Contact Lenses

Contact Lenses

Contact Lenses offer different people different things. Some people wear CLs for cosmetic purposes, while others wear CLs as they give them the freedom to pursue sports like rugby and football or other outdoor activities. In some professions spectacles can be a hindrance and contact lenses can overcome this. In certain instances CLs can also give better vision than glasses.

As technology advances newer sophisticated materials are expanding the choice of lenses and the type of people who are suitable for contact lens wear. To find out if there is a type of contact lens suitable for you, please ask an optician. If you have asked previously and were told you were unsuitable this may no longer be the case so why not ask again?

What are contact lenses?

Contact lenses are small but powerful lenses that rest on the cornea of the eye and correct any refractive error the wearer my have. There are two main types of CLs:

• Hard: Rigid Gas Permeable
• Soft: Hydrogels & Silicone Hydrogels

Soft Hydrogel	Soft Silicone Hydrogel	RGP
Completely cover the cornea and do not move with the blink (good for sports). Comfortable from the start but not for sleeping in. Require careful cleaning and are more fragile than RGPs and can tear. Made from a plastic derived from HEMA Come in various water contents and are supplied on frequent replacement (disposable) schemes. Soft material requires special ‘toric’ design to correct astigmatism. Can be tinted to change or enhance the colour of your eyes. Can be changed monthly, fortnightly or daily.	Very much like standard hydrogels but contain silicon. Higher oxygen therefore eyes are healthier. Less complications in daily wear. Can sleep in the lenses (some lenses can be worn for an entire month if required). Can be changed daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly. As far as health and comfort these should be the lenses of first choice for all Patients.	Smaller than size of cornea and move with blink (not good for some sports). lnitially uncomfortable to wear but eventually can be worn all day. Easy to keep clean and are durable but can flex and break if mishandled. Come in various permeabilities (dk, which is how much oxygen is transmitted) and designs. Replaced annually on our direct debit scheme Rigid material can correct  mild to moderate astigmatism (up to 2.00 DC) using ‘simple’ designs. Do not change the colour of the eyes.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Lenses

They are hard lenses partially made from silicon. Unlike old designs of hard lenses RGPs allow oxygen to travel through the lens allowing the eye to ‘breathe.’ Traditionally they have provided better vision, fewer complications and a longer lifetime when compared to soft lenses.

However, they do not provide the initial comfort of a soft lens and wearing times have to be gradually increased until you are wearing them most of the time.

Soft Hydrogel Lenses

These are lenses made from ‘HEMA’ or similar plastics which hold water within the lens substance. The amount of water can make up to 90% of the lens and this gives the lens its comfort when on the eye. Soft hydrogels can either be:

• daily disposable (after wearing the lens for a day it is thrown away).
• monthly disposable (after wearing the lens it is cleaned and stored in solution but after either two, three or four weeks the lens is again thrown away). These are inferior lenses and as such we no longer offer them to new clients.

Silicone Hydrogel Lenses

Hydrogels made with silicon allow greater transmission of oxygen through the lens. This means that the eye will look and feel fresher at the end of the day when compared to normal hydrogels. There are fewer complications with silicone hydrogels and some have been CE marked so you can sleep in the lenses. However, we do not recommend extended wear lenses due to the increased risk of infection.

Silicone hydrogels for extended wear are stiffer than traditional hydrogels so tended to be slightly less comfortable but as newer more advanced designs are introduced they are becoming more and more comfortable in comparison.  If you have ever been told to stop wearing CLs due to complications caused by lack of oxygen, these lenses could give you another option.

I have astigmatism? Can I still wear CLs?

Astigmatism is when the eye focuses light in two different planes, instead of focusing light to a sharp point. This often happens when the front of the eye, the cornea, is not spherical (like a football) but is shaped elliptically (like a rugby ball).

Spherical: The rays of light in all meridians are focused at the same point.

Astigmatism: Rays of light 90 degrees to each other are focused at two different points. This can’t be corrected by a simple spherical design of soft CL. It needs a more complicated toric CL that will correct both meridians of blur.

I need spectacles for reading. Can I still wear CLs?

