Ciba WJ PBH FreshLook Colours Blue

There are many different types of contact lenses available and we are here to help and advise you. We will ask you some simple questions and help you decide on the best type to try. Contact lenses are increasingly safe to use and easy to handle.

We pride ourselves on always taking the time to tell you about all the possible options like soft disposables, rigid gas permeable, toric soft and bifocals. We will use our expertise to ensure that we find the best option to suit your eyes whether it is coloured contact lenses for social use or complex prescriptions.

As an independent opticians we are free to choose lenses from all of the UK manufacturers including:

• Bausch & Lomb
• Ciba Vision Wesley Jessen PBH - Premium Independent Partner
• Coopervision Biocompatible Hydron
• Sauflon
• Vistakon - Johnson & Johnson - Partner Practice and Centre of Excellence

The different types of contact lenses include:

• Daily disposable - these are the ultimate in convenience, no hassle, no cleaning. Each lens is fresh and sterile and up to 98% oxygen permeable. Suitable for full and part time wearers.
• Soft disposable - fortnightly or monthly disposable.
• Silicone Hydrogels - ever found your eyes becomming tired and vision blurring at the end of the day, then silicone hydrogels enable you to wear your contact lenses longer and let more oxygen through to the eyes. They are therefore more comfortable and healthier. Now available as a Daily Disposable - Acuvue Tru Eye
• Monthly Extended Wear - up to 30 days continuous wear. Now you can fall asleep and wake up to clear, comfortable and healthy vision.
• Toric soft - no longer is astigmatism a problem if you want the convenience and comfort of soft lenses. For most power ranges you can get monthly disposable toric lenses, and for some even daily disposable toric lenses.
• Bifocal or Varifocal - If reading is becoming a problem, there is a solution for soft and rigid lens wearers. Bifocal lenses are also available in two-weekly and DAILY DISPOSABLE PROGRESSIVES. We can offer you freedom from reading glasses.
• Monovison - alternative to wearing bifocal contact lenses - wear a distance lens in one eye and reading in the other - it may sound odd but most people adapt quickly and it feels very natural.
• Rigid gas permeable - for some prescriptions these offer a superior quality of vision.
• Coloured lenses - you can either enhance the natural colour of your eyes or change them completely. They are also available as DAILY DISPOSABLE COLOURED LENSES.
• Overnight vision correction - correct your vision while you sleep.

What you will be asked:

• Why do you want to wear Contact Lenses? - Is it for special sports pursuits or hobbies or simply as an alternative to spectacles?
• How often do you want to wear them e.g social use or all the time?
• Have you ever had any problems with your eyes?
• What is your General Health like? Are you taking any medication?

The Examination:
 

        
 

        With all this information
        to hand we will then examine your eyes to check their health
        and suitability for contact lenses. For this we use the slit-lamp
        microscope which gives us a magnified view of your eye surface
        and lids. We will also check the prescription for your spectacles
        which has a bearing on what type of contact lenses will be the
        most suitable for you.
 


        
Corneal topography -
        This is a process
        for mapping the surface curvatue of the cornea, similar to making
        a contour map of the land. The cornea is the clear part on the
        surface of the eye that a contact lens fits over. About 70% of
        the eyes focusing power is done by the cornea so its shape can
        determine the visual ability of the eye. A perfect eye has an
        evenly rounded shape, but sometimes the cornea is too flat making
        it long-sighted, too steep making it short-sighted or unevenly
        curved causing astigmatism (rugby ball shaped).

        

        
 

The pupose of corneal topography is to produce a detailed description of the corneal shape and power. We can use the computerized imaging technology to produce a 3 dimensional map. This is a fantastic tool for giving a base-line of the shape of the cornea and monitoring the health for any changes that may be caused by contact lenses.

Contact Lens Trial - When it has been decided what type of lenses suit your prescription and your needs, the next stage is a trial. This will give you an idea of what it is like to wear contact lenses in your eyes. Lenses will be chosen that are as close as possible to the prescription and size needed. Once inserted it is usual for the lenses to be left to settle for a short while to assess the fit and vision and for you to get an idea of the comfort. We may ask you to take a short walk wearing them to see how you feel.

At the end of this visit the lenses that you need will be chosen and ordered if necessary. Sometimes we have the correct lenses available immediately.

Instruction Visit:
 

        

        When your lenses arrive in
        the practice you will come in to be taught how to handle them.
        This involves inserting and removing the lenses from your eyes
        and also instructions on how to clean and look after them. Wearing
        contact lenses safely involves commitment from you on following
        our instructions on cleaning and disinfecting. This is VERY
        important. Dirty contact lenses can cause lots of problems including
        infections, discomfort and may reduce your vision. Do not change
        your cleaning system without advice from us. Once you are competent
        with the handling you start to build up your wearing time gradually.