Contact Lenses at Giles Eye Care

It’s no secret that many people prefer contact lenses over eyeglasses. They’re lighter, less obtrusive, and don’t get in the way of your day-to-day activities. At Giles Eye Care, we offer a range of contact lenses to suit your individual visual needs and lifestyle. Broadly speaking, there are a few categories of contact lenses: soft, rigid gas permeable, and hybrid.

Soft contact lenses

Soft contact lenses are made of a flexible, water-absorbing material that conforms to the shape of your eye for comfortable wear. They come in a variety of options and wear schedules to suit your individual needs. Wear schedules can be daily disposable, daily wear, extended wear, and frequent or planned replacement.

Rigid gas permeable contact lenses

Rigid gas permeable contact lenses are made of special, hard plastic that allows oxygen to pass through the lens. These lenses are ideal for people with certain types of vision problems that can’t be corrected by traditional soft contact lenses. These include moderate to severe astigmatism, keratoconus, corneal scarring, or any other condition that affects the shape of the cornea or the curvature of the eye itself. Rigid gas permeable lenses can provide sharp vision correction, have a relatively short adaptation period, and are comfortable to wear.

Hybrid contact lenses

Hybrid contact lenses combine a rigid center with a soft outer ring. They offer the crisp visual correction of a rigid gas permeable lens and the comfort of a soft contact lens.

Types of contact lenses

There are many different types of contact lenses to accommodate unique visual needs and lifestyles. It’s important to follow your doctor’s instructions on the wear and replacement schedule to avoid developing discomfort and infection.

• Spherical lenses are standard contact lenses that have a spherical surface and are used to correct nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (hyperopia).
• Toric lenses are designed specifically to correct astigmatism—a common imperfection in the curvature of the cornea or lens that causes blurry vision. These lenses contain two corrective powers, one to correct astigmatism and another to correct either nearsightedness or farsightedness. They come in both soft and gas permeable designs.
• Multifocal lenses are ideal for those who need correction for both near and far vision, such as those with presbyopia.
• Monovision lenses can be prescribed in some cases for people with age-related changes to their near vision from presbyopia. One contact lens is prescribed for near vision, and another contact lens is prescribed for distance.
• Cosmetic contact lenses are tinted to change the color of the iris (the colored part of the eye). These lenses have no power for vision correction and are worn purely for cosmetic purposes. It’s important to note that cosmetic or decorative contact lenses still require a prescription to safely wear them.