Contact Lenses
We find the best lens and wearing regime for you
Modern contact lenses are so good that most people are capable of wearing them successfully. If you are interested in contact lenses, we will first test your eyes, discuss different lens options and then conduct a trial with your preferred choice of lens. We will teach you how to inset and remove them and provide a care kit for looking after them. Following a trial of around one week we will then examine your eyes, see how you got on with them and decide how to proceed.
For many people contact lenses can promise freedom from the restrictions of spectacle wearing.
Types of Contact Lenses
Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses (RGP)
Rigid Gas Permeable contact lenses, or RGPs, have now been available for several decades, but these days are much less frequently fitted in comparison to soft lenses. RGP lenses have the advantages of offering excellent optical qualities, astigmatism masking, and are more durable than soft lenses.
These are small hard plastic lenses which usually fit within the corneal diameter. They are hard wearing, long lasting, allow a good supply of oxygen to reach the cornea and have outstanding optical qualities. They often do not need to be specially designed to be able to correct astigmatism. They do not need to be replaced as often as soft lenses, but can be less comfortable. You will have to budget for such ongoing costs as disinfecting and conditioning solutions as these lenses require ongoing daily hygiene procedures.
Soft Lenses
Today, soft contact lenses come in several varieties:
Daily Lenses are extremely thin and flexible, and consequently very comfortable. They are designed to be worn once and once only before being discarded and are thus extremely hygienic and convenient. Our patients wear these lenses on a daily or an intermittent basis.
Planned Replacement Lenses lenses are slightly more robust than daily replacement lenses. They are usually disposed of on a two-weekly or monthly interval although this can vary with some special types of lens. They are very comfortable and have good optical qualities. Good hygiene procedures and the use of disinfecting solutions are essential.
Silicon Hydrogel Lenses are the most advanced on the market today. They are made from a soft material which is able to transmit larger amounts of oxygen to the cornea. They can be worn as daily, two-weekly, or monthly disposables. Most other lenses need to be removed from the eye every day but these lenses, in some cases, may be left in the eye for up to a month before removal.
Today, almost all contact lens materials can be made as multifocal or bifocal (useful if you require similar types of spectacle lens) and also in astigmatic forms to correct astigmatism.
Our main contact lens brands are:
