NYC Contact Lens

Selection & Fitting

Contact lenses are often a good choice, when worn properly, for nearly anyone who needs vision correction but doesn’t want to wear eyeglasses full time or undergo LASEK surgery.

With numerous types of contacts, it can be difficult to choose the right ones. Your contacts must address the problem that is prompting you to wear lenses in the first place. Your contact lenses must provide good vision by correcting your myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or some combination of those vision problems. Second, the lens must fit your eye. To do that, lenses come in tens of thousands of combinations of diameter and curvature. Of course, not every lens brand comes in every “size.“ Third, you may have another medical need that drives the choice of lens. For example, if your eyes tend to be dry – you need a different kind of lens.

Moskowitz Eye Care is here to make your life easier and help you with the perfect selection. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about your lenses.

What are the types of contact lenses?

Many lens designs are available to correct various types of vision problems:

  • Spherical contact lenses are the typical, rounded design of contact lenses, which can correct myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness).

  • Bifocal contact lenses contain different zones for near and far vision to correct presbyopia.

  • Orthokeratology lenses are specially designed to reshape the cornea during sleep, providing lens-free daytime wear

  • Toric contact lenses correct for astigmatism, as well as for myopia and hyperopia

All of these lenses can be custom made for hard-to-fit eyes. Many other additional lens designs are available. Typically these are less common and fabricated for use in special situations, such as correcting for keratoconus.

When to replace them?

Even with proper care, contact lenses (especially soft contacts) should be replaced frequently to prevent the build-up of lens deposits and contamination that increase the risk of eye infections.

Soft lenses have these general classifications, based on how frequently they should be discarded:

Lens Replacement Frequency

  • Daily disposable lenses — Discard after a single day of wear

  • Disposable lenses — Discard every two weeks, or sooner

  • Frequent replacement lenses — Discard monthly or quarterly

  • Traditional (reusable) lenses — Discard every six months or longer

Gas permeable contact lenses are more resistant to lens deposits and don’t need to be discarded as frequently as soft lenses. Often, GP lenses can last a year or longer before they need to be replaced.

Are contacts difficult to care for?

There are certain steps you need to take to ensure that your eyes stay healthy and your contacts last as long as possible.

The Basics Of Soft Contact Lens Care: Clean, Rinse And Disinfect

To clean contacts with a multipurpose solution, place the lens in the palm of your hand, apply a generous amount of solution and gently rub the lens against your palm with your pointer finger, using a back-and-forth (not circular) motion.

  1. Wash your hands so that you don’t transfer dirt and germs to your eye. Try to avoid moisturizing soaps, as they are not good for contact lenses. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel.

  2. Remove one lens and clean it with the recommended solution. Cleaning removes eye-produced buildup, cosmetics and other debris that impairs lens comfort. The FDA recommends that you rub the lens in the palm of your hand with a few drops of solution, even if you are using a “no-rub” product.

  3. Rinse the lens again to remove the loosened debris, making sure to take as long as the package directs: Rinsing is an important step.

  4. Place the lens in your clean lens case or lens holder and fill with fresh solution; don’t “top off” your old solution. Disinfecting kills microorganisms on the lens. Disinfection time varies from product to product; check the package for details.

  5. Repeat steps two through four for your other lens.

The exceptions are daily disposable contact lenses and some extended wear contacts that are discarded every time they’re removed. With these, you throw them out when you’re done wearing them, so there’s no care regimen at all.