Contact Lenses

If you decide you want to wear contact lenses instead of glasses the first thing you will need to do is see one of our doctors and arrange to have a contact eye exam. You cannot use your eyeglass prescription to get contacts. The reason for this is that contact lenses are considered to be medical devices and must be fitted by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist. In the state of Illinois you must have your eyes examined once a year to continue to be dispensed contacts.

Contacts are divides into two main groups, soft and rigid gas permeable. The soft contacts are more comfortable than the rigid type. One drawback to the soft contacts is that they cannot be used for as long as rigid and need to be replaced sooner.

Rigid contacts can generally be replaced every couple of years because they are more durable and more resistant to build up of contaminants on the lens.

Soft contacts have a more varying replacement schedule. Here is a brief idea of soft contact replacements:

daily disposable - 1 day
disposable or extended wear - 1 week
disposable or daily wear - 2 weeks
conventional - 1 year

click the following links to learn more about contacts:

Bifocal Contact Lenses

Color Contact Lenses

Disposable Contact Lenses

Extended Wear Contact Lenses

Toric Contact Lenses

Other Contact Lenses