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Specialty Contact Lenses

In addition to the popular daily and extended wear soft contact lenses by brands like Acuvue Oasys, CooperVision Biofinity & Bausch Lomb Ultra, we offer a full spectrum of contact lens choices.

A proper contact lens fit starts with a comprehensive eye exam to determine the current corrective glasses prescription and rule out eye health problems, dry eye syndrome, and/or other issues that may interfere with successful contact lens wear.

If the eye exam shows all is well, the next step is a contact lens consultation and fitting. We fit a full range of lenses, including gas permeable, ortho-k and scleral lenses.

Specialty Contact Lens Clinical Tests

TEAR FILM EVALUATION

The tear film is evaluated to make sure there is adequate tear film to keep the lenses and cornea sufficiently moist and hydrated. This evaluation helps dry eye syndrome and also helps determine which contact lens material will work best.

TOPOGRAPHY

As part of your examination, our doctors will use a topographer to take a number of surface measurements in order to map your cornea. This test is not invasive and will only take a few minutes. These measurements will be used to select from several different lenses available in the office to evaluate and potentially order custom-made lenses for your eyes.

Specialty Contact Lenses

RIGID GAS PERMEABLE (RGP) CONTACT LENS

Gas permeable lenses are rigid contact lenses made of durable plastic that transmits oxygen. They promote excellent eye health because they do not contain water like soft lenses and therefore resist deposits and are less prone to cause eye infections. They are also easier to handle and last longer than soft contact lenses. Gas permeable contact lenses are designed for patients with irregular corneas and refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. RGP lenses can be a more appropriate and more cost-effective alternative to scleral lenses. In addition to fitting gas permeable lenses, we can polish lenses in-house.

ORTHOKERATOLOGY (ORTHO-K) / CORNEAL REFRACTIVE THERAPY (CRT)

Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) is a non-surgical treatment option that corrects nearsightedness (myopia) and astigmatism by reshaping your corneas while you are asleep. Unlike refractive Surgery (LASIK, PRK), Orthokeratology is temporarily reversible with no known risks of surgical complications.Orthokeratology requires a specialized contact lens that physically alters the shape of your eyes. The correct prescription and fit are crucial. The Doctors at Madeira Optical utilize the latest in fitting technology. While Ortho-K is an appropriate option for some patients, we often recommend alternative options for adults.

PEDIATRIC ORTHO-K LENSES

In 2021, Johnson & Johnson Vision announced that the FDA approved overnight orthokeratology contact lenses, designed to help manage pediatric myopia (Link to myopia management page). As pediatric Ortho-K lenses are released, the doctors at Madeira Optical will review the treatment and offer it where appropriate. Please read below about currently available soft contact lens options for pediatric myopia control.

PEDIATRIC MYOPIA CONTROL SOFT CONTACT LENSES

Does your child’s myopia prescription seem to increase every year? Just how it goes, right? They just need an updated pair of glasses and new contact lenses, right?

Although glasses and regular soft contact lenses correct nearsightedness (myopia), they do not slow or stop it from getting worse. Even though myopia had once been mainly genetic, it has now become a global epidemic driven by modern environmental components, such as the increased use of digital devices and more time spent indoors.

Children with medium to high myopia are at greatly increased risk for serious eye diseases that can cause vision loss or even blindness later in life. One study showed that high myopia is the 3rd most common cause of vision loss. People with high myopia are 126 times more likely to have myopic maculopathy, 44 times more likely to have retinal detachments, 5.5 times more likely to have cataracts, and 3.3 times more likely to have glaucoma.

There are different ways that myopia control therapy can work including glasses, contact lenses, and eye drops. One of the most effective and least invasive ways is through contact lenses.

The myopia control lenses that we fit at our office are soft contact lenses that have a special design that prevents the eye from elongating as quickly.

Children and teens are taught how to insert and remove this lens the exact same as any other contact lens. The vision with this lens is the same as with non-myopia control contact lenses.

After a thorough health check of the eye, measurements of the corneal shape, and an updated prescription, the options for lenses to control myopia will be discussed with parents and the patient.

Lenses may be trialed on the eye at the consultation or will be ordered and the patient will return for a dispensing of the lenses. Training on how to insert and remove lenses will be completed at this visit.

Regular follow-ups will be scheduled to ensure clear vision and to track the progression of myopia. Please visit our Myopia Management Page for more information and to schedule an assessment.

BIFOCAL & MULTIFOCAL CONTACT LENSES

As you age, the lens in your eye loses the ability to focus from far to near — a condition called presbyopia. You’ll know you have it when it’s hard to read up close.

If you have trouble with both near and far vision, bifocal or multifocal lenses can help. They have both your distance prescription and near prescription in one lens. They come in soft and gas-permeable options.

MONOVISION LENSES

With monovision, you won’t have the same prescription in both eyes. Some people love it, others…don’t! One will have a contact for distance vision, and the other will be for seeing up close. This can take a while to get used to. Each eye works on its own. That makes it harder for them to work together. You might have problems with depth perception. That can make it hard to drive. You might have to adjust your gaze more often to allow one eye or the other to see properly.

SCLERAL LENSES

We find the need for scleral lenses to be very rare, but effective when appropriate. Scleral lenses are large-diameter rigid gas permeable lenses (GP) that are designed to cover the cornea, functionally replacing the cornea with a smooth, new optical surface. Scleral lenses can be worn by anyone, but they have been particularly designed for patients with irregular corneas.

TORIC LENSES FOR ASTIGMATISM

If you have astigmatism and want to wear contacts, you’ll need a toric lens. They’re made from the same material as other contacts but work with your eyeball, which isn’t completely round. They come in soft or rigid gas-permeable forms, extended-wear, daily disposable, and even in colored lenses. Like bifocal lenses in a pair of glasses, toric lenses have two powers in one lens: one that corrects your astigmatism, and another for nearsightedness or farsightedness.