CONTACT LENSES

For Ordering Inquiries or
Questions Please email:
contacts@longvieweyeassociates.com
or call us at 903-758-8832

One of the most common questions we are asked by patients is: "Can I wear contact lenses?" With advances in contact lens materials and today's "user friendly" contacts, almost anyone can wear them.

Contact lenses have a number of advantages over eyeglasses:

• They provide an improved field of vision.
• They provide for a more natural appearance.
• They are appropriate for most sport activities.
• They offer a high degree of optical correction for sharper vision.

Longview Eye Associates offers a full range of contact lens options to suit your lifestyle and personal preferences.

The two basic types of contact lenses are rigid gas permeable and soft.

Rigid gas permeable contact lenses are made of more rigid plastic than soft contacts. The lenses are also smaller in diameter, which makes them easier to handle for many people. And since the gas permeable lenses are more durable, they can be worn for 1 to 2 years before being replaced, and provide excellent vision, usually as good or better than eyeglasses.

There are many types of soft contact lenses available ...

• Conventional daily wear soft contact lenses are worn for approximately one year before replacement is necessary. They require daily cleaning and disinfecting, as well as weekly enzyme treatments to keep deposits to a minimum.

• Frequent replacement soft contact lenses are replaced at 1 to 3 month intervals, and require the same cleaning and disinfecting regimen as conventional contact lenses. They are packaged in boxes of 4 or 6 lenses per eye, so there is always a spare when needed.

• Weekly disposable soft contact lenses are the most commonly prescribed contact lenses. Sold in boxes of 6, each lens is discarded every two weeks, thereby making daily cleaning and weekly enzyme treatments unnecessary.

• Toric soft contact lenses are specially made for people who have astigmatism. Unlike regular soft contact lenses, the curvature of a toric contact lens matches the astigmatic curvature of the cornea. These are available in both conventional and disposable lenses.

• Daily disposable lenses are the newest way to wear contacts. Solutions and cases are unnecessary since they are dispensed on a daily basis. The daily disposables are ideal for those who want the ultimate in convenience and comfort.

• Tinted contact lenses are designed for cosmetic color changes in any color under the rainbow, and are also available in either conventional or disposable lenses. See http://www.colorcontacts.com to see what color contacts look like.

Can contacts be worn if bifocals are needed?

Absolutely!

Bifocal contact lenses are designed to provide good vision for patients with presbyopia, or the eye's inability to focus on near objects. Bifocal contacts are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable lenses, and work much like bifocal eyeglasses.

There are different options available for bifocal contact lenses, including monovision contacts with one contact for near vision and the other for distance vision (usually placed on the dominant eye). Bifocal contact lenses can also be made with simultaneous near and distance prescriptions on the same lens.

We will be happy to work with you to find the most comfortable and appropriate style and prescription for your contact lenses. Most people adjust very quickly to wearing contact lenses, and find the ease, comfort, and cosmetic value of contacts to be very worthwhile.