Scleral Contact Lenses
Scleral contact lenses are rigid gas permeable lenses with an extra-wide diameter. As opposed to traditional contacts, scleral lenses vault over the entire cornea, leaving a gap between the lens and the corneal surface before coming to rest on the white part of your eye (your sclera).
Their unique design has taken scleral lenses to the top of the charts for ultimate wearing comfort, healthy eyes, and excellent vision for people of all ages.
They are custom-fit to your eye and are perfect for those with hard-to-fit eyes, astigmatism, keratoconus, severe dry eye, or for those simply seeking more comfort when wearing contact lenses.
Here at Germantown Vision Care Center we specialize in Sclerel Contact Lenses. To discuss further give us a call here in the office at (301) 540-1555 or schedule an appointment here through our website.
What Are The Advantages Of Wearing Scleral Lenses?
With scleral lenses, you’ll experience consistently clear vision—even if you have an irregular cornea. Here are some of the benefits provided by scleral lenses:
• Their super-size diameter ensures that they stay centered and stable on your eye, which also prevents them from popping out easily, even if you play sports or lead an active lifestyle.
• They are made up from high quality, durable materials to last for the long haul.
• The large size of the lens protects your eyes from debris, dust, and allergens, providing a perfect solution if you suffer from eye allergies.
• They are composed of highly breathable gas permeable material, which ensures that ample oxygen reaches the eye, leading to healthy eyes and comfortable lens wear.
• These lenses have a pocket that fills with moisturizing tears. This wet, lubricating cushion leads to a very comfortable wearing experience, as well as healthier eyes.
Ready to say goodbye to all those contact lenses that felt uncomfortable and didn’t give you sharp vision? Give us a call and let’s arrange an appointment to discuss further.
Frequently Asked Questions About Scleral Contact Lenses
There are many applications for scleral lenses ranging from managing certain eye diseases and irregular corneas to correcting common causes of blurry vision. To know if you are a candidate for scleral lens wear, ask your eye care practitioner or contact lens specialist!
Prior to scleral lenses prescribing, an ocular health examination is needed to determine if scleral lenses are appropriate. To help design the lenses, measurements of the eye surface are taken, and diagnostic lenses may be applied to determine the initial lens specifications. Lens parameter changes may be made until the optimal prescription is achieved. The final lens is a one-of-a-kind, fully customized lens unique to each patient’s eye.
Many scleral lens wearers have underlying medical eye conditions such as keratoconus, ocular surface disease, or corneal transplants. Progress visits are paramount to long-term ocular health and scleral lens success. Improper wear schedules or wearing inappropriate scleral lenses can have harmful consequences that may threaten sight. Ongoing care schedules vary at the practitioner’s discretion, as each individual case is unique.
Scleral lens prescriptions are customized by specifications determined over the course of the prescribing process. The parameters can include diameter, vault, power, material, lens color, thickness, peripheral recesses, limbal clearance, landing zone configurations, and other proprietary specifications. Final scleral lenses are dispensed to the patient via the scleral lens practitioner so the prescription functions more like a receipt of the final scleral lenses. This may be useful to a new scleral lens practitioner in the event of a transfer of care.
The only safe way to fill your scleral lens prescription is through a prescriber to get exactly what was intended. By doing so, you also enjoy warranted lens exchanges at no further cost within the prescribing period. In other words, unlike pre-made soft disposable contacts which are inventoried in a warehouse awaiting distribution, scleral lenses are made to order by your prescriber’s laboratory one at a time. Scleral lens laboratories will not sell scleral lenses directly to patients. Furthermore, although there are multiple scleral lens laboratories, each laboratory has its own unique designs, often requiring specific lathing equipment for their proprietary designs. One laboratory cannot duplicate another laboratory’s scleral lens design due to equipment differences and protections against infringing on intellectual property.
The two scleral lenses shown below have the exact same power, diameter, and base curve. Yet they are dramatically different because complex proprietary specifications can only be assured if you get the lens through your prescriber. If you find an enterprising laboratory to directly fill your scleral lens prescription, beware of incurring far greater expenses to get the correct lens and the risk of jeopardizing your eye health.