Contact Lens Exam

If you wear contact lenses or would like to wear them, the first step is to schedule a contact lens exam. There are many new contact lenses to accommodate astigmatism, presbyopia, and more! People enjoy the freedom and convenience wearing contact lenses can offer, and the right contact lens will give you comfortable, clear vision.  

During a contact lens exam, the doctors at Walter Eye Clinic evaluate your eye health and vision and talk to you about your lifestyle and hobbies to ensure we recommend the right contact lens for your eye health, visual needs, and lifestyle.  

What does a contact lens exam include? 

Your contact lens exam at our office in Tinley Park will begin with an evaluation of your eyes. If you express interest in wearing contact lenses, we will include a contact lens exam as a part of your comprehensive eye exam.  

During the contact lens exam, your doctor at Walter Eye Clinic will evaluate the size and shape of your eyes and will also determine if there are any eye conditions that could affect how comfortable contact lenses will feel. Your doctor will measure your cornea to determine the curvature and size of your contact lens. If you have astigmatism, you may need to wear a toric lens, which is a special lens that counteracts flaws on the surface of the eye. Your doctor may also evaluate your tear film to determine if you have a condition known as dry eye, as this condition can affect your ability to wear regular contact lenses.  

Once these tests are complete, your doctor will prescribe the right contact lenses for you based on your eye health and vision needs. Your doctor may provide you with trial contact lenses and ask you to wear them for a week or so. You will then come back in for a follow-up exam to ensure they fit you well, provide you with clear vision, and that you’re comfortable wearing them.  

You will also be provided with a prescription that designates the contact lens type, power, base curve (a shape matching the curvature of your eye), and diameter.   

Why do I need an exam for contact lenses?  

Contact lenses are classified as medical devices and require a different prescription than your eyeglasses prescription. For this reason, you’ll need a contact lens exam if you would like to wear contact lenses. Our doctor can perform the contact lens exam during your comprehensive eye exam. When you schedule your appointment, be sure to let us know you’d like to wear contact lenses.  

How are contact lenses fitted? 

Our team at Walter Eye Clinic will select a well-fitting lens based on the measurement of your corneal curvature. We will work with you to make sure your lenses fit comfortably on the surface of your eye and provide clear vision.  

Learning to insert and remove contact lenses is an important step in contact lens safety. We’ll help educate you on this process and take our time to make sure you are comfortable before leaving our office with your contacts. You will learn how to properly put in and take out your contacts, clean and care for your lenses, and be advised on the best wearing habits to ensure comfort. 

Types of contact lenses   

There is a wide variety of contact lens options to accommodate most people’s visual needs and eye health, including specialty lenses. Even if you’ve found contact lenses to be uncomfortable or unsuitable in the past, you may be able to wear them now!  

• Soft contact lenses are the most common and most prescribed type of contact lens. Soft contact lenses are made of soft plastic polymers and water and allow oxygen to permeate to the eyes. There are different wear schedules for soft contact lenses based on your prescription. It’s important to adhere to the wear schedule the doctor prescribes for you so that your eyes remain healthy, and you can continue to comfortably wear soft contact lenses.  Your doctor may recommend daily use contact lenses, which means you only wear a pair of lenses for one day and then discard them, or weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly lenses.    

• Tinted or cosmetic contact lenses are soft contact lenses that change the color of the iris (colored part of the eye). These lenses can be used for cosmetic purposes, or for decorative purposes, such as for Halloween.   

• Toric contact lenses are made to correct astigmatism and are available in both soft and gas-permeable designs. These contact lenses have one power that is horizontal and one power that is vertical, and there’s a weight at the bottom so that they remain centered on the eyes.   

• Bifocal contact lenses allow people to see clearly up close and in the distance. These lenses are like bifocal glasses in that they have two separate powers, and they’re available in soft and gas-permeable forms.   

• Specialty contact lenses include scleral lenses and rigid gas permeable lenses and offer the freedom and convenience of wearing contact lenses to people for whom traditional soft contact lenses won’t work.  

Schedule Your Contact Lens Exam at Walter Eye Clinic    

Whether you wear contact lenses already or would like to, you need a contact lens exam. Contact us today to make an appointment for your comprehensive eye exam and let us know if you’d like to wear contact lenses.