The Comprehensive Guide to Contact Lenses: Ensuring Comfort and Vision Clarity
Contact lenses are a popular and effective alternative to glasses, offering convenience and aesthetic appeal. This comprehensive guide will explore various aspects of contact lenses, their types, benefits, and crucial considerations like lens fitting and purchasing options. Our Calgary Optometrists can help you learn more and ensure you love the lenses you wear. Visit our Eye Clinic in Southcentre Mall for your next contact lens fitting!
Contact Lenses in Canada
Contact lenses are thin, curved lenses placed directly on the surface of the eye to correct vision. They come in various types to suit different vision needs and lifestyles. In Canada, contact lenses are widely used and regulated to ensure safety and quality. Users have access to a broad range of brands and types, including specialty lenses for conditions like astigmatism or dry eyes.
Types of Contact Lenses
Daily Contact Lenses: These are designed for one-day use, offering convenience as there’s no need for cleaning and storage. (Popular brands include Daily Total One, Precision, Myday, Clarity One Day, Acuvue Oasys, and Acuvue Oasys Max)
Monthly Contact Lenses: Monthly lenses require regular cleaning but are more cost-effective than daily disposables. (Popular brands include Air Optix, Total Thirty, Biofinity, and Acuvue Vita)
Coloured Contact Lenses: Coloured lenses can enhance or change your eye colour, available in both prescription and non-prescription forms. Learn more about coloured contact lenses here.
Contact Lenses for Astigmatism: Specially designed lenses, like toric lenses, correct astigmatism by offering different refractive powers.
Multifocal Contact Lenses: These lenses help those with presbyopia by providing multiple focal points to see clearly at varying distances. These are often a great option for patients over 40 that want freedom from glasses and wear progressives or bifocals.
Transition Contact Lenses: These advanced lenses provide light-adjusting capabilities. They darken when exposed to sunlight due to the lenses activating when exposed to UV light.
Scleral Lenses: Larger in diameter, these lenses cover a larger part of the eye and are often used for severe dry eyes or irregular corneas. These lenses are also a great option for patients with large prescriptions that want to get vision superior to their glasses. Learn more about scleral lenses here.
Rigid Gas Permeable lenses: Durable, oxygen-permeable contact lenses that provide clear, consistent vision. They are particularly effective for high prescriptions and astigmatism, offering superior visual clarity and eye health benefits due to their breathability. Learn more about rigid gas permeable lenses here.
Orthokeratology: Temporarily corrects refractive errors like myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, allowing for clear daytime vision without glasses or contact lenses. Ortho-K is particularly beneficial for myopia control in children and offers a convenient, reversible alternative to permanent refractive surgery. Learn more about orthokeratology here.
The Importance of a Contact Lens Fitting
A professional contact lens fitting is crucial. This process ensures that lenses are comfortable, provide optimal vision, and do not harm the eye. An ill-fitting lens can cause discomfort, blurred vision, or even eye damage. Finding the best Optometrist can be a challenge, but have comfort in the thought that all licensed Calgary Optometrists will be trained in this field and can provide you with the care you need.
Buying Contact Lenses: Clinic vs. Online
Purchasing contact lenses from our clinic can be more cost-effective than buying them online. Our clinic offers competitive pricing, and you benefit from professional advice and fitting services, ensuring you get the best lenses for your eyes. While buying contact lenses online in Canada is convenient, it's important to have a current and valid prescription. Online retailers offer a wide range of lenses, including popular brands like Air Optix, Biotrue, and Hubble. Our Eye Clinic in Southcentre Mall also offers online purchasing options if that is more convenient.
Contact Lenses Prescription
A contact lens prescription includes specific information about the lens power needed to correct your vision, the lens curvature, diameter, and brand. Because it includes all that information, each contact lens prescription is slightly different from one another. It’s important to keep in mind that the contact lens prescription doesn’t always match the glasses prescription. It depends on a multitude of factors such as the severity.
How to Put In Contact Lenses
Putting in contact lenses can be daunting for new users. It involves cleaning your hands thoroughly, placing the lens on your fingertip, and gently placing it on your eye while holding your eyelids open. All our contact lens fittings come with a free contact lens teach so you can rest assured that you will learn from an expert technician the best techniques for inserting and removing contact lenses. They will also teach you the things you can and can’t do with them to stay safe.
Specialized Contact Lenses
Contact Lenses for Dry Eyes: Lenses like Dailies Total 1 are designed to provide extra hydration for those with dry eyes.
Contact Lenses for Halloween: Special effect lenses for occasions like Halloween are popular but should be used with caution and proper fitting.
Korean Contact Lenses: These cosmetic lenses, known for creating a doll-eye effect, have become popular worldwide.
Caring for Contact Lenses
Proper lens care is crucial. This includes regular cleaning, using appropriate solutions, and replacing lenses as recommended. Never sleep in lenses not designed for overnight wear, as this increases the risk of eye infections. Make sure to always follow the instructions your Optometrist or eye clinic provided. Learn more about contact lens solutions here.
Dealing with Common Issues
Contact Lens Stuck to Eyeball: This can occur if the lens dries out. Use lubricating drops to re-hydrate the lens before attempting to remove it.
Contact Lenses Lost in Eye: A lens cannot get lost behind the eye, but it can shift. If this happens, close your eye and gently massage the lid to move the lens back into place.
Conclusion
Contact lenses offer a fantastic alternative to glasses, providing flexibility and aesthetic appeal. Whether you prefer daily disposables, coloured lenses, or need specialty lenses for conditions like astigmatism, there’s a contact lens for you. Remember, the key to successful contact lens use is a proper fitting, regular eye exams, and good lens care. By choosing our clinic for your contact lens needs, you benefit from professional guidance, quality lenses, and cost-effective solutions.
