Are Specialty Lenses Right for My Vision Needs?

Regular contact lenses work for many people. However, sometimes, they simply do not work well enough. If you have trouble with normal contacts, specialty lenses might help you. These special lenses are made for people with unique eye needs.

What Are Specialty Contact Lenses?

Specialty contact lenses are made just for your eyes. Unlike regular soft contacts, they are customized. They fit the special shape and condition of your eyes. They can help with irregular corneas or very dry eyes. Some people require them for conditions such as keratoconus. Others need them for high astigmatism or presbyopia.

Benefits of Specialty Lenses

These special lenses offer several significant advantages:

Better vision quality, especially for irregular corneas.
More comfort for sensitive or dry eyes.
Can avoid surgery for some conditions.
Provide vision that glasses cannot correct.
Custom fit for your unique eye shape.

Different Types of Specialty Lenses

While regular contacts are designed to fit a wide range of people, these are specifically tailored for you. They address very specific problems that standard lenses just cannot handle. Here’s a breakdown of the most common types and how they can help.

Scleral Lenses

If you imagine a standard contact lens, you probably think of a small disc that sits on your cornea. Scleral lenses are completely different. They are much larger, about the size of a nickel, and they vault over your entire cornea. Instead of touching the sensitive central part of your eye, they rest gently on the white part, called the sclera.

This design creates a little dome of protection over your cornea. For people with keratoconus, this dome creates a new, perfectly smooth surface for light to enter the eye, clearing up distorted vision. For those with severe dry eye, the space under the lens holds a reservoir of moisturizing fluid that bathes the eye all day long, offering incredible relief.

Toric Lenses

A lot of people have astigmatism, which simply means their eye is shaped more like a football than a basketball. This irregular shape scatters light as it enters the eye, causing blurry or distorted vision at all distances.

They are specially weighted to stay locked in one perfect position on your eye. This stability ensures that the specific prescription you need for astigmatism is always aligned correctly. This gives you sharp, consistent vision all day long without the frustrating blur.

Multifocal Lenses

If you are over 40, you’ve likely experienced presbyopia, that frustrating moment when you have to hold a menu at arm’s length to read it. It is a normal part of aging where the eye’s lens loses its flexibility.

Multifocal contact lenses are ingenious little devices that solve this problem. Unlike single-vision lenses, they have different prescription powers built into one lens. Much like progressive eyeglasses, they have zones for seeing far away, up close, and everything in between.

Who Might Need Specialty Lenses?

These special lenses are often recommended for individuals with irregularly shaped eyes. If your cornea is not smooth and round, specialty lenses might help you.

People with keratoconus often benefit from these lenses. Keratoconus makes your cornea become cone-shaped. This irregular shape makes vision blurry and distorted. Specialty lenses create a new, smooth surface over the eye. This helps light focus properly and improves vision.

Those with severe dry eyes may find comfort with specialty lenses. The lenses can help keep eyes moist throughout the day. This reduces irritation and discomfort.

People with high astigmatism might also be good candidates. Regular contacts cannot always correct this condition properly. Specialty lenses can provide clearer vision than glasses in these cases.

Those with presbyopia might benefit from multifocal lenses. These lenses help you see both near and far without reading glasses.

For more on specialty lenses, visit Hills Vision Studio at our Bedminster, New Jersey, office. Call (908) 781-7707 to book an appointment today.

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

https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/contact-lens-beginners