Contact Lenses

Sandy checking a patient's vision. "Which is better, one or two?"

Millions of people in the United States have chosen to use contact lenses to correct their vision. Some of the reasons that people prefer contact lenses over eyeglasses include an active lifestyle, an improved appearance, and discomfort of eyeglass frames.

Contact lenses have many advantages for individuals who give proper care to their eyes and lenses. When people first try soft lenses, they are usually impressed with the level of comfort.

A contact lens is a curved plastic disk that fits on a patient's tear film. The contact lens covers the cornea, correcting the vision of people who are nearsighted or farsighted. Contact lenses are also available to individuals who have astigmatism or need bifocals. Patients may choose from many different types of contacts:

Gas Permeable

A Gas Permeable lens is a rigid plastic lens that allows oxygen to reach the eye. Many people feel their vision is clearer with this lens than with other types of contacts. Patients are attracted to gas permeable lenses because they are durable, lasting for years. However, a rigid gas permeable lens will need to be replaced sooner than a Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) lens.

Soft - Daily Wear

The Soft-Daily wear lens is the most popular lens in the United States. These conventional soft lenses are made of a flexible plastic through which oxygen can easily pass. Although patients may find daily wear contacts to be more comfortable they must clean the lenses carefully every day. The average life of a daily wear lens is about one year.

Extended Wear

Extended Wear lenses are available to individuals who may need to sleep with contact lenses in their eyes. The extended wear lens is made of a flexible plastic, silicone hydragel, which allows a greater amount of oxygen to reach the eyes. The FDA requires that extended wear contact lenses be worn no longer than thirty days. Patients can use extended wear contacts from one to thirty days depending on how the doctor at Premier Eye Care Group prescribes the lenses.

Multi-Packaged

Multi-Packaged contact lenses are either "disposable" or "frequently replaced" contacts. Disposables are soft lenses that are worn once and then discarded. Disposable lenses can be more expensive than daily wear contacts depending on the frequency of replacement. Frequently replaced lenses are worn one week to three months and are often less expensive than conventional contacts because there are fewer contact lens solutions needed to properly care for the lenses. Individuals with multi-packaged contact lenses typically spend less time cleaning their contacts than people with conventional lenses.

PMMA

A PMMA lens is a small contact lens made from a durable plastic. It became popular during the 1960's. This lens is not usually recommended to patients because of its hard plastic that does not allow oxygen to reach the eye where it covers the cornea. There are some patients who have used PMMA lenses for many years and appreciate the durability and lower cost.

Premier Eye Care Group has several eye doctors who specialize in fitting contact lenses. Follow-up appointments are included in "contact lens fitting fee." The price for one's contact lens is separate from the fitting fee. Many contact lenses are available in colors or tints, especially in rigid gas permeable lenses.

Proper cleaning of lenses is important to the health of your eyes.

If a colored lens is desired, the patient should tell their eye doctor early in the fitting because not all contact lenses are available in colors. Please call any of our offices to purchase contact lenses. Patients must have a recent contact lens prescription (one year or less) in their chart for our technicians to correctly fill a contact lens order.