Contact Lenses
Contact lenses can provide better visual acuity than glasses. Not to mention, contact lenses move with your eyes, which means you’ll have your full range of vision while you are wearing them rather than just straight ahead vision.
Types of Contacts
When you go in for your contact lens exam, you’ll have a choice of lens types, including soft, hard, and hybrid.
Soft Contacts
The majority of individuals choose soft contacts because of their comfort and lack of an adjustment period. These lenses are made from a flexible material. Soft contacts can be used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and mild to moderate astigmatisms. Individuals who need multifocal lenses may also be able to get their prescription in soft contacts. If you have a severe astigmatism, a toric lens may be needed, which is a type of soft contact that is weighted on one end to prevent rotation.
Hard Contacts
Hard contacts are also known as gas permeable lenses. These lenses are rigid and can offer better visual clarity for individuals with severe nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatisms, as well as individuals who need multifocal lenses. These lenses are also recommended for individuals with severely misshapen corneas. Hard contacts can require up to a two-week adjustment period before they become completely comfortable.
Hybrid Contacts
Hybrid contacts are a combination of soft and hard lenses. These contacts have a hard center surrounded by a soft ring. These lenses can also be used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatisms, and presbyopia, as well as for near, intermediate, and distant vision. Hybrid contacts are more comfortable than hard contacts and may offer improved visual clarity over soft contacts for some people.
Contact Lens Exams with Dr. Nathan Anderson
Contact lens exams are slightly more involved than exams for glasses. This is because they require two appointments, including one to determine your prescription and a second to make sure your lenses fit correctly and provide you with the desired vision correction.
First Contact Lens Appointment
During your first contact lens exam, Dr. Anderson will test your visual acuity using an eye chart. Next, various lenses will be placed in front of your eyes, and you will be asked if you can see better or worse between a set of lenses. As the test progresses, you should notice that your vision becomes clearer.
Next, several sample lenses will be tested in your eyes to determine the correct fit. Once the fit has been determined, your contact lens prescription will be written and your new contacts ordered. If you also need glasses, a prescription for glasses can be written at the same time as your contact lens prescription and ordered.
Second Contact Lens Exam Appointment
Once your contact lenses arrive at our San Diego office, a second appointment will be scheduled. During this appointment, the fit of your lenses will be tested to ensure they are comfortable and do not rotate on your eye, which can lead to temporary blurriness. You will again be asked to read the eye chart. This determines if your new contacts lenses are providing you with the amount of vision correction you need. If the fit of your lenses and visual acuity is good, you can go home and enjoy your new contacts. If the fit is uncomfortable or the amount of vision correction isn’t ideal, a new prescription will be written and another set of contacts will be ordered.
To schedule an exam with our Dr. Anderson, give us a call today 800-462-8749.