Friday, March 13, 2020

Contact lenses continue to evolve to meet patients’ needs


Contact lenses have become modernized over several decades including large strides that have changed the health and optics available. In the past two to three years, major manufacturers of contact lenses have continued to expand the population that can be potentially served by innovative technology and combining successful design models from the past.

Many patients come into optometrists’ offices having gone more than 10 years since trying a contact lens and are unaware of the available options. No longer are conditions of astigmatism or presbyopia restrictions from achieving excellent visual outcomes from contact lenses. The availability of trial contact lenses to every optometrist allows a wide variety of options to meet a patient's needs for those that work indoors or outdoors, as well as those with specific lighting sensitivities. 

Innovative eye care professionals are ready and able to work with patients to problem-solve the demanding vision environments and find a lens fit that is right for them. Sensitive, strained eyes may also suffer from dryness and can be helped by the benefits of contact lenses. Fortunately, dry eye conditions can be better managed to help promote the wear of contact lenses and return once disappointed patients into healthy contact lens wearers.

Daily wear contact lenses can provide full-time comfort or be used for patients who wear lenses for special occasions. These offer the lowest risk of infection of all of the current contact lens modalities and are available in thousands of customized parameters to meet the most stringent needs. In addition to daily wear contact lenses, monthly and two-week contact lenses still offer a cost effective and convenient way to treat vision and manage ocular surface health. Contact lens companies have utilized advancements in manufacturing techniques and materials to develop contact lenses that are healthier and more comfortable than traditional varieties of years past. The surface of the lens is more comfortable and more resistant to infection-causing bacteria than ever before, which also contributes to long-term health. Specialty contact lens manufacturers now offer healthier options from reputable vendors for theatrical and cosmetic contact lenses.

In the hands of an experienced eye care provider, manufacturers can offer significantly better quality-controlled lenses reducing the risk of complications. Less reputable contact lens providers that break down the doctor-patient relationship can cause short-term and long-term complications that can be addressed and sometimes reversed while under the care of an eye care professional. Considerations should also be made for specialty contact lenses that can be utilized for therapeutic purposes for the treatment of complex ocular diseases and dry eye disease.

Doctors of Optometry continue to learn and apply expertise to the implementation of individual plans to make contact lens wear more successful for their patients. The future of contact lenses is brighter than ever and is an excellent topic of discussion for yearly eye exams.