When Regular Contacts Don’t Work, Specialty Lenses May Be the Solution

There are people who cannot wear contacts because their eyes are too dry or their astigmatism is too high. Perhaps you have a condition like keratoconus that makes it tough to fit standard lenses. It is frustrating to hear. You just want a clear vision without glasses fogging up every time you walk indoors.

But here is something many people do not know. Saying no to standard contacts does not mean saying no to all contacts. Specialty contact lenses are built for eyes that do not fit the mold.

What Makes a Lens “Specialty”?

Most contacts are mass-produced for eyes within an average range. But a lot of eyes fall outside that range. Specialty contact lenses are custom-made or specially designed for people with unique eye shapes, high prescriptions, or surface conditions such as severe dry eye. They can help when nothing else has.

Scleral Lenses: Comfort for Difficult Eyes

If you have keratoconus, severe dry eye, or scarring on your cornea, scleral lenses might be your answer. These lenses are larger than standard ones. Instead of sitting on your cornea, they vault right over it and rest gently on the white part of your eye.

A small reservoir of saline gets trapped between the lens and your eye. That fluid layer keeps your eye surface bathed in moisture all day long. It also smooths out any bumps or irregular shapes on your cornea. For some people, this is the only way to get sharp, comfortable vision.

RGP Lenses: Crisp Vision for Irregular Corneas

Rigid gas-permeable lenses, or RGPs, are smaller and made from a firm gas-permeable plastic. Unlike soft lenses that drape over the eye and mimic its shape, RGPs hold their form. They create a smooth new front surface for your eye, which corrects irregular astigmatism and other shape problems.

They take a little time to get used to, but the clarity they offer is hard to beat. Many people with keratoconus or high prescriptions find them life-changing.

Hybrid Lenses: The Best of Both Worlds

Some people love the sharpness of an RGP lens but cannot stand the feel of hard plastic on their eye. That is where hybrid lenses come in. The center is a rigid lens that gives you crisp vision. The outer edge is a soft skirt that cushions the lens and keeps it comfortable.

Hybrid lenses work well for mild to moderate keratoconus and for people who simply want sharp vision without sacrificing comfort.

Toric Lenses: Built for Astigmatism

If you have astigmatism, your cornea takes on a rugby-ball shape rather than a soccer-ball shape. Standard soft lenses can rotate and cause blurring of your vision. Toric lenses are weighted to stay put. They have two different powers built into one lens to match the different curves of your eye. They come in soft, RGP, and even scleral versions.

Multifocal Lenses: Seeing Near and Far

If you are in your forties, then you must have noticed that reading up close is getting harder. That change is called presbyopia. Multifocal lenses solve this by combining near, middle, and distance vision in a single lens. No flipping between glasses. No squinting. Available in soft and hard lens materials.

You Do Have Options

If regular contacts have not worked for you, do not give up. A good eye doctor who fits specialty contact lenses can look at the shape of your eye, measure your prescription, and find a lens that actually fits your life.

For more on specialty lenses, visit Texas State Optical. Our office is in Santa Fe, Texas. Call (409) 231-6800 to book an appointment today.

https://www.regionaleyecenter.com/specialty-contact-lenses-solutions-for-unique-vision-needs/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/contact-lenses/overview/ovc-20518723