Contact Lens Fitting Procedure
Before contact lenses can be prescribed, a complete eye examination is required. No contact lens should be fitted without a thorough eye exam as a first step. The type of lens best suited for you should be the subject of a discussion between you and your doctor. Your eye doctor will determine the strength of the lenses, and inspect your eyes and lids for possible allergies or infections. The curvature of the eye must be measured and other special tests may have to be performed.
Contact lenses, both hard and soft, are held in place by adhering to the film of tears that normally covers the front of your eye. A membrane that lines the front half of the eyeball and lines the underside of the eyelid makes it impossible for the contact lens to go behind the eye or to wander anywhere but under the lid.
After you are fitted, there may eye discomfort, but there should be no pain. As you become accustomed to the lenses, wearing time should increase and discomfort decrease until maximum wearing time is finally reached. This may take three to four days for soft lenses, and two to four weeks for hard lenses.
Some symptoms experienced during the adaptation period are tearing, blinking, sensitivity to light, head tilt, and a slight redness of the eye. All of these symptoms are temporary and should disappear by the end of the third week. If not, notify your eye doctor.
Patients should be alert to any signs of infection, corneal abrasion and swelling.
A small percentage of patients have a great degree of sensitivity and never quite adapt to contact lenses. They are usually told that they are not ideal candidates and should not be wearing contacts.
