WE ARE CONTACT LENS SPECIALISTS

SEE NEAR AND FAR WITHOUT GLASSES. 
Family Eye Care of N.E.PA can determine if contact lenses are right for you. Our services
and products include:

• Conventional soft lenses
• Gas permeable firm lenses
• Toric lenses for astigmatism
• Extended wear lenses
• Bifocal Lenses
• Cosmetically tinted soft lenses
• Daily and extended wear disposable lenses
• Frequent replacement lenses
• Custom fit contact lenses

Finding what's right for you. Several factors go into determining which type of contact lens is right for you.

• Your eyes.  Your vision problem, lens prescription and eye health needs may limit your lens choices.  Using the results of a thorough eye examination and contact lens evaluation, your doctor of optometry will advise you on these matters.
• Your lifestyle.  Gear your lenses to your activities.  If you are athletic, consider soft lenses.   Need the sharpest vision possible on the job?  Try RGP lenses.   Like camping?  Travel a lot? Need good vision the moment you awake? Extended wear lenses may be for you.
• Your personality.  Impatient?  Soft lenses have the shortest adaptation. Cost conscious?  RGP lenses need less frequent replacement.  Fashion oriented?  Consider deep tinted soft lenses.  Careful and reliable?  You can handle the extra care and office visits extended-wear lenses require.
• Cost.  Don't base your decision on cost alone.  You'll want the type of lens that is healthiest for your eyes and provides the best vision.  Be wary of bargain prices.  Be sure the price quoted covers a thorough diagnostic examination, the lenses, lens care kit, training on proper lens wearing
  and care procedures and unlimited scheduled follow-up visits over a
  specified time.  Thorough care will pay off in years of safe and successful
  wear.

Look at the types of lenses.

Let's begin by looking at what's available.

• Soft lenses.  Made of many different flexible water absorbing plastics that allow oxygen to pass through them to nourish the eye.  Offer easy adaptation; comfortable wear almost from the start; ability to switch from contacts to glasses without experiencing any blurred vision; on and off wear without re-adaptation; close fit, making them less likely to dislodge or get dirt trapped under them.  But soft lenses don't correct all vision problems, may not provide the sharp vision some other lens types do and need replacement periodically as recommended by the optometrist.  Still, they are the most popular contact lenses worn today.
• Rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses.  Made of different rigid or slightly flexible plastics that allow oxygen to pass through them.   They offer sharp, crisp vision; ability to switch from contacts to glasses without experiencing blurred vision; correction for most vision problems; durability, with less frequent replacement than soft lenses.  But require a longer adaptation period and consistent wear to maintain adaptation.  Can be dislodged during active sports participation.  Fairly new.  RGP lenses are growing in popularity.
• Standard hard lenses.  Made of tough inflexible plastic that does not permit oxygen to pass through them.  With proper fit, oxygen goes around and under lens.  Offers sharp vision; greatest versatility in correcting vision problems; most durability, lasting several years.  But require longest adaptation period and almost daily wear to maintain adaptation.  May cause temporary blurred vision when switching to glasses.  Can slip off the eyes and create corneal abrasions if worn too long.  The oldest type of contact lenses, standard hard lenses are rarely prescribed today but many people continue to wear them successfully after many years.
• Extended wear lenses.  Many are soft lenses made of high water-content plastics but RGP versions are also available.   Extended wear lenses can be worn for up to 7 days and 6 nights.  They are then discarded with a disposable program or cleaned and disinfected with conventional extended wear system.  Extended wear requires three or four office visits a year for follow-up care and replacement at least once a year.  Also have same advantages and disadvantages of their daily wear counterparts.
• Special designs.  Include toric soft lenses for high degrees of astigmatism; bifocals, available in daily wear lenses only; silicone lenses; and combination RGP / soft lenses.
• Tinted lenses.  Available in soft, RGP, standard hard and extended wear lenses, some are light identification tints but many daily and extended wear soft lenses are darker to enhance eye color and others have clear centers surrounded by deep tints that change eye color.

Don't Forget. Family Eye Care of N.E.PA's staff are skilled, concerned professionals who offer a wide variety of types and brands of lenses, stresses long-term management care and are willing to discuss the contact lens options open to you.  Together, you can determine just what contact lens is the best for you.