Can ANYONE wear contact lenses?

From astigmatism to presbyopia, contact lenses now cater to nearly everyone. Explore types, benefits, and options—including specialty lenses for kids and complex needs—in this comprehensive guide.

Have you ever wondered if you’re a candidate for contact lenses? With advancements in eye care technology, almost anyone can find a lens that suits their needs. Whether you have astigmatism, presbyopia, or simply want freedom from glasses, this guide will explore your options. Below, we’ll discuss the types of contact lenses, who can wear them, and the benefits they offer for a wide range of needs.

Key Takeaways

• Broad Accessibility: Contact lenses now address astigmatism, presbyopia, and even pediatric needs (ages 4+), with options for nearly all vision conditions.

• Diverse Types: Includes soft lenses (daily, bi-weekly, monthly), specialty lenses (gas permeable, hybrid, scleral), Ortho-k (overnight reshaping), and FDA-approved myopia management for children.

• Enhanced Benefits: Clearer vision than glasses in some cases, active lifestyle compatibility (sports, swimming), and freedom from fogging/slipping in humid climates.

• Safety First: Strict hygiene, avoiding tap water, adhering to replacement schedules, and using preservative-free drops to prevent infections/dryness.

• Tailored Fitting Process: Involves exams, lifestyle-based lens selection, trial periods, training, and follow-ups for optimal fit and comfort.

• Age-Specific Solutions:

  • Kids: Myopia control and injury-resistant options.

  • Adults: Multifocal/toric lenses for presbyopia/astigmatism.

  • Seniors: Scleral lenses for dry eyes, easy-handling UV-protected lenses.

• Specialty Innovations: Ortho-k for daytime clarity without lenses; scleral lenses for irregular corneas (e.g., keratoconus).

• Professional Care: Regular check-ups and expert fittings ensure safety and adaptability to prescription changes.

• Lifestyle Freedom: Ideal for sports, outdoor activities, and cosmetic flexibility with colored lenses.

Who Can Wear Contact Lenses?

The truth is, anyone who is interested in wearing contact lenses can likely find an option that works for them. Years ago, doctors may have told patients with astigmatism or presbyopia (the need for reading glasses) that contacts weren’t an option for them. Nowadays, there are many options for patients, and our doctors are experienced at fitting all of these contact lens modalities. We even fit children as young as 4 years old in contact lenses, with parent cooperation, of course.

Soft Contact Lenses: Versatile and Comfortable

These lenses are commonly used for average prescriptions but in recent years have expanded to incorporate high myopic (minus) and hyperopic (plus) prescriptions as well as increasing options for patients with astigmatism.

• Monthly soft contact lenses: these lenses are taken out daily and thrown away at and end of the month.

• Bi-weekly soft contact lenses: these lenses are taken out daily and thrown away every 2 weeks.

• Daily soft contact lenses: these lenses are thrown out at the end of 1 day. The next day a new lens is worn.

These lenses can also incorporate astigmatism and provide multifocal correction for clear distance and reading vision.

Specialty Contact Lenses: Advanced Solutions for Complex Needs

This area of eye care has made it possible for a much wider range of patients to wear contact lenses and sometimes provide clearer vision than glasses.

• Gas Permeable Contact lenses: these rigid lenses allow for better optical quality and wider ranges of prescriptions and better fits on irregular corneas
• Specialty Hybrid Contact lenses: with a rigid gas permeable lens in the center surrounded by a soft contact lens skirt, these lenses provide the same benefits as gas permeable lenses with improved comfort.

• Scleral lenses: these lenses are widely used for conditions like keratoconus and allow for a large range of corneal irregularities and high or irregular prescriptions while providing great optical quality.

• Orthokeratology (Ortho-k) lenses: these are overnight reshaping lenses which gently mould the cornea to actually change the prescription and allow for clear vision throughout the day without the use of contacts or glasses.

• Myopia Management contacts: these lenses are used in children to slow the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) while providing clear vision. They are now FDA approved to slow myopia.