Thinking of giving up on contact lenses?

Allergies?

Many allergy medications dry out the eyes making contact lens wear less comfortable during allergy season. If you experience discomfort during allergy season, here are a few good options:

1. Daily disposables: Daily disposable contacts accumulate less allergens throughout the life of the lens than do two week or monthly disposable lenses and consequently are often more comfortable. Because they are more expensive than less frequent replacement lenses, some patients will elect to wear dailies only during allergy season and wear two week or monthly lenses for the remainder of the year. This is a great way to increase comfort and save money.
2. Allergy drops: Use topical allergy drops. Some over-the-counter allergy drops, like Alaway, are just as effective as many prescription drops–yet cost a fraction of the price. Because an allergy is an improper immune response, these drops lower your natural ability to fight infections and thus put you at a slightly higher risk of infection while wearing contacts. Therefore, it is a good idea to put in a drop five minutes before inserting your contact lenses and again after you remove your contacts at night.
3. Combine allergy drops with daily disposables: In more serious cases of allergic discomfort, it may be a good idea to wear both daily disposable lenses in combination with allergy drops.
4. Use prescription drops: In cases of severe allergies in which combining dailies and over-the counter medications is not enough, a topical steroid can be prescribed. These drops are often much more effective in treating allergies than are over-the-counter medications.

Dry eyes?

Over the last decade, there have been many advances in contact lens materials; however, some people still experience discomfort with their two week, or monthly disposable contacts. The longer they are worn, contact lenses accumulate more and more deposits. These deposits often cause symptoms of dryness or discomfort. If that is the case, a daily disposable contact lens may work well. Over the last few years advances in daily disposable contact lenses have allowed people who suffer from dry eyes to continue to wear contacts. Dr. Morais can discuss some strategies to lower cost and increase comfort with your contacts.

Difficulty putting in contacts?

Sometimes patients who are nervous about putting in contacts have a hard time holding their lids wide open enough to insert a soft contact lens. In this case, RGP’s may be a good option. RGP’s are smaller and easier to put in than are soft contacts.

Trouble reading?

Every year from when you are born until you die, you lose a little bit of focusing ability. This natural loss of focusing ability is called presbyopia. Most children can nearly touch their eye and still see their fingerprints; however, as you age you may find that you have to hold things farther and farther away in order to see clearly. Most people notice this happening in their forties. There are several different options, including multifocal or bifocal contacts, for patients who wish to continue wearing contacts through presbyopia.

When can my child start wearing contacts?

Kids of all ages can wear contacts and with proper parental supervision generally do very well taking care of them. However, not all children are good candidates for contact lenses: it is a matter of maturity and motivation. The way your child handles personal hygiene and general responsibility is a fairly good indicator of how well they will care for their contact lenses in the absence of supervision. Furthermore, a child must be very motivated to wear contacts. The diameter of soft contact lenses varies only by fractions of a millimeter; however, children’s eyes are slightly smaller than are adult’s making contact lens insertion slightly more difficult for kids. Though placing a contact lens in the eye feels no different than putting in a drop of water, children tend to be slightly more fearful of touching their eye than are adults. Therefore, motivation is the key. The younger the child, the more motivated they must be to successfully wear contact lenses.

Are contacts good for sports?

Soft contact lenses are a great option for people active in sports. During intense activity, glasses can fall off the face or fog over. Contacts also offer better peripheral vision than glasses. Though RGP’s may offer slightly clearer vision than soft lenses, they are more likely to dislodge. With soft contacts there is almost no chance that they will fall off during sports activities.

Do contacts improve self-esteem?

Sometimes children do not like the way they look with glasses and worry about being teased. If a child is shy and does not want to wear glasses, contact lenses may be a great option for improving self-esteem and social development.