Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a popular alternative to spectacles and while it can be used to correct vision problems such as shortsightedness, longsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia, it can also be used in complex eye conditions such as keratoconus, corneal grafts and myopia control.

There are several types of contact lenses, each designed to meet specific needs and preferences.

Soft Lenses

Typically made from a flexible, water-absorbing hydrogel or silicone hydrogel material, these lenses are often pre-made and come in daily, fortnightly and monthly varieties. Daily lenses are worn for a day then discarded while fortnightly and monthly lenses can be used for up to 2 weeks or a month. They are recommended to be removed and thoroughly cleaned and stored every night for their wearing period.

Hard Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses

These lenses are custom-made from a rigid, oxygen-permeable material. They generally require very precise measurements to cater for each individual patient. They have a variety of uses:

• Correcting high levels of shortsightedness, longsightedness and astigmatism.
• Correcting eye condition with irregular corneas such as keratoconus and corneal grafts. Hard lenses in these cases provide users with much better vision than glasses and soft contact lenses. Sometimes certain cases require scleral or mini-scleral lenses which are large lenses which cover the whole cornea.
• Orthokeratology (Ortho-K/OK lens) which allow users to avoid using any glasses or contact lenses during the day by wearing hard lenses which reshape the cornea while sleeping. They have been described as “braces for the eyes” as they do not permanent alter the eyes. OK lenses are also used as a method to slow myopia progression in children.