Most people do not know that contact lenses are considered to be medical devices. If you choose to wear contacts instead of eyeglasses, it’s important for your eye health for you to be properly “fitted” with contacts.
Your Doctors Vision Center optometrist and our well-trained technicians will make sure your contacts are healthy for you. As part of your contact lens examination, we will determine your proper prescription, measure the curvature of the surface of your eyes, and look at the surface of your eyes with a special microscope. We will discuss with you your options and give our recommendations. Once we select the proper contacts, it’s so exciting because usually we have trials for our patients right in the office! If not, we order the proper contacts and it only takes a few days to get them. We then teach you an insertion and removal technique, and instruct you on how to properly care for your contact lenses. If needed, you will be given a case for storage of your contacts and solution to clean them. Since contact lenses sit directly on the eye surface, you must be dedicated to excellent hygienic practices while handling the contacts. You also need to be alert to any issues that may arise during contact lens wear, such as red eyes, discharge from the eyes, or poor vision, in which case we want to see you back in our office right away. Most patients wear contact lenses very successfully! We want to teach you to use them properly right from the beginning.
Have you ever wondered if you, your children or spouse could wear contact lenses? I have patients that have been told in the past they are not good candidates for contacts due to things like astigmatism, bifocal wear, or dry eyes. But now, thanks to vast improvements in technology and materials, we can successfully fit the majority of patients with contacts to provide clear and comfortable vision. Also, parents worry that their children may not take proper care of contacts and could harm their eyes, but now we have disposable contacts that are thrown away after each wear! This option has taken much worry and hassle out of the equation.
There are a lot of reasons to wear contacts. For most people, it’s cosmetically more appealing to see well without full-time eyeglasses. Also, contacts are fantastic for sports and work-outs. Since contacts sit on the eye surface and move with your eye, they provide excellent peripheral vision, which of course is great for all kinds of sports and leisure. Eyeglasses can get in the way while jogging or on the basketball court! There are many examples we could think of where contacts are more convenient than eyeglasses. I just had a patient recently whose glasses fell into the river while he was leaning over his boat trying to pull in a big fish!
Earlier, I briefly mentioned daily disposable contact lenses, and I want to say a few more things about that. They are the newest innovation in contact lens technology. Studies have shown that newer contacts provide the most healthful wear. So from the Doctor perspective, it’s the very best option for our patients. It’s a win-win for everyone. They are healthy and convenient. No worries with solution, cleaning, and storage! Just wash hands, remove and toss. Awesome! This contact lens option has provided peace of mind for fitting our younger patients who these days also have very active schedules.
As great as contacts are, everyone still needs eyeglasses also. Our Optical experts can help with selection of great glasses. With all the options available today, why not give contact lenses a try? Call your Doctors Vision Center for an appointment today or make your appointment online!
Dr. Bevervly Gough
Eye Doctor Reidsville, Scales Street
Doctors Vision Center