Hard To Fit Contacts
If you have an issue that can make you hard to fit for contacts, there are a few types of lenses that your eye doctor can prescribe.
- Rigid gas-permeable: These lenses do not lose their shape the way soft lenses do. This makes them great for treating keratoconus. Because protein does not stick to these lenses as easily as it does with soft lenses, they are great for giant papillary conjunctivitis. Finally, because they allow more oxygen to get to the eye, they are great for dry eye syndrome.
- Piggyback lenses: If your doctor prescribes gas permeable lenses, but you cannot get used to them, piggyback lenses are another option. Your doctor can prescribe a soft lens to go under the gas permeable lens, which provides a cushion.
- Scleral contacts: Scleral lenses do not rest on the cornea the way traditional soft lenses do. Instead, they sit on the white of the eye and vault over the cornea. These lenses are great for patients with dry eye, keratoconus, and giant papillary conjunctivitis.
- Toric lenses: Toric lenses are designed to treat astigmatism.
- Bifocal lenses: These lenses contain two prescriptions, one for closeup and one for far away. This makes them great for presbyopia.
- Multifocal lenses: If you cannot get used to bifocal lenses, your doctor can prescribe one lens for distance for one eye and a lens for closeup in the other.
Call Christensen Eye Care Today!
If you are thinking about getting contacts, schedule an appointment with Christensen Eye Care. Our optometrist can fit you for the best pair of lenses for your eyes. To schedule your appointment with our eye doctor in Dodge City, give us a call today.