Contact Lenses 101 - Bella Eye Care Optometry

Contact lenses are a popular and effective option for vision correction resulting from nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.  About 20% of the American population who requires vision correction wears contact lenses. Contact lens technology has been available for 125 years. Today, contact lenses offer a wide variety of materials and types and can be used for a wider patient distribution. While eyeglasses may be an attractive way to accessorize or make a fashion statement, glasses are unable to offer you all that contact lenses can. Contact lenses offer you better peripheral vision and sharpen your vision without eyeglasses or costly vision surgery.  The wider field of view contacts offer give you a major advantage for sports, hobbies and professional work.

Keep Eye Infections at Bay by Avoiding These Common Practices

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that you avoid the following common practices to save your eyes from infections and problems:

• Swimming in Your Contacts: Your body can drink water from the tap, but that doesn’t mean you should introduce water into your eyes when swimming, showering, or when cleaning your contacts. The reason for this is that the parasite Acanthamoeba can cause serious eye infections in your eyes–infections that could even threaten your eyesight.
• Sleeping in Your Contacts: Sleeping in your contacts increases your risk to infections by 7 times! Even occasional sleeping can put you at risk. Just don’t do it!
• Keeping a Contact Lens Case for Longer Than 3 Months: Contact lens cases can be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs that can be harmful to your eyes. Over time, your cases can accumulate buildup that can threaten the health of your eyes. To avoid this, change out your case at least every 3 months.
• Delaying Treatment When Symptoms Arise: Redness, light sensitivity, and pain are indications that you need to have your eyes examined to avoid serious long-term issues with your eyes and eyesight.

Your Options with Contact Lenses

Today’s contact lens patients have several options of contact lenses to choose from.  At Optical Master’s, our customers can choose from:

• Reusables. Reusable contacts are used to correct short or long sightedness. They’re for daily wear, but rather than dispose of them at the end of the day you clean, then store them in a contact lens case until you wear them again. Some of these contact lenses can also be slept in. They’re ideal if you are looking for the most economical lenses. They should be replaced every two or four weeks with a new pair.
• Astigmatic. Astigmatism is a common condition that affects many people – children as well as adults. It is caused by the shape of your eye and results in blurry or distorted vision at all distances, varying with the strength of the astigmatism. Astigmatic contact lenses are specially designed to fit the shape of astigmatic eyes. They are available as daily or reusable contact lenses.
• Daily Disposables. Daily disposables are used to correct short or long sightedness. They’re the healthiest and most convenient way to wear contacts. They give you a fresh, clean lens every day, with no need for solutions. They’re ideal for when you don’t want to wear glasses – either occasionally, part-time or every day.
• Multifocal. As you get older presbyopia is a condition that affects almost everyone. The lens of your eye becomes less flexible making it harder to adjust your focus from far to near objects, this makes reading more difficult. We have the technology in multifocal contact lenses that allow you to see both near and far.

Call 510-494-8880 or Click Here to Schedule a Contact Lenses Consultation or Exam Today!