Contact Lenses

As primary-care optometrists, we are the gatekeepers for baby boomers inquiring about cataract surgery. Today’s patients have treatment options available not only to address their lifestyle complaints but to provide them with better vision and possibly reduced dependence on glasses or contact lenses.

With much of the digital revolution occurring after 2008 and most contact lens technology developing well before it, there is an inherent design feature mismatch. The majority of the available contact lenses are not designed for how patients are using their eyes.

In a poll fielded on the Optometry Times website, we asked ODs at what amount of cylinder they prescribed soft toric contact lenses.

A few tips regarding wearing cosmetics and contact lens wear can help our patients wear their lenses with more comfort.

Complex contact lenses, including scleral lenses, have unique fitting considerations that may be augmented with additional optic scans, says Jeffrey Sonsino, OD, FAAO, of Nashville, TN, at SECO 2017.

When do you move from a spherical to a toric contact lens? Let us know!

Depending on where you live, spring is here-or at least on its way. It’s the time of year to thaw out along with the trees, grass, and flowers. With spring comes our promise to get ourselves into shape for the summer, and life gets busier with more outdoor activities for the whole family.

Patients don’t have to wait for 2020 to achieve 20/20 vision at near without spectacles or contact lenses. Rather, the advancements we have seen just in the past few years should be enough to help manage their expectations.

Contact lenses are medical devices. I can write it again and again. These are not commodities.

Before the new year gets too far along, let’s take a brief look at the happenings in the pages of Optometry Times during 2016.

Try these seven strategies to improve your keratoconus contact lens fitting and offer better outcomes to your patients.

Differentiate yourself in this era of heightened competition

Do more than hand patients a box-prescribe instead of recommend

Contact lens retail site Hubble launched last Tuesday, offering contact lens wearers daily disposable contact lenses at a lower price and planning to drive patients into OD offices for exams.

Stick to your usual prescribing habits is the advice given by contact lens experts in the wake of the recent recall of peroxide lens care system Peroxiclear by Bausch + Lomb.

Patient horror stories can happen at any time of the year, but late October makes these tales particularly chilling.

A day in the life of a female patient provides clues that can help

A companion bill to S. 2777 aims to hold online sellers of contact lenses accountable for deceptive or illegal sales tactics that may threaten patient health.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently brought together representatives from optometry and ophthalmology to discuss regulatory review of contact lenses and future medical devices to control the progression of myopia, primarily in children.

As a profession, we have seen the benefits of transitioning patients to contact lens modalities that are replaced frequently. Innovations in material technologies have allowed advanced designs, including greater oxygen permeability to provide a healthier, more comfortable wearing experience.

Contact lens wearers are dropping out for comfort and vision reasons. Contact lenses can be considered a significant cause of these symptoms if they contribute to an unstable tear film or trigger inflammatory reactions.

The recent news in our profession was an announced partnership between Opternative and 1-800-Contacts.1 With InstaRx powered by Opternative, customers can “stay home, eat some ice cream, and get a vision exam” according to the 1-800 Contacts website.

Keep your patients in safe and comfortable lens wear while on the road

Keep your patients in safe and comfortable lens wear while on the road

In order to properly care for our contact lens patients, we have to take responsibility for the changes that are occurring in the tear film under the lens.

Orthokeratology is a specialty type of contact lens fitting in which the patient wears correction overnight and is free from wearing visual correction during the day. By fitting the patient into a reverse geometry gas permeable lens, the practitioner can make controlled but temporary refractive changes to the cornea. It is a treatment that has been proven to be safe and effective in both children and adults with promising results in the area of controlling myopia progression.

Simple Contacts allows your patients to self report and self prescribe

Contact lenses are increasingly viewed as a commodity, not a medical device, especially in recent years with pressure through legislation from online retailers.