Contact Lens Examination

Contact lens examinations, include special tests that typically are not performed in routine eye exams for eyeglasses. It allows your eye specialist to take a thorough look at the health of your eyes and the quality of your vision. It’s important to make sure that your lenses fit both your eyes and your vision properly.

Here’s what to expect:

Whether you have 6/6 (aka ‘perfect’) vision, you need regular eye exams to help keep your eyes and vision at their best. This involves:

Eye tests to determine your refractive error and prescription
Cover tests to check how well your eyes work together
Slit-lamp examinations to have a magnified view of the structures in your eyes
Ophthalmoscopy test to better exam the back of your eyes

Contact lenses are medical devices, so you need a contact lens prescription in order to buy them. Your optometrist will help you find the right prescription and fit for your lenses.

Contact lens consultation

Your optometrist will ask you about your lifestyle and preferences. Some contact lenses may be better for athletes with active lifestyles; others may be better for frequent travelers with convenience in use. Some prefer colored lenses while others may prefer “transparent” contacts.

Your optometrist may also discuss the option of rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses, which often provide sharper vision than soft lenses; and Myopia Control contacts for children and teenagers.

Some time after age 40, you will develop a condition known as presbyopia (老花) that decreases your ability to read small print and focus on near objects. To correct presbyopia, your optometrist may offer you the choice of multifocal contact lenses and monovision, where one eye is corrected for distance vision and the other eye is corrected for near vision.

Pre-lens fitting measurements

Just as one shoe size doesn’t fit all, one contact lens size doesn’t fit all. If the curvature of a contact lens is too flat or too steep for your eye’s shape, you could experience discomfort or even damage to your eye. Your optometrist will also need to gather several measurements:

Cornea curvature

An instrument called a keratometer will be used to measure the curvature of your eye’s clear front surface (cornea) which helps your optometrist choose the proper curve and size for your contact lenses. If your eye’s surface is found to be somewhat irregular because of astigmatism, you may need a special design of lens known as a toric contact lens to offset distortions of your eye to provide sharper vision.

Tear film evaluation

If you have a severe dry eye condition, you might have to avoid or discontinue contact lens wear. But in cases of contact lens discomfort due to mild dryness, special contact lenses for dry eyes may enable you to wear contacts safely and comfortably. Your optometrist will make sure you’re prescribed contact lenses that keep your eyes sufficiently moist.

Pre-lens fitting corneal scanning

The health of your cornea will be evaluated using a biomicroscope (also called a slit lamp). This lighted instrument provides a highly magnified view of the cornea and other tissues to enable your optometrist to evaluate the health of the front of your eyes.

Contact lens fitting

You will be given trial lenses to wear for a few minutes. After the initial tearing of the eye stops and the lenses stabilize, your optometrist can then make a proper evaluation of how the lenses fit with the biomicroscope. This is to ensure the alignment and movement of the lens are optimal and adequate.

Follow-up visits

In follow-up visits, your optometrist will check for defects on your cornea and make sure your contact lenses are not damaging your eye’s surface.

Usually, it takes two or three follow-up visits to complete an uncomplicated contact lens fitting. After that, you should have annual contact lens exams so your optometrist can monitor the health of your eyes.

Book Your Exam Appointment Online

Make an Appointment

Remember, your optometrist is your ally in making sure your eyes get what they need to stay healthy and perform at their best. Make sure you seek professional advice whenever you’re encountering or making changes involving your eyes and vision.

Bring your current contact lenses (boxes/prescription) or eyeglasses, if you have them for the session.

Please follow and like us: