Contact lenses are not an easy solution for every person suffering with vision problems. Some eye conditions make wearing contacts a difficult proposition. However, it does not rule out wearing contact lenses altogether. It just means patients need to discuss options with their eye care provider and obtain specialized hard to fit contacts for their specific vision problems.
Reasons for Hard to Fit Contacts
Finding contact lenses that fit and wearing contact lenses in general can be made more challenging when these conditions affect your eyes:
- Astigmatism
- Dry eyes
- Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis (GPC)
- Keratoconus
- Presbyopia
Astigmatism: The cornea is an oval shape, like an egg or football instead of round like a baseball. Standard soft contact lenses cannot correct for this because they do not account for the oval shape.
Dry Eyes: When eyes become excessively dry, it leads to irritation, burning, redness and blurred vision. Contact lenses can exacerbate these conditions by making it feel like a foreign object is stuck in your eye.
GPC: This form of conjunctivitis is caused by inflammation on the inner surface of the eyelid. Protein buildup on contact lenses can make this condition worse.
Keratoconus: This is an uncommon condition that causes major discomfort when wearing contacts. Keratoconus happens when the cornea becomes thinner and allows the eye to bulge forward. The bulge forms into a cone shape.
Presbyopia: Eyes tend to have a tougher time focusing on close objects as they age. This condition is known as presbyopia. It typically affects people aged 40 or older.
Solutions for Hard to Fit Contacts
Wearing contacts is not impossible if you suffer from one of the above conditions. You do need to meet with an eye care professional, however, and get prescribed contact lenses that are tailored to deal with your specific vision condition.
Gas permeable lenses are a good solution for patients who suffer from Keratoconus. Gas permeable lenses can be effective in containing corneal bulging and relieving pressure on the tissue for a Keratoconus sufferer.
Toric lenses are useful for correcting astigmatism. Since the lens needs to align with the oval shape of the cornea, toric lenses must not rotate in order to fit on the eye. They are typically custom made to correct a specific astigmatism. For that reason, this type of lens may take longer to manufacture and costs more than a traditional contact lens.
Bifocal and multifocal lenses can help help treat presbyopia. Monovision lenses are another option for presbyopia, where one contact lens is fit for distance vision and another for seeing close objects.
GPC and dry eye symptoms can both be lessened through prescription drops and daily disposable contact lenses. The drops will lubricate eyes enough to make contact lenses more bearable, although punctual occlusion may also be done to plug the tear ducts in severe cases.