Contact Lenses 
The world of contact lenses is exciting and
rapidly changing - recent additions include soft lenses (silicone
hydrogels) that can be worn up to
30 days continuously from Ciba Vision! New materials, improved optics, vibrant colors and decreasing costs all
add up to a wonderful experience for the contact lens wearer. Contact
lenses are available for most vision problems today, including
astigmatism, bifocals, specialty sports applications and sight improvement
via corneal molding (orthokeratology).
The basic plastics used for contact lenses are of the soft and semi-soft varieties. Hard lenses are still available but not used widely today because of their inability to transmit oxygen to the eye. This link provides a nice glossary for those new to contact lenses. This is another glossary that encompasses more terms.
Soft contact lens materials are varied and manufactured in disposable (planned replacement) modalities and non-disposable (traditional) plastics. Disposable lenses are approved for various wearing times by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Eye health problems from protein buildup on contact lenses is a thing of the past with lenses worn on a daily basis and disposed nightly. We use dailies from Acuvue, Bausch & Lomb, Ciba Vision, The cost of these lenses is less than $1 per day. Solution cost is minimal and comfort is outstanding.
Soft lenses for astigmatism have improved tremendously because of computerized manufacturing techniques. We use the Acuvue Toric, Bausch & Lomb Soflens 66 Toric, CooperVision Encore Toric for 2 week wear; Ciba Focus Toric and CooperVision Frequency 55 Toric for 1 month wear, and CooperVision Preference Toric for 3 month wear.
Bifocal soft contact lenses are also improving. They will often provide very good distance and reading vision for the over 40 crowd. We use the Acuvue Bifocal, Bausch & Lomb Soflens Multifocal, Ciba Progressive and Unilens EMA/Softsite.
Soft contact lenses need to be disinfected in order to kill bacteria buildup. Products we use include Alcon's OptiFree Express, Bausch & Lomb's ReNu Multipurpose, Ciba AOSept and Solo
Semi-soft
or oxygen permeable contact lenses actually allow more oxygen transmission
to the cornea than soft lens materials. They are often an excellent choice
for people with sensitive eyes, dry
eyes, or astigmatism.
Semi-soft lenses also resist ripping better. Click here
to compare oxygen permeable versus soft contact lens.
Click on the picture for a
PBS video about oxygen permeable lenses.
Contact lenses can be used with most sports. There are a couple of specialized brands of that work well in the sun. The first is a oxygen permeable lens called SportSightTM GP Performance Contact Lenses. These act as sunglasses and provide sharper acuity than ordinary tinted lenses. Another specialized sports lens is the Ciba ProSoft. It is designed specifically for tennis players and utilizes the well-respected Bolle' Competivision technology.
Our office uses Boston and Paragon oxygen permeable lenses. We also use Alcon's Unique pH and Boston Simplicity solution.
An 8 minute video on how to care and handle oxygen permeable contact lenses can be found here.
The Contact Lens Manufacturers Association and the Contact Lens Council have excellent information guides online. Many frequently asked questions are discussed.
100 North Rancho Road, Suite #1
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
Phone (805)495-3937 Fax (805)373-9843
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