Yes, in most cases you can wear bifocal contacts. There are soft and rigid gas permeable Bifocal Contacts available today. The "Aspheric Progressive Rigid Gas Permeable" contacts have proven to be our most successful fitting lens. We have over 100 patients who are very satisfied in these lenses. There has yet to be a soft contact lens bifocal that works very well, but Johnson & Johnson claims to have a Disposable Bifocal contact lens that works very well. These lenses are due out in December and we look forward to trying them.

If you have "Pink Eye" which is a viral conjunctivitis, you must remove your contact lenses immediately and wear glasses until your infection has resolved. We strongly urge you to throw away your contact lenses and replace them with a new pair. You can only put on your new pair of contacts when your "pink eye" has gone away completely, and when your eye doctor says it is okay to wear contacts again.

In most cases you can wear contacts even if your eyes feel a little dry. First, your optometrist must determine what is the cause of the dry eyes. It could be a decrease in tear volume, meibomian gland dysfunction, lid apposition problems, or vitamin deficiencies, just to name a few possible causes. Next, a treatment plan is determined which could include artificial tear supplements or Punctal Plugs. Punctal Plugs which are painlessly inserted keep what tears you produce on your eye for a much longer time. Usually this tremendously aids the wearing of contact lenses. If you think you have dry eyes, come visit one of our doctors for a Dry Eye Assessment.

Yes, you can get colored contact lenses even if you do not have a prescription. 25% of people who wear colored or tinted contact lenses do not need glasses. In order to get colored contact lenses, you must have a complete eye exam to determine what type of lens will fit you best on your eyes.

The advantages of disposable lenses over that of the traditional one pair of lenses that last one year are numerous, but most importantly is that disposable lenses are healthier since you throw them away every 2 weeks or 2 months (depending on what contact lens replacement schedule your optometrist prescribes). Contact lenses get protein and lipid build-up on them over time. This can cause problems like Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis. Build-up on lenses also causes a decrease in the amount of oxygen that gets to the cornea. This can cause corneal swelling which decreases your vision and can make your cornea more susceptible to other eye disorders. Wearing disposable lenses means that you always have spares for an emergency. Plus, when you throw away your lenses every 2 weeks, there is no need to buy enzymatic tablets, which saves you time and money. Please note:Our doctors recommend that you do not sleep in your lenses. Any time you sleep in lenses you increase your risk of ulcerative keratitis which can result in a permanent decrease of vision.

We recommend an eye exam once every year. However, patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and glaucoma, may need more frequent eye exams.

There is no way to know for sure, without a thorough eye exam, if you are at risk for developing Glaucoma. Certain factors put you at greater risk for glaucoma such as age, a family member with Glaucoma, and a history of smoking. Even some races are at greater risk for developing Glaucoma. The evaluation for Glaucoma consists of three steps. First, checking the internal pressure of the eye. Higher pressures in the eye are the most significant factor in developing Glaucoma. Second, ophtalmoscopy must be performed, which is simply looking in the back of the eye with the aid of illumination, to view the health of the optic nerve. This is most easily done through a dilated pupil, but may also be done even if the pupil is not dilated. In Glaucoma, the optic nerve will, most of the time, show some atrophy due to pressures that are too high. Third, recent technology has allowed us to test the peripheral vision with the aid of an Automated Visual Field Analyzer. Since Glaucoma first affects the peripheral vision, this step is the best way to catch Glaucoma early. In early Glaucoma, the internal pressure of the eye and the optic nerve may look normal. It is possible to have Glaucoma and have normal pressures and a normal appearance to the optic nerve. Thanks to the advances in recent technology, however, we are able to perform an automated visual field analysis in less than 10 minutes and at a reasonable cost. Because of this recent technology, we now recommend this visual field analysis for all patients who have never had one performed, or for whom we suspect Glaucoma based on the pressures and the appearance of the optic nerve. This allows us more success in catching Glaucoma in it's earliest stages and allowing us to treat it before there are any symptoms of visual loss.

Yes, you can wear contact lenses if you have astigmatism. We have fit thousands of people successfully in soft toric contact lenses for astigmatism. The lenses are comfortable and most people get 20/20 or better vision with their contacts. If you have astigmatism, you can now wear the disposable lenses, and even colored lenses are now available for people with astigmatism. Please call us if you have further questions.

Although many people perceive optometrists as doctors who just prescribe glasses or contacts, they are much more. Optometrists, for several years now, have had therapeutic licenses and are much more involved in diagnosing and treating diseases of the eye. Some of these diseases of the eye are in the retina, which is inside the eye. The retina is the part of the eye which is made up of cells, called rods and cones, which collect the light that enters our eye and makes the picture of what we see. Many conditions can seriously threaten the health of the retina. Examples of these conditions might be retinal tumors, retinal tears or holes, retinal detachments, diabetic retinopathy, and hypertensive retinopathy just to name a few. Any, or all of these things could be present without any affect on your vision. To allow the optometrist to visualize these conditions, which could be located anywhere within the entire retina, they must first dilate your pupil. Several conditions put you at higher risk for damage to your retina. A few of these conditions include diabetes, high blood pressure, moderate to extreme nearsightedness, autoimmune diseases, trauma to the eye, glaucoma, and several types of cancer. Any one of these could cause damage to your retina that you are not aware of. Patients with any one of these conditions should have their eyes dilated every year. For all other patients who do not have one of these conditions, we still recommend having your eyes dilated at each yearly visit. So, simply put, no matter what your age and no matter how good your vision, there are things that can be going on in the retina that you don't know about, and the only way to find them is by looking for them.