Contact Lens Wearer Guide

First of all, don’t panic! It is impossible for a contact lens to get stuck behind your eye and with a little experience you’ll learn how to handle the occasional dislodged lens. If your contact is moved out of place, try to pull open your lids as if you were going to remove the contact normally. Look in all directions in a mirror to try to find the edge of the lens. Once you find it, look AWAY from where the contact is and gently push on your lid to move the lens out until you can safely remove it. If you are unable to find it or remove it, call our office so we can help you! In most cases, more damage is done from trying to remove a dislodged contact yourself than from leaving it in place until you can have it safely removed by a doctor.

Our doctors perform contact lens evaluations to help narrow down the best lens options for you by determining your prescription, the curvature of your eye, your overall ocular health (such as dryness or allergies), your lifestyle and personal goals with contact lens wear, and even your budget!

A contact lens evaluation is an additional service performed either with or following your annual eye exam. In order to continue to wear contact lenses safely, periodic monitoring of your eye health and vision demands is required. These evaluations include special testing to confirm the best contact lens curvature, diameter, and material for you. Legally, contact lens prescriptions expire every year in Ohio, so a new evaluation is needed annually to ensure your lenses are still the healthiest fit and most accurate prescription.

It typically takes a few days for your eyes to adjust to the feeling of a new contact lens. Some people may adjust faster than others, but if your lenses feel irritating or uncomfortable you should remove them and let our doctors know so they can make appropriate recommendations or changes for you!

Every office has different policies regarding contact lens fittings. At Handel Vision Clinic, we want anyone who is interested in contacts to be able to try them, which is why we do not charge our contact lens evaluation fees until after you are successful with your training.

There is no age limit for contacts. Being a good candidate for lens wear is more dependent on the patient’s attitude and level of responsibility than on age. Parents and doctors can work together to determine when a child is ready for proper lens handling and care.

Work environment may limit your available options for contact lens wear but it’s not impossible! If you tend to work in a dusty/dirty environment, the healthiest option would be a daily replacement lens that can be disposed of each night. Another option would be wearing safety glasses/goggles over your contacts in dirty environments.

Contact lens parameters are constantly improving and there are a wide variety of lenses available to help cover almost all prescriptions. If you are interested in contact lenses, ask our doctors what type of lens you might be a good candidate for!

Yes! A glasses prescription is written solely for use in glasses while a contact prescription is for a specific lens brand/material, power, base curve, and diameter.

It is always recommended to have a reliable back-up pair of glasses, even if you mostly wear your contacts. Patients who have glasses are able to take more frequent breaks from contact lens wear, which helps prevent irritation and infections that can occur from over wear. Additionally, if you develop an infection or scratch your eye, you may need to be out of your contact lenses for a week or more to allow for prescription drop use and proper healing. Not having glasses to rely on during that time can make working, driving, and daily functions difficult to impossible to perform.

Even if you have a similar prescription as a friend or family member, you should never wear contact lenses that were not prescribed to you. Contact lenses are medical devices that require proper testing and evaluation to ensure the material and fit will not cause permanent damage to your eye.

There are a limited number of contacts that are approved for overnight wear and not everyone is a good candidate for these lenses. Sleeping in lenses that have not been prescribed for overnight wear can result in your cornea (the clear tissue on the front of your eye) not receiving enough oxygen, resulting in abnormal blood vessel growth, infections, painful ulcers and permanent damage. Even occasional overnight wear can cause serious issues, so be sure to always remove your contacts as prescribed!

There are a number of factors that play into vision in contact lenses. Lens fit, material, ocular surface diseases, parameter limitations, incompatible drop or solution use, and more can all cause unsatisfactory vision in contacts. If you’re unhappy with your vision, be sure to let our doctors know at your appointment so they can help figure out the best resolution!

If you’re trying to insert a contact and it keeps sticking to your finger, there is a good chance that there is more liquid on your finger than in your eye. A contact will naturally stick to whatever surface has more moisture, so be sure your fingertip is as dry as possible (using a lint-free towel) before trying to insert the lens.

Contact lenses should stay in place if fitted properly and left undisturbed (eg, not rubbing your eyes). If your lenses are popping out on their own there is likely a fit issue or ocular surface issue that needs to be addressed by our doctors.

Many times, ripped lenses occur from a handling issue, such as dragging the lens across the edge of the storage case, which results in microscopic tears leading to rips. Other causes of ripped lenses could be using your nails instead of the pads of your fingers to handle the lenses, ocular surface disease such as severe dry eye, poor lens fit, or even manufacturing defects.

No! You should always replace your lenses as prescribed (typically either daily, every two weeks or monthly, depending on the brand). Waiting until your lenses feel uncomfortable means that either the lens surface has developed deposits or the material has begun to disintegrate, both of which can result in serious infections and permanent damage.

Two week or monthly replacement lenses can be stored in a sealed contact lens case with disinfecting solution for up to 6 days. (You should replace the solution every week if you are not wearing the lenses). If available in your prescription, daily lenses are typically the best option for occasional wear, as you can toss them at the end of the day and start with a fresh pair each time you wear them.

This is entirely up to you! Contact lens trials are provided free of charge with your contact lens evaluation and once your prescription has been finalized you can order either a box per eye (a box is typically a 3 month supply of daily lenses or 6 month supply of monthly lenses) or an entire year supply. Many brands offer rebates on annual supplies, so be sure to ask our staff about rebates when ordering!

Corneal molding lenses are specially designed to be worn overnight to reshape the front surface of the eye (the cornea) in order to help slow the progression of myopia. To learn more about these, head over to our Myopia Management Center!