Contact Lens Eye Exam

Before you can get a pair of contact lenses, you’ll need to have your eyes examined and fitted by an optometrist and get your prescription.  Normally, fittings for contact lenses will take longer than the standard eye exam.  If you are looking to get fitted for contacts, you should let your optometrist know up front that you are interested in getting contacts.

When you first begin with your eye exam, your optometrist will first examine the health of your eyes.  Your eye doctor will also want to know why you want contacts, if you have any known problems with your eyes, and what you hope to get from your visit.  Overall, your contact fitting and exam will be based on the information that you have provided.

During your exam, you’ll go through several tests that will let the optometrist know the health and vision of your eyes.  Once the exam is finished and your optometrist has the information he needs, you will be a given the prescription to get your contact lenses.  Without a prescription, most places won’t sell you contacts.

When it comes to fitting your contact lenses, your optometrist will measure the curvature of your eyes and other factors that will affect how your lenses will fit in your eyes.  Some people are more prone to dryness in their eyes than others, meaning that the contacts you are prescribed shouldn’t aggravate the dryness.  In order for your optician to give you a prescription for contact lenses, your cornea will need to be free of any type of problems that can prevent you from wearing them.

Normally, your optician will give you a trial pair of contact lenses to try out, and then check them for fit once they have settled in your eyes.  Sometimes, you may need to try out several different pairs before you find the perfect fit.  The lens you choose should give you better vision, fit comfortably in your eye, and not do any damage to the cornea.

It’s very important that your lens not be torn, scratched, or damaged in any way.  Before you try the contact out, you should always inspect it to make sure that there are no defects.  Your optician will show you how to inspect the contacts before you put them in your eyes, starting with your trial pairs.  The optician or associates working there will need to verify that your test contacts meet your standards and the requirements for your eyes, according to what the optician recommends.

At your fitting exam, your eye doctor will also go offer with you what brands of contacts you should and shouldn’t use.  When you try out your test contacts you’ll use certain types of solution as well, to see if affects your eyes.  Some solutions will work well for some, while they may cause irritation for others.  Normally, your optometrist will try you out with one of the latest and greatest brands of contacts, to see whether or not they work for you.

After you have been fitted for your contacts and found the perfect pair, you should make sure that you always go to your follow up visits.  Your first follow up will be in a few short weeks, after which your optician will check your eyes and contacts again, to make sure that everything is still going good.  After that, you should always attend any follow ups that you have - to make sure that your contacts are working good - and your eyes are still in good health.