Contact lenses are not an easy solution for every person suffering with vision problems. Some eye conditions make wearing contacts a difficult proposition, which is where hard to fit contacts come in.
Just because you may have an eye condition, that doesn’t necessarily rule out wearing contact lenses altogether. It just means patients need to discuss options with their eye care provider and obtain specialized hard to fit contacts for their specific vision problems.
Why do some people need hard to fit contacts?
Finding contact lenses that fit and wearing contact lenses in general can be made more challenging when these conditions affect your eyes:
- Astigmatism: Astigmatism develops when the front of the eye curves into a bulge or oval shape. It causes blurred vision and can be difficult to correct because regular contacts cannot account for the bulging.
- Dry Eyes: When eyes become excessively dry, it leads to irritation, burning, redness and blurred vision. Contact lenses can exacerbate these conditions by making it feel like a foreign object is stuck in your eye.
- GPC: This form of conjunctivitis is caused by inflammation on the inner surface of the eyelid. Protein buildup on contact lenses can make this condition worse.
- Keratoconus: This is an uncommon condition that causes major discomfort when wearing contacts. Keratoconus happens when the cornea becomes thinner and allows the eye to bulge forward. The bulge forms into a cone shape.
- Presbyopia: Eyes tend to have a tougher time focusing on close objects as they age. This condition is known as presbyopia. It typically affects people aged 40 or older.
What are some hard to fit contact options?
Wearing contacts is not impossible if you suffer from one of the above conditions. However, you do need to meet with an eye care professional to get prescribed contact lenses that are tailored to deal with your specific vision condition.
Gas Permeable Lenses
Gas permeable lenses are a good solution for patients who suffer from GPC or Keratoconus.
A GP lens will limit protein deposits from accumulating which will reduce GPC symptoms.
It’s also effective in containing corneal bulging and relieving pressure on the tissue for a Keratoconus sufferer.
Toric Lenses
Toric lenses are useful for correcting astigmatism. Since the lens needs to align with the bulge it is correcting, toric lenses must not rotate in order to fit on the eye.
They are typically custom made to correct a specific astigmatism. For that reason, this type of lens takes longer to make and costs more than a traditional contact lens.
Bifocal and Multifocal Lenses
Bifocal and multifocal lenses can help remedy presbyopia. Monovision lenses are another option for presbyopia. This type of lenses can have one fitted for distance vision and the other for seeing close objects.
Medicated Eye Drop
Medicated eye drops can be an effective solution for dealing with dry eyes. They will lubricate eyes enough to make contact lenses more bearable, although a punctal occlusion also must be done to plug the ducts in some extreme cases.
GPC symptoms can also be lessened through medicated eye drops. They flush out protein deposits and reduce inflammation.
Schedule an Appointment
If you are a Chicago resident and have any of these symptoms or suspect that you may be suffering from one of the mentioned conditions, you need to see our optometrists in Chicago immediately.
Contact Eye Society at (312) 640-2405 (Streeterville) or (312) 631-3247 (Loop) to find out how our eye doctors can further assist you or to make an appointment.
“I am seeing detail like I never thought possible“
Very friendly staff, great service and good selection of frames from a wide variety of and designers. They also accept VSP.
Most important, though is this: I’ve had prescription lenses (glasses and contacts) for about 5 years now, and although my corrective lenses have always helped, I’ve never had a prescription that was even CLOSE to how accurate my new lenses are. I am seeing detail like I never thought possible.
I went in for an exam, contact fitting and to purchase a new set of frames and lenses. They didn’t have samples of my exact prescription contacts, but were happy to order me more samples before I needed to commit to purchasing any. Both the new samples and the frames were ready less than a week after my initial appointment.
– Ari Borchew, Prescription Lens Patient