| Dr. John Nguyen is an Optometrist and has answered some common questions that Bizymoms visitors have about Contact Lens Exam.
Q. What’s involved in a Contact Lens Exam?
A. A contact lens exam consists of a series of tests to determine the best contact lens for a patient. The tests are composed of 3 parts: refraction, keratometry, and determination of iris diameter. Refraction is the test where we determine a patient’s prescription. Keratometry is a process where we access the curvature of the cornea. And lastly we measure the iris diameter in order to determine the appropriate contact lens size for the patient. In addition, we evaluate the patient’s overall ocular health, especially the tear film. For example, patients who work in an office typesetting, commonly have a poor tear film, causing dry eyes. In this situation, we would prescribe a contact lens designed specifically for dry eyes.
Q. What’s involved in a Contact Lens Fitting?
A. After determining the patient’s prescription, curvature of the cornea, and the iris diameter, we discuss the patient’s needs for wearing the contact lenses. The patient tells us how often they would like to wear their contact lenses, how many hours per day, and the frequency that they would like to dispose of their lenses. Based on this information, we proceed to fit the patient with a pair of contact lenses that would fulfill their needs. We then assess the vision and fit of the contact lens on the patient’s eyes. If the patient’s vision is good, and the contact lens fit well, we have the patient try the lenses for 1 week, then have them return for a follow-up. The contact lens prescription is finalized at the follow-up visit.
Q. Why is a yearly contact lens exam important?
A. When a patient wears glasses, the glasses are worn on the nose. When a patient wears contact lenses, the lenses are placed directly onto the eye. As such, a yearly contact lens examination is important for accessing the health and condition of the eyes. Since the contact lens is placed onto the eye, we must make sure that the eyes are free of abrasions and infectious disease. Many times a patient would report to us they see well and feel comfortable with their contact lenses. However, upon examination, we find that the patient has lost some vision, or maybe suffering from an eye infection. Unfortunately, we often would diagnosis a very harmful infection that the patient was unaware of. This is why a contact lens prescription is set to expire each year.
Q. Can children wear contact lenses?
A. Children can wear contact lenses. We generally base the decision on the maturity level of the child. In general, the age of 8 is the earliest we would recommend children wear contacts. Regardless of age, it is pivotal for the parents to be involved and oversee that their child is obeying all the safety rules, i.e. hand washing and proper contact lens care and maintenance.
Q. What is the difference between soft and hard contact lenses?
A. There are 3 primary differences between soft and hard lenses.
- Comfort – Soft lenses are more comfortable than hard lenses. Patients may feel a mild irritation when they initially wear soft lenses. They would feel a more severe foreign body sensation (like a pebble) with hard lenses. However, some patients would become accustomed to the discomfort of the hard lenses and prefer it to soft lenses because of the next two differences.
- Oxygen permeability – Rigid Gas Permeable hard lenses supply more oxygen to the eyes than soft lenses. Higher oxygen transmission results in healthier eyes.
- Clarity – hard lenses are optically superior to soft lenses. Patients have noticeably clearer vision thru hard lenses compared to soft lenses. This is especially true in patients who have mild to moderate amounts of astigmatism.
Q. Why shouldn’t I wear my two-week disposable lenses longer?
A. Different contact lens brands are made of different materials. Each material has been researched to stay effective for specific amounts of time. When considering the 2-week disposable lens, the lens starts to break down after 2 weeks. Once the lens breaks down, visual clarity is worse and the lens is more susceptible to accumulating protein deposits. These nasty protein deposits are the breeding ground for bacteria, and secondary eye infections.
Q. Can I safely wear extended-wear contact lenses overnight?
A. Extended wear contact lenses are FDA approved for overnight wear. However, not every patient is a candidate for overnight wear. The material used for extended wear contact lenses is silicon hydrogel. This material is more "breathable" than the material used for standard soft contact lenses. We take every precaution when fitting our patients with these lenses to prevent possible ill effects. We closely monitor the patient, weekly, for 4 weeks. This way, if an infection was to occur, we can treat it right away. If the patient is not compatible with the lens, we would refit with an everyday wear, standard contact lens.
Q. How can we contact Dr. Nguyen if we have further questions?
Dr Nguyen can be contacted at his office:
Caring Eyes Optometry
1912 W. Commonwealth Ave #D
Fullerton, CA 92833
714-526-1513
ceoptometry@yahoo.com
www.facebook.com/caringeyes
Our website is www.caringeyesoptometry.com |
