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| The Initial Consultation |
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| Whichever lens you are interested in, we would carry out a consultation which will take at least 30-45 minutes where we will assess the health and condition of everything from the tips of the lashes to the iris, looking at the quality and quantity of the tear film (the main support for the contact lens), the shape and condition of the lids and the size and health of the cornea. To do this we use a biomicroscope (slit lamp) with various coloured dyes to help show us the general well being of the front of the eye. We would then measure the shape of the eye using a Corneal Topographer, which is so accurate we can design lenses from this data. All this information is then used along with our talk with you about what you want and expect from lenses, what sort of work you do, the environment at work, your hobbies and general health etc, to help us decide what lenses to recommend for you and to give you trial lenses, free of charge.
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| OrthoKeratology |
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OrthoKeratology (Ortho-k) has often been labelled the safe alternative to laser surgery. It is a procedure where the patient sleeps in specially designed lenses, removing them in the morning and having clear vision without having to wear contact lenses or glasses for one or two days. Unlike laser surgery it is completely reversible.
Ortho-k is ideal for serious sportsmen and women especially those involved with swimming, surfing or any water based sports, because the traditional risks of wearing contact lenses in water don’t apply as you won't have the lenses in when you are taking part. Also it's fantastic for those involved in martial arts or boxing as the advisory bodies of these organisations often recommend against the use of contact lenses in case of problems following a blow to the face.
There is also ongoing research to verify claims that Orthokeratology can also halt the progress of myopia (shortsight)! |
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| Silicon Hydrogel |
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Silicon-hydrogel (SI-H) is the latest technology for soft contact lenses. The first lenses of this type were introduced in about 2001 and were mainly thought of as a Continuous Wear lens (please see separate CW section)
Nowadays most of the new lens designs are made from some form of silicon-hydrogel base. The material types vary considerably with some materials having far less dehydration (dryness) problems than others, and therefore, better for people working in dry environments or using a computer a lot (as your blink rate reduces and your tear film thins). All Si-H lenses have an amazing oxygen permeability and in most cases give the eyes about 98% of all the oxygen they need. To put it into context a normal soft hydrogel lens has oxygen permeability of approximately 20-30, most Si-H lenses give between 60-140! We feel that this is the way to go, the more oxygen your cornea has the healthier it will be and there will be less risk of infections etc. |
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| Disposables |
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Daily Disposable lenses are ideal for those patients who want part time contact lens wear, maybe for sport use or just for those social occasions. Maybe the cleaning routine of your normal lenses is a proverbial pain and nuisance to you. Worn for just one day and then disposed of, the least hassle lens of them all.
Daily disposables are available as standard distance vision, mono-vision, multifocal or Astigmatic. The new Acuvue Trueye is also available, the worlds first Silicon Hydrogel daily disposable lens with the highest oxygen permeability of any daily disposable and fantastic moisture retention. |
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| Other Disposables we also recommend 2 weekly modality (with Oasys from Acuvue being our most popular lens for extreme comfort and high oxygen permeability for healthy corneas) along with monthly lenses of both silicon hydrogel and standard soft types. Other lenses can come in 3 month and even 6 month modality.
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| Toric Lenses |
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Used to correct astigmatism and available in all types of lenses and prescriptions including varifocal, daily disposable and Rigid Gas Permeable. Standard soft lens designs (ie not disposable) are available for higher prescriptions. Astigmatism is a slight mis-shaping of the cornea and/or other parts of the optical system of the eye. The easiest way to explain it is to think of a slice of a football (spherical) as being the shape of the 'perfect cornea' and the astigmatic cornea as being like a slice of a rugby ball. This shape with two different curvatures splits the light into 2 different positions in the eye and needs a more complex 2 curves/powers on the lens to correct it fully. Currently we can correct up to 30 dioptres long or short sight with up to 11.00 dioptres astigmatism Please ask for further details about your prescription. |
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| Multifocal Lenses |
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| This covers both Bifocal and Varifocal lenses. It literally means a lens with more than one focal length. There are many designs in all types of lenses Gas Permeable, standard soft and disposable soft lenses. It is one of the areas that we specialise in having assisted in pre-launch trials and having more than seven different trial designs in practice and access to countless more, so if you've ever been told you're not suitable, it might be worth trying again. Please call if you wish to receive our information leaflet on this subject or feel free to ask us for more details. |
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| ChromaGen |
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| ChromaGen lenses for dyslexia and colour deficiency. These are a unique range of specially tinted lenses that are worn as either as spectacles or contact lenses. |
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| Keratoconus (KC) |
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A condition belonging to a group of conditions known as Ectasias (dilation or distension of a hollow organ or canal). It is a bulging forward and thinning of the cornea which usually appears around puberty, it normally involves both eyes but often one eye is more progressed than the other. There are a number of different positions and shapes for this cone shaped distortion and there is usually some drop in vision due to increased short-sightedness (myopia) and astigmatism caused by the mis-shaping.
Vision can be corrected using a number of different lenses usually rigid gas permeable lenses although there are some soft lenses designed especially for KC. In the early stages normal lenses can be used successfully. We currently use 3 different KC designs and have access to several more including a hybrid of soft and gas permeable materials. Again KC is one of the areas that we specialise in. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding Keratoconus. |
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| Post Laser / Corneal Surgery |
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| Sometimes refractive laser surgery (such as LASIK or PRK) can leave complications which cannot be improved by further surgery. These changes could mean that the cornea becomes irregular in shape. With the equipment that we have such irregular shapes are easy to map and understand. We can then design lenses to fit and have three different software programs to help us. In such instances specially designed contact lenses can be fitted which may improve the quality of vision as well as 'top up' the prescription. If you require more information please contact us as every case is unique. |
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| Continuous Wear |
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| CW is wearing your lenses day and night for a set period of time which will be recommended by your eyecare practitioner. This should only should be done on their advice. CW is a riskier way of wearing lenses so should not be undertaken lightly. All our CW lenses are made from SI-H which has a significantly higher oxygen permeability than standard soft lenses which reduces the risks. Assessments and trials for CW are carried out before we allow you to proceed, if there is anything which may increase your risk we would advise you against this type of wear. It can be a fantastic way to wear lenses especially for people with busy lifestyles, mothers of young babies, night workers or shift workers. |
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| Dry Eye Treatments |
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Dry eye symptoms can vary in intensity and appearance. There are various causes of dry eye and it needn’t be induced by contact lenses, it can also be caused by other health issues. Ranging from the merely annoying, which for lens wearers means taking the lenses out early, to the unbearable, constant gritty, sore eyes which seem to weep or overflow!
As the causes and intensity vary so much it is very difficult to give general advice about the treatment as it will vary depending on the cause. Once we have evaluated the reasons for the dry eye during your initial consultation (we can often show you the problems using our image capture camera attached to the slit lamp) we can then use one of the range of treatments that we have available from supplements to an Eyebag! There is also our range of comfort drops, each one working in a slightly different way or in a different aspect. Again as this is one of our specialities please contact us for further information. |
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