Believe it or not, most patients can wear contact lenses! Some people have been told they can’t wear contact lenses because they have astigmatism or a high prescription. Although with certain prescriptions, vision might be more limited in contact lenses than glasses, there is almost always an option for wearing lenses. Ask our doctors which contact lenses might be right for you!
Spherical Contact Lenses
Spherical lenses are the simplest type of contact lenses to fit. If you do not need bifocals and do not have a significant amount of astigmatism, these are the lenses for you. Most people that need spherical lenses have excellent vision with their contact lenses, sometimes even better than glasses! We fit lenses from all manufacturers, including Johnson and Johnson, Alcon, Coopervision and Bausch and Lomb. Spherical lenses come in many modalities, including daily disposable, weekly disposable and monthly disposable lenses. Ask us which lenses are best for you based on your prescription, lifestyle and other ocular factors!
Toric Contact Lenses
Toric is the fancy name for astigmatism correcting contact lenses. The difference between a spherical contact lens and toric contact lens is rotation. A spherical lens can spin any direction on the eye and the vision will be the same. A toric lens, although round in shape like a spherical lens, must rotate to the correct position to accurately correct vision. If the lens spins off axis, vision will be compromised. Most people with astigmatism can successfully wear toric contact lenses. Higher amounts of astigmatism might require custom made lenses to most accurately correct vision and rotation. Toric contact lenses are available in daily disposable, weekly disposable, monthly disposable, and quarterly replacement from all of the major manufacturers.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Multifocal contact lenses are designed to simultaneously correct distance and near vision. Unlike bifocal glasses where separate areas of the lens provides distance and near vision, multifocal contact lenses blend focal points to provide focus at variable focal distances. Many patients are successful with multifocal contact lenses, especially with adaptation and reasonable expectations for vision. Multifocal contact lenses are most commonly fit in a daily or monthly disposable mentality.
Monovision Contact Lenses
Monovision is a common alternative to multifocal contact lenses for patients that need bifocal correction. With monovision, one eye is fit with a contact lens focused at distance while the other eye is fit with a contact lens focused at near. Although this may sound unconventional, many patients wear this modality full time and adapt quite well. Monovision contact lenses are fit with the most appropriate spherical or toric contact lens for the patient’s prescription. For patients that need toric correction, monovision is often the preferred method of presbyopic correction over multifocal contact lenses. Ask us which modality is best for your vision demands.