Q&A for Contact Lenses

Children as young as 8 years old and most adults can wear contact lenses.

Glasses have not been shown to be better or worse than contacts for your eyes. Contact lenses do not replace glasses but is a great addition as another form of vision correction. Contacts are better for certain activities, such as playing sports, exercising, swimming, and many other activities.

Yes, wearing contacts are better for sports because contacts do not interfere with your peripheral vision, doesn’t fog up, and allows you to wear more types of sunglasses.

Yes, you should always have a proper contact lens evaluation by an eye doctor to make sure you use the contact properly and your eyes are healthy enough for contacts.

You maybe referring to astigmatism. Yes, contact lenses have advanced a long way and can correct for large amounts of astigmatism.

Yes, there are contact lenses designed to change your eye color when you wear them. Some are designed to enhance your eye color or even change the color completely.

There are contact lenses that are FDA approved to be slept for up to 30 days but it is generally not a good idea for patients to sleep in their contact lenses overnight on a regular basis. Wearing and sleeping in your contact lenses without removing them for days will greatly increase your risk for eye infections that may lead to legal blindness.

This is always a challenge for new contact lens wearer but most people overcome this difficulty. One trick is to put your finger very close to your eyes and try to touch your eye brows without flinching. This may reduce your anxiety about touching your eyes. Remember, practice makes perfect!

A contact lens evaluation is typically a separate service from your eye exam. If your eye exam has been more than 6 months ago, it’s generally recommended you have it again if you want to be evaluated for contact lenses. This will ensure the prescription will be up to date when you are evaluated for your contact lenses.

You may swim in your contacts if you are wearing goggles. Wearing single use disposable contact lenses is the best way to wear contacts while swimming.