There are many different brands and types of contacts lenses available today. With so many options, most people are great candidates for contact lenses.

Types of Soft Contact Lenses:

Disposable:
Most contact lenses used today are disposable. By disposing of the lenses on a regular basis, the risk of complications like eye infections are greatly reduced. This is very important for the health of the eyes. Also it is more comfortable to have a new lens on the eye on a regular basis. Contact lenses are available in daily, 2 weeks, monthly or quarterly replacement schedules. Most lenses today are 2 weeks replacement lenses.

Toric:
Toric soft contact lenses are available to correct for astigmatism. Astigmatism is when the curvature of the front surface of the eye, the cornea, is shaped irregularly. With astigmatism, the cornea is shaped more like a football instead of being perfectly round. In the past, having astigmatism made it difficult to wear contacts and see well out of them. With new technology in contact lenses, most people with astigmatism are now able to comfortably wear contacts that provide good vision.

Continuous Wear:
Several new contacts lenses are now available to wear continuously for one week to one month, depending on the material of the lens. These new lenses allow significantly more oxygen through to the cornea compared to other lenses. This increased oxygen permeability is extremely important when a lens is worn while sleeping. You should not sleep in contact lenses that are not approved for continuous or extended wear.

Monovision:
For patients over age forty-five, focusing up close with contact lenses or glasses often becomes a problem. This condition is called Presbyopia. Monovision contacts can be used to eliminate the need for reading glasses. With monovision contacts, one eye is fit with a contact lens for distance and the other eye is fit with a contact lens for reading. This allows vision at all distances with contact lenses.

Bifocal or Multifocal:
There are several new bifocal and multifocal contacts available for patients who need both a distance correction as well as a near correction. These lenses are designed with both prescriptions incorporated into one lens. Unlike monovision contacts, bifocal and multifocal contact lenses allow each eye to see distance and near together.

Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses:
Rigid gas permeable, or RGP, contact lenses are a great option for some patients. RGP lenses work very well for patients who have significant amounts of astigmatism or irregular corneas. RGP lenses often allow patients to see sharper vision than soft lenses.

Specialty Contact Lenses:
There are several different types of specialty contact lenses available. There are colored contacts which can enhance or change the color of the eyes. We also fit contacts for patients who have certain eye conditions, such as keratoconus, with specialty contact lenses to help improve the vision.