Everything you need to know about how to get contact lenses

Want to get started with contact lenses but have no idea where to start or maybe you are unsure of exactly what it involves. Well don’t fret here’s all you need to know on how to get contact lenses.

Sight Test

Hear at Robson Opticians If you don’t have an up-to-date prescription you will first need a sight test. Our eye examinations are up to 40 minutes long and include an Optomap that lets us see 80% of the retina. Everything you need to know about how to get contact lenses also includes a discussion regarding what types of lenses there are, and how you intend to use them.

Types of Contact Lenses

Daily disposable lenses are worn for a day and then thrown away, so no cleaning needs to be done. They are also good for traveling because you don’t need to pack any bulky solutions and are the best option if you don’t want to wear contact lenses every day. 

Monthly lenses are worn every day for up to a month but taken out at night time and must be cleaned daily with solutions to stop infection. This means you only need 12 pairs for a whole year.

Soft contact lenses are available in a variety of designs, depending on their intended purpose:

• Spherical contact lenses have the same lens power throughout the entire optical part of the lens to correct myopia (short-sightedness) or hyperopia (long-sightedness).
• Toric soft contact lenses have different powers in different meridians of the lens to correct astigmatism as well as short-sightedness or long-sightedness.
• Multifocal contact lenses contain different power zones for near and far vision to correct presbyopia as well as short-sightedness or long-sightedness. Some multifocal lenses can also correct astigmatism.

Which contact lenses are right for you

There are a number of factors that can influence which contact lenses are best for you:

• Contact lenses must address the problem that is prompting you to wear them in the first place. Your contact lenses must provide good vision by correcting your short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism, or some combination of those vision problems.
• The lenses must fit your eyes. To do that, lenses come in tens of thousands of combinations of diameter and curvature. Of course, not every lens brand will have the size you need.
• You may have a special need that drives the choice of lens. For example, your optician might recommend a particular type of contact lens if your eyes tend to be dry.

Once you have decided which are best with the advice of our trained optometrists they will be ordered as trials for you to test out. This is to make sure you are comfortable with the sight and feel of the lenses. Contact lenses usually arrive within 10 days or before.

How to Insert Contact Lenses

Once they have been delivered we will contact you to book a contact lens fitting appointment. This is where one of our dispensers will talk you through how to insert and remove them.

• Place the lens on the index finger
• use one hand to hold open the top and bottom eyelid
• Looking straight ahead, slowly bring your index finger with the lens toward your eye
• Once you feel the lenses in, blink a few times and move your eyes from side to side – this gets rid of any air bubbles

How to Remove Contact Lenses

• Before you do anything, make sure you wash and dry your hands.
• Look straight into the mirror, tilt your head down slightly, and pull your lower eyelid down.
• Using your finger move the lens down onto the white of your eye and then gently pinch it out.
• Now repeat on the other eye. Simple.

Caring for Contact Lenses

During the contact lens fitting appointment, you will also learn about any aftercare that may need to be maintained.

Caring for contact lenses includes cleaning, disinfecting, and storing them it is quite simple. Most people require only a single multipurpose solution to clean, disinfect, and safely store their lenses. People who are sensitive to the preservatives in multipurpose solutions might need preservative-free systems, such as those containing hydrogen peroxide. Your optician will recommend a lens care system. Be sure to follow the care directions carefully. Of course, you can avoid lens care altogether by wearing daily disposable contact lenses.

After the contact lens fitting appointment a month’s worth or more will be ordered for you. We will get in contact with you once they have arrived for you to collect from our practice or you can have them delivered right to your home.

Are there any risks to wearing contact lenses?

There are many types of contact lenses all of which are considered quite safe. But rarely, serious problems may occur. The most common concerns and conditions related to wearing contact lenses include

• eye irritation or pain
• swelling around the eye
• blurry vision or sensitivity to light
• conjunctivitis (“pink eye”)
• ulcers
• infectious keratitis (inflammation of the cornea due to an infection).

Although minor irritation may go away on its own within a day or two, stop wearing your contacts and call an eye doctor if you have severe or persistent symptoms.

What to Consider Before purchasing

Above you will find everything you need to know about how to get contact lenses a part from one thing. Contact lenses are great to have and are a personal preference However, it is always important to have a pair of glasses even if their sole use is as a backup. Having spectacles as a backup is essential because you may find yourself running out of contact lenses without having pre-ordered more for the coming months. Even if you have are super organized and on top of things, health problems such as styes, allergies for instance hay fever, or even conjunctivitis can come out of nowhere, and when they do if you don’t have a pair of glasses you’ll be bumping into things for as long as it takes the problem you have to settle. For some people with strong prescriptions, this can take a toll on their personal life as it can stop them from going out and doing daily tasks. So it is best to invest in a pair of spectacles just to be safe.

And that’s everything you need to know about how to get contact lenses.