Why You CAN Wear Contact Lenses!
Dr. Sam Schneider • Jun 14, 2020
The odds are in your favor.
We hear it all the time: “I’ve been told I can’t wear contact lenses” or “I wear multifocal glasses, so I don’t think contact lenses are for me” and “I can’t wear contacts because of my astigmatism”. We’ve heard it so much it makes our eyes roll (pun intended). However, the truth is that there is a contact lens for nearly everyone!
So let’s clear a couple of things up:
Multifocal contacts
– soft multifocal contact lenses came out in 1982. No they’re not new. 1982! They have different zones for distance and reading vision, and because they sit on the eye it doesn’t matter where you’re looking, the vision is always clear. If you had some difficulty getting used to multifocal glasses this doesn’t mean you will have the same dilemma with contact lenses. They exist in monthly and daily disposables.
Lenses for astigmatism (aka. toric lenses)
– Keep in mind that astigmatism generally refers to a steep or uneven cornea (the front surface of your eye). Soft lenses that correct for this came out in the late 1970’s. Since then they have evolved to cover a wide range of astigmatism and exist in monthly and daily disposables. In the last few years they have become even MORE comfortable, so if you have previously stopped wearing them due to discomfort now is the time to try again!
Having both multifocal and toric lenses at our disposal means that we can fit MOST people with soft contact lenses.
However, there are a few exceptions where a ‘hard’ lens is required:
Very high astigmatism or an irregular cornea
– sometimes there is too much astigmatism or an unusual shape of the cornea due to injury or surgery. In these cases, a soft lens moves around too much to allow for stable vision. However, a smaller but firmer ‘hard’ contact lens is the best option. These lenses, also known as rigid gas permeable or RGP’s for short, were first invented in 1979. These are actually great lenses and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon! For some people this is the only way they can see clearly even compared to glasses. In more elaborate cases, scleral lenses also may be needed. These lenses actually vault over the cornea and sit on the sclera (white part of the eye)!
So as you can see, contact lenses have most people covered! They also come in a variety of colors, and don’t forget, you’ll never know if you can wear them unless you ask!
Share This Blog
Your world is about to get a whole lot clearer.
Goodbye 2020! Wow, year one done! It's been a heck of a ride, but truthfully, it actually came and went pretty quickly! Everything we had aspired to create finally came to fruition on February 29, 2020 when we first opened our door to the public. All of the planning, designing, researching and anticipation came to a hush as that door swung open to give Monocle its first breath of fresh air. We didn't know who was going to step foot in our practice, but that's half the fun! From that day, we saw new faces as well as familiar ones, and we are beyond thankful for everyone that has graced Monocle with their presence. However, one month later came Covid-19, and with heavy hearts we were forced to close that very same door which we had worked so hard to open.