Glasses & Contacts

Glasses and contacts correct for refractive errors. A refractive error occurs when the light from an object of regard is unable to be focused on the retina, or film of the eye.

As we mature, the lens in our eye hardens and as a result it is less able to change shape. This decreases our range of focus. Thus, if you have good distance vision, it becomes more difficult to focus on near objects as you enter your 40's. This condition is called presbyopia. Reading glasses are used to provide the additional focusing power for near.

There are multiple glasses options available for people who have trouble with prebyopia. They include a lined bifocal that has your distance power above the line, and near power below the line. Trifocals have 2 lines and 3 zones. The top of the trifocal lens is for distance, the middle zone is for intermediate or computer distance, and the bottom is for near or reading distance.

Progressive lenses have no visible lines. The top of the lens is for distance and the bottom of the lens is for near. In between as you look down the lens the lens gets better for near. These lenses work great for many activities and do not have an unsightly line that some feel dates them a bit. The less sophisticated or older versions of the progressive lens have more distortion has you look from side to side. For these lenses, it is important to point your nose at what you want to look at and then raise your chin to see objects that are closer or to dip your chin to see objects that are further away.

For those working on a computer, computer glasses can be prescribed. The top of the glasses are perfect for the computer and the bottom of the lens is perfect for near work. This helps eliminate neck strain and devotes more space in the lens to the space you are working in.

Contact lenses may be used to correct distance vision or near vision. For those over 40 years old with difficulty seeing at both distance and near, there are multiple contact lens options. Not one contact lens option is perfect for every situation or each individual. You can choose to employ mutliple contact lens options depending on your needs. Contact lenses can be prescribed that focus both eyes at a distance (and use over the counter reading glasses for near). Alternatively, contact lenses that focus one eye at distance and the non dominant eye at near may be prescripbed. Multifocal or bifocal contact lenses provide light from both distance and near in each eye, however a small amount of light is lost due to scattering of the light.

Proper care of your contacts is critical. Improper or "creative" contact lens wear frequently results in an eye infection. For some, these eye infections can be devastating. Severe infections may permanently scar the cornea. If you are a "creative" contact lens wearer, you should consider discontinuing contact lens wear, wear only glasses, or consider LASIK or PRK refractive surgery.

Call our clinic to schedule an appointment to discuss options to correct your vision. We provide prescriptions for glasses and contacts as well as offering refractive surgery to help correct your vision. We offer state of the art contact lenses and a number of sylish frames and sunglasses including Prada, Armani, Stetson, Prodesign, Nike, Ray Ban, Rudy Project, Marco, and Wiley X,