Is wearing contacts better for sports activity?

Typically patients, who play sports, enjoy wearing contact lenses more than glasses for a variety of reasons. One of the primary reasons is that contact lenses give you a wider field of vision compared to glasses, and no physical glasses rim blocking your view.

This can be advantageous in when playing sports because we use our peripheral vision, or parts of our vision that are not in our center gaze. There is also the added benefit of not having to wear glasses, so no fogging of your lenses or glasses falling off your face.

Almost all patients that actively play sports enjoy contacts more so than glasses. Learn more about a contact lens fitting in NYC.

Can I sleep with my contacts? How often should I be changing them?

Although there may be certain contact lenses that you can sleep in, I do not recommend sleeping in any contact lenses. The reason I do not recommended sleeping in lenses is because studies have shown that people who sleep in contact lenses are ten times more likely to get a corneal infection!

Corneal infections are often extremely painful, cause light sensitivity and can lead to permanent scarring and vision loss. To help prevent contact lens wearers from getting corneal infections they should refrain from sleeping in their lenses, clean their lenses daily and wash their hands before removing or inserting their lenses.

You should be changing your lenses as instructed by your eye doctor at your contact lens visit. Please call the office if you are unsure how often your specific contact lenses should be replaced.

I am worried about putting my finger in my eye. How does someone get used to this?

I always recommend that before coming in for a contact lens fitting practice putting an eye drop on your finger and trying to touch the white part of the eye (it is called the Conjunctiva). Typically people that have difficulty getting contact lenses in are much more successful after practicing this for a week prior to being examined.

Can my child go to school with an eye infection?

You should not send your child to school with an eye infection unless cleared by your eye care provider. Most eye infections in children are some form of conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye) which are most often caused by a viral infection, however, they can also be a bacterial infection.

Viral infections, similar to the common cold, typically cause conjunctivitis and this type is typically highly contagious. If your child has viral conjunctivitis he should refrain from going to school until his infection has completely resolved.

My child scratched my eye. What should I do?

Coming in for an eye exam is recommended. A scratch to the eye is known as a corneal abrasion. Abrasions can be very painful, but often heal quickly (within a few days). During this healing time we often prescribe antibiotic eye drops, to prevent an active eye infection.

We may also prescribe or instill drops to help with pain if necessary, or place a bandage contact lens on the eye to improve comfort. I recommend being seen by an eye care provider if this occurs so that we may manage your condition appropriately so it does not progress and lead to an infection.

When I read a label on food items, I need to move it further away from me. What’s happening?

As we age there are changes to the lens inside our eye. We use the lenses inside our eyes to help focus on things up close, such as reading and writing. The lens inside the eye slowly loses its ability to help increase your focus, this starts at around age 45 and becomes progressively worse until it stabilizes around the age of 65.

This is known as presbyopia. We help patients see up close by prescribing a pair of reading glasses, bifocals or progressive glasses. If they currently wear contacts we may switch them to multifocal contacts, these are contacts that help see both distance and near.

Presbyopia occurs for every adult, some nearsighted patients may find that removing their distance glasses helps them read and that can be an appropriate solution for them. However, if they are unhappy removing their glasses to read bifocals or progressive lenses are an option.

Why should I take a photo of my retina during my eye exam?

The retina is the back part of the eye responsible for absorbing light and transmitting this information to the brain for processing. It is important to have your retina thoroughly examined annually. We routinely check the retina for holes, tears, detachments, and other eye conditions you may have heard of such as macular degeneration, and glaucoma.

We also note whether or not there are any irregularities or bleeding in the back of the eye. The Retina is the only place in the human body that we can actively see blood vessels. This helps us detect systemic conditions such as Diabetes and high blood pressure.

Taking a photo of the retina helps us examine the retina and have a baseline in which to compare future photos to note any new developments or changes.

We often use retinal widefield photos such as Optos to help us see the peripheral retina better. Taking photos of the retina in conjunction with a dilated examination is the best way to ensure the retina is healthy.