People aged 40 and over start to lose the ability to focus at near, a term named presbyopia and when this happens they normally need bifocals, varifocals or separate reading glasses.

People often think they have to wear specs to correct this but both soft and hard lenses can correct for presbyopia. So if you are having problems reading, ask your optician about MULTIFOCAL CLs. You don’t have to be a current wearer of contact lenses to try these.



I like the sound of CLs. What happens now?

Everyone who wants CLs needs to have a Fitting Assessment and this is charged as a separate fee for new CL wearers.

This covers the professional time measuring the parameters of the eye and the time taken to teach insertion, removal and general handling of the lenses.

If it is found that you are not suitable for CLs an Assessment Fee will still need to be paid.

Once you and the Optician are confident in your handling you will be given a trial pair of lenses to try for two weeks.

You will then be asked to come back in wearing the lenses (ideally for about four hours) and to bring your spectacles to the appointment.

The Optician will test the fit of the CLs and the vision with the lenses in. He will also check that the health of the eye is not affected by the lenses.

The Optician may have to alter the prescription based on his finding and ask you to return after trying some different lenses.

If everything is ok and both you and the Optician are happy with the CLs, depending on your type of wearing scheme, you can take your lenses and solutions home.

We will then ask you to return for regular aftercares to make sure that no problems arise.

These are normally every six months and will coincide with picking up your next six months supply.

Recommended on Complete Eyecare

Mellis Eyecare Complete is our direct debit scheme

Mellis Eyecare Complete includes the following:

• An eye examination routinely every year (or more often if required)
• A contact lens check every 6 months.
• A FREE pair of spectacles worth £60.00 every year you are on the scheme
• 20% off branded spectacle lenses & frames

Direct debit covers cost of lenses already collected. Any outstanding debt would have to be paid on cancellation. If you fail to collect the lenses whilst continuing to pay your direct debit you will not be entitled to a refund as any lenses ordered are specific to your prescription and cannot be returned to the manufacturer.

Dailies  (30 pairs)

First Month purchased in advance then direct debit fee goes towards future supply

Lens Type	Manufacturer	TOTAL / Month	Lenses/Month	Fees / Month
MyDAY	Coopervision	£ 40.40	£ 30.40	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily
Proclear 1 Day	Coopervision	£ 25.80	£ 15.80	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily
Proclear 1 Day Multifocal	Coopervision	£ 44.60	£ 34.60	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily
Biomedics 1 Day Extra Toric	Coopervision	£ 43.40	£ 33.40	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily
Clariti 1 Day	Sauflon	£ 38.60	£ 28.60	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily
Clariti 1 Day Multifocal	Sauflon	£ 45.80	£ 35.80	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily
Clariti 1 Day Toric	Sauflon	£ 43.40	£ 33.40	£ 10.00	Soft	Daily

Monthlies.  (1 pair per month)

First 3 Months purchased in advance then direct debit fee goes towards future supply

Lens Type	Manufacturer	TOTAL / Month	Lenses/Month	Fees / Month
Biofinity	Coopervision	£ 17.35	£ 7.35	£ 10.00	Soft	Monthly
Biofinity Torics	Coopervision	£ 19.57	£ 9.57	£ 10.00	Soft	Monthly
Biofinity XR	Coopervision	£ 18.95	£ 8.95	£ 10.00	Soft	Monthly
Biofinity Multifocal.	Coopervision	£ 23.61	£ 13.61	£ 10.00	Soft	Monthly

Rigid Gas Permeables

Lens Type	Manufacturer	Initial Fee	TOTAL / Month	Lenses /Month	Fees / Month
GP Torics.	Thomson	£ 150.90	£ 22.58	£ 12.58	£ 10.00	RGP	Yearly
Maxim Varifocal.	Thomson	£ 190.90	£ 25.91	£ 15.91	£ 10.00	RGP	Yearly
Optimum Comfort 65	Thomson	£ 90.00	£ 17.50	£ 6.08	£ 10.00	RGP	Yearly

If you would like to book in for a contact lens fitting please give us a call:

Thornaby 01642 751048 North Ormesby 01642 225671

Or book online at:

www.melliseyecare.co.uk