Types of Contacts

There are various types of contacts for our patients that gives them the freedom to choose how they want their contacts treatment to be. The 4 main types of contacts include:

• Daily Disposables - These are the healthiest and most convenient way to wear contacts. You use a fresh, clean lens every day and dispose of them at the end of the day.

• Reusables - It’s all in the name! These contacts are for daily wear, but instead of disposing of them at the end of the day, you reuse them. Store them in a contact lens case with a clean contact solution until you use them again.

• Astigmatic - Astigmatism affects many patients but isn’t as common as other refractive errors. Astigmatic contact lenses are specially designed to fit the shape of astigmatic eyes. They are available as daily or reusable contacts.

• Multifocal - Farsightedness becomes more common as you age. The lens of your eye becomes less flexible, making it harder to adjust your focus between near and far objects. Multifocal lenses allow you to see both near and far so that activities (such as reading) is easy once more.
   

8 Tips for Putting In Contact Lenses

1. Make sure your hands have been washed thoroughly with soap and water. Contacts can be uncomfortable if they have dust or other small particles on them. If you find that you get dust on your hands when you dry them, try washing your hands, then air-drying them.

2. Use both hands to put in your contacts. You will grab your contact with one finger and place it facing up on a finger on your main hand. Do this in one swift motion so you don’t handle the contact lens too much.

3. Blinking too early makes it hard to put in contacts. If you tend to blink or squeeze your eye shut before putting in your contact lens, you may have to hold open your eyelids. If you need to, use two fingers, on one hand, to hold open the bottom and top eyelid, so you don’t blink.

4. Open your eyes widely. You want your eyelids open as wide as possible. It also helps to look either up or down or to the right or left if you don’t want to stick your contact straight on your pupil.

5. With the finger with the contact on it, touch the white part of your eye without blinking. This may take practice to accomplish.

6. The contact may not stick to the eye immediately. Keep your finger on your eye for a second or two before you remove it so the contact sticks. You may have to slightly slide your finger off of the contact for this to work.

7. Blink a few times after you successfully get the contact lens in your eye to center it.

8. Don’t give up easily! There is a learning curve that is hard at first, but after time, putting in contacts will become very easy.
    

Contacts Options

When it comes to contacts, choosing the right contact lens for you is key. Children and adults alike wear contacts. If kids can do it, so can you! When you have your comprehensive exam and contacts fitting, your doctor will note the size of your eye and how open they are. If you have small eyes, you do have options for contact lenses. If your eyes are small, you can choose a soft contact lens with a smaller diameter. This will make it easier for you to put the contacts in your eyes.

You may have to experiment with putting the contact lens in your eye at different angles and see what way works well for you. If you follow all the tips for putting contacts in and you still struggle, we may recommend that you get “gas permeable contacts”. These are rigid lenses, but ones that are much smaller in diameter and are easier to get into your eyes. Once you master putting in contact lenses, you can always switch to a more breathable soft contact lens.
 

Better Vision Today

If you have blurry vision or have been living with glasses, you have options for better vision! We love our eyeglasses, but we know that contact lenses can give you more freedom at times than glasses can. There is a learning curve with contact lenses, however, we know you can master putting in contacts in no time! To schedule your vision appointment or for help putting in contact lenses, call Optical Masters at (720) 780-8881!