What is a contact lens fitting?
A contact lens fitting exam is required to wear contacts safely and achieve the best comfort and vision possible. Contact lenses have many advantages over glasses. If you want contact lenses, schedule a fitting along with your regular eye exam.
Scheduling a contact lens fitting will allow your eye care provider to do the extra tests and spend the time required to fit you into the best lenses possible.
The importance of properly fitted contact lenses
Unlike glasses, contact lenses are in constant contact with your eyeball. This can lead to blurry vision, allergies, dry eyes, and infections without a proper fit. However, contact lenses often provide better vision than glasses. This is especially true if your glasses prescription is high, very different in one eye compared to the other, or the eye's surface is uneven.
Contact Lenses can also be worn to change eye colour, for sports, and in professions where glasses can not be worn.
Your eye care provider will do special tests to ensure your contact lenses fit well. During the exam, the curvature and size of the contact lens will be fitted to match that of your eye.
Certain lenses are better for allergies, dry eyes, and other eye conditions. For example, rigid lenses give the clearest vision when the cornea is not smooth. Daily disposable lenses are best if you suffer from allergies. More breathable lenses help to avoid red eyes. Lenses that contain more moisture can soothe and treat dry eyes.
What to expect during a contact lens fitting
Your contact lens fitting includes a vision test. This determines whether you need a correction for nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. If you’re over 40 years old or have difficulty seeing up close, the need for a reading correction will be addressed. Finally, your eye health will be evaluated. These tests are all part of a routine eye exam. Therefore, it is most convenient to combine a routine exam and contact lens fitting during the same visit.
A contact lens fitting will require more information on your lifestyle and visual needs than a routine exam. This includes your reasons for wearing contact lenses and whether you intend to wear them occasionally or all the time.
Different strategies will be discussed for those requiring help focusing up close. Options include multifocal contact lenses or monovision. In monovision, one eye is corrected for the best distance vision and the other for the best near vision.
Measurements required to provide a proper fit include:
- Cornea measurements – During this test, the shape and smoothness of the cornea are measured. This is done with a keratometer or a topography machine.
- Pupil and iris measurements – During this test, the size of the pupil and the width of the iris are evaluated with a biomicroscope, also called a slit lamp.
- Tear film evaluation – This test is an evaluation for dry eyes and is done with a slit lamp and other special tests.
If you’ve never worn contact lenses, your eye care provider will teach you how to insert and remove the lenses from your eyes. A review of how to keep the lenses clean and the dos and don’ts of contact lens wear will also be provided.
During your contact lens fitting, you will usually receive “trial contact lenses.” These are identical to those you will eventually order and are included in your fitting exam fee. If you have an uncommon prescription or are being fitted with rigid gas-permeable contact lenses, your lenses may need to be ordered first. You will have to return later to pick them up and be evaluated. A “trial kit” of contact lens solution and a storage case are often provided and included with the exam.
The lenses must also be looked at on the eye with a special instrument to ensure they’re not too tight and are positioned correctly. A final check of the contact lens prescription will have you on your way to successfully wearing contact lenses.
It is common for someone fitted with contact lenses to leave their exam with the lenses in their eyes. If you’re wearing new lenses, you will usually be asked to try them for a week or so before ordering more. An average contact lens check (by video or in person) takes about 20 minutes.
Do you need a contact lens fitting?
If you're interested in contact lenses for the first time, you can wait until your regular eye exam and ask to have them fitted. Expect that your visit will take longer. It’s best to inform the person making your appointment that you intend to request a contact lens fitting.
If you already wear contact lenses, yearly contact lens exams are recommended. They are an excellent way for your eye care provider to ensure the lenses are not affecting your eye health. The lenses' refractive power can also be adjusted if you need a prescription update. There continue to be advancements and innovations in the comfort of contact lenses. Your annual contact lens evaluation is an excellent time to ask about the latest technology.
You may still need a contact lens visit between eye appointments. A change in vision, discomfort, or itching with your contacts indicates that you should schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Keeping up with regular contact lens office visits will ensure you can wear contact lenses your whole life.
Book an eye test and contact lens exam to learn how contact lenses can help you have the best vision possible.
SOURCES:
- Potential complications from contact lens use: Causes and how it spreads. Healthy Contact Lens Wear and Care. CDC. April 2024
- Boost your first-fit success rates. Review of Optometry. August 2023.
- Multifocal contact lens designs: Know the players. Review of Cornea & Contact Lenses. November 2023.
- Soft toric lenses: Harness this valuable practice opportunity. Review of Cornea & Contact Lenses. March 2024.
- Healthy vision and contact lenses. American Optometric Association. Accessed July 2024.
- FAQs about contact lenses. British Contact Lens Association (BCLA). Accessed July 2024.
- Pathologic causes of irregular astigmatism. Review of Cornea & Contact Lenses. June 2019.
- Contact lenses. StatPearls [Internet]. June 2023.