Scleral Contact Lenses.
Costs associated with a fitting a scleral contact lens or the lenses themselves may be covered in part by your third party insurance or a health spending account.
Scleral Contact Lenses.
Scleral contact lenses are a type of speciality contact lens used for patients with irregular corneas, high prescriptions, or a history of corneal injury or surgery. Scleral contact lenses are extremely beneficial to these patients, because it allows them to achieve a level of vision that is not possible in glasses or traditional soft contact lenses. This type of contact lens is custom fit to the wearers eye by their optometrist.
Who Is This For?
Scleral contact lenses are for patients who have irregularly shaped corneas. This may be the result of corneal diseases such as keratoconus or pellucid marginal degeneration. This irregular eye shape may also come as the result of corneal surgery or severe injury to the cornea.
Scleral contact lenses are for patients who have exceptionally high prescriptions, either from myopia or hyperopia.
Scleral contact lenses are for patients who have severe ocular surface disease or dry eye syndrome.
Where Do We Start?
The starting point for determining if you are a good candidate for scleral contact lenses always starts at a routine eye examination. Your optometrist not only helps you achieve your best possible vision but also evaluates the health of the eye. If something is found during the eye examination where this type of specialty contact lens would be beneficial, we will have an in depth discussion about all the options available.
Many patients are already aware they have a corneal condition and have frustratingly never been to achieve very good vision with glasses or standard contacts lenses. Frequently, these patients have always been told to live with their visual condition and are unaware that other options are available to them.
Occasionally, a patient who is being cared for by an a ophthalmologist, or corneal specialist, will be referred to our clinic for a specialty contact lens fitting. This most commonly follows the successful completion of an eye surgery such as a corneal transplant or a procedure called corneal crosslinking.
The Fitting Process.
On the day of the initial fitting, the appointment will take around one hour. During this appointment your optometrist will select several diagnostic lens to place on the eye to determine the ideal fitting arrangement that will optimize both vision and comfort. At that appointment we let the best lens settle on the eye for approximately 30 mins and then re-evaluate the fit before finalizing the prescription. We can then proceed with ordering a lens that is custom made for the patients eyes.
A few days later the patient is invited back to try their custom scleral contact lenses. In a perfect world these are a perfect fit. The vision is clear and the patient barely notices there is anything on the eye. In most cases, scleral lenses are for patients with complex eye histories and there is often the need to make additional modifications to the fit of the lens. We may have that person back for a final visit.
We train patients how to apply, remove and care for their scleral lenses at that second visit. Because of the size of the lens, and how they are intended to fit on the eye, this is a slightly different process than what is required for a traditional soft contact lens. Most patients are able to master this after spending an hour with one of our expert contact lens trainers.
SCHEDULE YOUR SPECIALTY CONTACT LENS FITTING FOR SCLERAL CONTACT LENSES AT HELIO OPTOMETRY IN EDMONTON.
Scleral contact lenses are a revolutionary technology we can use to help people with complex corneal conditions get back to seeing their best. At Helio Optometry we routinely fit custom scleral contact lenses on patients with keratoconus and other corneal problems. Book an appointment online today. See you soon!
Custom Fit Scleral Contact Lenses At Helio Optometry in Edmonton.
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Scleral contact lenses actually sit on the white part of the eye. Because they vault over the entire front surface of the eye, they are able to compensate for any irregularities cause by corneal conditions such as keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration, corneal transplants and ocular surface disease.
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The most common scleral contact lens we fit is 15.8mm in diameter. This is slightly larger than the average soft contact lens and approximately the same diameter of a dime.
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The process of applying a scleral contact lens to the eye and then removing it at the end of the day is quite different from a regular soft contact lens. There are a few techniques but the easiest method utilizes the help of a small contact lens sized plunger. Usually, it is a bit awkward at first and takes a bit of practice but is easily mastered.
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Yes! If this lens is fit correctly, scleral contact lenses should be as comfortable or more comfortable than a well fitting soft contact lens.
A common concern is comparing these to hard contact lenses like RGP’s. But because the contact lens vaults over the entire front surface of the eye it does not touch any of the sensitive tissue on the front surface of the eye.
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The care instructions are the same as your soft contact lenses. We recommend Boston Multipurpose solution and the use of ClearCare (hydrogen peroxide) for removing deposits occassionally.
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Yes. Having a set of glasses in case of emergency is the recommendation. The benefit of scleral contact lenses is that you are able to achieve far better vision than with glasses.
However, things happen. Contact lenses get lost or misplaced. It’s important to have some way to correct your vision. Our Aperture collection was design just for this.
How to Prepare for Your Eye Exam and Contact Lens Fit.
Get the most out of your eye exam by preparing for your visit.
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Knowing your old prescription in your eyeglasses or sunglasses helps us to determine how much change your eyes are experiencing. This is important when managing some eye conditions.
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If you love or hate your contact lenses, bring your current boxes. This way we can ensure that we can keep you in what you like, or find something that will work better.
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Bring your insurance cards, government issued photo-Id like a drivers license, as well as your Alberta Health Care card. In order to provide services or bill your insurance, we need to be able to verify your identity.
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Many health conditions can affect your vision. Knowing your medications can help us to better monitor your eye health. Medications for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, arthritis, asthma, autoimmune, anti-depressants, and allergies are only some of the conditions we monitor and treat.
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Most eye exams take about 20-30 minutes to complete, but can last up to 1-hour if we need to dilate your eyes and run additional tests. If new eyeglasses are prescribed we suggest you allow for another 30-minutes to find something that you love, as well as have our optical team take all the appropriate measurements to accurately fill your new prescription.
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Eye exams are important to your overall health. It’s generally recommended that you have an eye test annually. Your optometrist may recommend a longer interval, depending on your age and risk factors.
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Maybe. We don’t routinely dilate everyone, because we use optomap retinal photography which provides us with a 200-degree image of the inside of the eye. Certain medical like diabetes, cataracts, and glaucoma or vision conditions still require us to dilate your eyes. Your optometrist will notify you before instilling any eye drops.