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Contact Lens Assessment
Before booking in for a contact lens assessment, it is important to have an up-to-date eye examination to check the health of the eyes and to measure the prescription of your eyes so that the contact lens power can be selected. The aim of a contact lens assessment is to examine:
- the shape & size of the eye surface
- the tear chemistry
- the front of the eye with a special ‘slit-lamp’ microscope
We then discuss and trial the best lenses suitable for you for comfort, vision and health. Choosing the best contact lens for you involves:
- Practitioner putting contact lenses in the eye
- Lenses being checked with the slit-lamp microscope to ensure a comfortable fit
- Vision in the lenses being optimised by confirming the correct lens power
After the initial assessment, we will arrange an appointment for a contact insertion & removal teach, you will also be provided with instructions on lens wear and care, including a list of Do’s and Dont’s of lens wear. You will then be allowed to take the contact lenses away for a short trial period.
After your trial period we will carry out a Contact Lens Aftercare, where we will monitor your progress, vision, lens design and eye health. At the end of the aftercare you can decide whether you would like to go ahead and begin your contact lens routine.
Assessment Fees
The contact lens assessment fee is £40
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Daily Disposable Contact Lenses
There’s a lot of upside to getting daily contact lenses:
- You never have to clean them – Forget about the nightly cleaning routine or your parade of solution bottles. At the end of a long day, just throw them out and go to bed.
- Dailies feature the easiest easy-to-remember wear schedule – No more calendar reminders about replacing your contact lenses. Take them out at night, and get a fresh pair every morning.
- Daily disposable contact lenses save time – In addition to cutting out daily cleaning time, you can carry spare pairs that save you trips home.
- They may help with eye allergies – With less time for deposits to build up, daily contact lenses give allergies less of a chance to flare. Also, a fresh, smooth lens surface every day is gentler on irritated eyes.
- Great with teenagers! How many parents wish they could say that? With all that’s going on from school to sport to social lives, teenagers are apt to forget or ignore cleaning and changing contact lenses. While neglecting this part of contact lens care can pose risks to their eyes, dailies make cleaning unnecessary and changing a breeze.
Other things to know about daily contact lenses
Since you bin them each day, you’ll need to buy more lenses. (And remember, you’ll need one box for each eye, so a 30-day supply means 60 contact lenses.)
Toric Contact Lenses
You may have heard that toric lenses are contact lenses for astigmatism, but what are they and why do they help? We walk through how these contact lenses work, and what to consider if you think you need them.
What are toric contact lenses?
A toric lens is a contact lens that’s shaped in a particular way. Standard contact lenses have a spherical surface. The shape of toric contact lenses creates different refractive, or focusing, powers on the vertical and horizontal orientations. The refractive strength increases or decreases gradually as you move around the lens. The ability for toric contact lenses to provide different refractive powers on the vertical and horizontal orientations addresses this specific peculiarity that causes astigmatism.
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Multifocal contact lenses are designed to allow different lens powers that target vision at varying distances from the wearer. But how does this work, and does it make sense for your eyesight? We’ll help you explore multifocal contact lenses and how to think about whether they’re right for you.
What are multifocal contact lenses?
Multifocal contact lenses are contact lenses with multiple prescriptions all in one lens. There is typically a prescription for very close objects, one prescription for normal objects viewed at a distance, and then prescriptions for intermediate distances. This setup helps people with presbyopia correct age-related vision problems where the eye can no longer focus on objects up close.
Advantages to multifocals
Multifocals offer a range of benefits, among them:
- Better visual acuity for the range of distances from near to far
- A less abrupt switch between prescriptions
- The ability to see in most conditions without extra eyewear
Drawbacks to multifocals
Multifocal contact lenses offer a lot of performance ability, but may also be:
- More difficult to adjust to due to a different viewing experience
- Accompanied by nighttime glare and hazy or shadowy vision during the adjustment period
- More expensive because of the increased complexity in design
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Insertion & Removal
Hand hygiene: It is important to wash, rinse and dry your hand thoroughly before putting in or taking out your contact lenses. This will remove and dirt or oils on your hands and can prevent eye infections and sight loss.
Applying the lens:
- Hold the lens on your fingertips and check that it is the right way round.
- Place the lens on the tip of your forefinger then, with the middle finger of the same hand, hold down the lower lid.
- Use the forefinger of your other hand to lift the upper lid as close to the eyelashes as possible
- Gently place the lens on the eye
- Look down, gently release the upper lid and blink
Centring the lens: Occasionally a lens may become displaced from the middle to the white part of the eye. To centre the lens it is advised to:
- Close your eyes and gently massage the lens into place
OR
- With your eyes open, gently move the lens into place with your eyelid, using your finger as a guide.
Removing the lens:
- Look up. With the middle finger hold down the lower lid.
- Slide the lens from the centre to the lower part of the eye using a forefinger.
- Gently pinch the lens between your thumb and forefinger to remove.
Hints & Tips
- Always wash, rinse and dry your hands before touching the lenses.
- Use fingertips to handle the lens, avoid using fingernails or sharp objects, keep fingernails short
- Never use tap water to rinse the lenses or contact lens case
- If lenses are removed from the eyes, you must clean, rinse and disinfect them if they are to be reused
- Try avoid spraying aerosols (such as hairspray) near eyes when wearing lenses as this can cause discomfort
- Always check with an optician before using any medication, as some medication can cause irritation or blurred vision
- Put lenses in before applying makeup
FAQ’s
Q. I don’t wear my glasses all the time – can I still try contact lenses?
A. Yes – contact lenses can also be worn on a part time basis
Q. I have astigmatism – can I still wear contact lenses?
A. Yes – there are many different options for people with astigmatism these days.
Q. Can you get varifocal contact lenses?
A. yes – there are several types of bifocal and progressive contact lenses, as well as an option called monovision
Q. Aren’t they uncomfortable to wear?
A. No – most lenses these days are extremely soft and very comfortable.
Q. Aren’t they difficult to put in?
A. The first time you try lenses the practitioner will apply the lenses for you. Like anything new, it is a skill that can be taught and we will give you all the instruction you need to feel confident handling your lenses. Most people pick it up and find it gets easier with practice.
Q. Can they get lost?
A. Once a soft lens has been applied, it naturally stays in place even with rapid eye movements during sport. The eyelids are such that a lens cannot be displaced round the back of the eye and disappear into the brain, which is a common misconception.
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