Specialty contact lenses are designed for patients with corneal conditions or other eye issues for which conventional contacts are ineffective.
Specialty contact lenses are different from regular contact lenses. Talking with your eye doctor about the proper use and care of these lenses is ideal. Your eye doctor will walk you through the steps on proper insertion, removal, and care. It is important to remember this information because specialty lenses are more expensive than regular lenses. You must take the time to learn them so that you can maximize your investment.
Inserting specialty lenses is more complicated than inserting regular lenses. One example is inserting scleral lenses. You must fill these lenses with saline solution first before putting them on. This important step provides a solution vault between your lens and cornea. The vault is necessary for eye health, vision correction, and comfort. Fill them completely to prevent bubbles from forming when you insert the lenses. The bubbles might obstruct your vision or cause pain. Click to Watch Video
It is ideal to review specialty lens wear and care with your eye doctor. You can also read the instructions that come with the contact lenses. Consider the suggestions for cleaning products for your lenses. You should always remember any tools that can help put in, remove, and store your specialty lenses. Using these tools can prevent damage to the lens.
Remember that your specialty lenses are not interchangeable. Your eye doctor will custom-fit each lens to each eye. There is often a slight difference in lens fit for each eye. You must remove and insert your lenses in a set order each day. This can prevent mixing the lenses up. The right lens may come with a mark so you can see the difference between the right and left contacts.
Clean and disinfect the contact lenses before you put them back in your eyes. Many types of cleansing systems are available. But the product you use depends on the type of specialty contacts that you have. Your choice of product depends on whether your eyes form protein deposits or you have allergies. Your eye doctor can guide you in choosing the correct cleaning solution. Proper cleaning and storage can prevent harmful eye infections.
You must always disinfect your contact lenses first before wearing them again. Keep your eye checkup appointments. Doing so will ensure your contact lenses fit. If you have single-use specialty contact lenses, you should not sleep while you have them on.
Knowing how to care for and clean your specialty contact lenses can help you maximize their use.
RGP lenses are made of firm, oxygen-permeable material and have several advantages over traditional soft contact lenses. It may appear that “soft” is the natural choice for something that will come into contact with your eye, but this isn’t always the case.
RGP lenses were the first type of lenses prescribed to patients suffering from conditions such as keratoconus. They are also used for higher prescriptions and greater amounts of astigmatism.
RGP lenses are oxygen-permeable, allowing air to pass through and allowing your eyes to “breathe.” Because the materials used to make these lenses allow more oxygen to pass through, they provide a better oxygen supply.
Furthermore, because they are smaller than soft lenses and thus cover less of the surface of the eye, they allow moisture and oxygen to circulate beneath the lens, making them a good option for people suffering from Dry Eye Disease.
Scleral contact lenses are larger in diameter than traditional contacts, but instead of sitting directly on the surface of the eye, they vault over it, leaving a gap between the cornea and the lens.
Scleral lenses are an effective solution for a variety of issues that make wearing regular contact lenses impractical or impossible.
The space allows patients with corneal abnormalities such as keratoconus or surgical scarring to wear contact lenses. It also serves as a reservoir for tear film, keeping it on the surface of the eyes for longer and alleviating dry eye symptoms.
