“I was diagnosed with keratoconus and now I need to wear medically-necessary contact lenses. What does that mean?” – Ron via email
Hi Ron, medically necessary contact lens fittings are performed on those patients that need to wear contact lenses in order to see clearly. Wearing glasses isn’t the ideal option for those patients because the power in the glasses doesn’t provide optimal quality of vision. This is seen in keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration, post-refractive surgery ectasia, high refractive error (high nearsightedness, high farsightedness, and high astigmatism), and anisometropia (a large difference in prescription between each eye). Some medically-required contact lens fittings are easily accomplished with soft lenses, and some patients need to be fit in specialty custom contact lenses. These lenses can afford great vision that many patients didn’t even know they could achieve. Learn if your eye condition meets medical necessity for contact lens wear by contacting our office at (303) 450-2020.
“I know I need to get some new glasses, but I only want to get a cheap pair. Does it matter what kind of glasses I get?” – James via email
Glasses are the basic form of vision correction for many patients. Unless you need to wear contact lenses out of medical necessity (see above), glasses will likely provide you with the best quality of vision that you can achieve. The reason for this is that modern spectacle lenses afford near-perfect clarity and are specially-designed to work with your specific frame, lens powers, and wear style. This type of lens is called a “digital” lens and even in very high prescriptions it can deliver razor-sharp vision anywhere you look. We recommend Shamir’s Autograph II Single-Vision Digital lenses. Moving on to lens materials, any prescription that contains more than only mild astigmatism should be in an astigmatism-friendly lens material. For moderate nearsightedness/farsightedness and astigmatism, trivex is the lightest lens material available and delivers fantastic optics. For anyone driving a car at night or using a computer or smartphone (shoot, that’s all of us, right?), an anti-glare coating is essential. Crizal’s Prevencia is a workhorse coating that provides not only great clarity and protection against UV and blue light, but also a 2-year warranty against scuffs and scratches. To avoid having to switch between sunglasses and clear glasses, Transitions lenses automatically adjust their light transmissibility to the environment. It is also work noting that all of our lenses and frames include our great warranty. So James, you could get a cheap pair of glasses, but you’d likely have lenses that are thick, heavy, scratched, distorted, not warrantied, and not protective against early eye disease. Probably not a good deal after all, right?
“Macular degeneration runs in my family and I don’t want to up with vision loss if I can avoid it. I’ve heard that I have risk factors, but is there anything that I can do prevent damage to retinas?” – Cindi via email
It is definitely a good idea to preserve your vision, Cindi. You can’t argue with your genes, but there are things you can do to promote good preventative eye care when it comes to macular degeneration. Did you know that 78% of the U.S. population has less than optimal macular pigment? The macula is the part of the retina that gives you your best quality of vision. For example, when you read the letter chart or recognize someone’s face, you are using your macula to see those things. Healthy macular pigment acts as “internal sunglasses” to protect against the harmful blue and ultraviolet light that enters the eye and negatively impacts the vision cells responsible for vision. Significant increases in this macular pigmentation can be achieved through nutritional intake and supplements containing zeaxanthin and lutein. Vista Eye Care has teamed up with Zeavision to measure your risk for macular disease, and address any deficiencies via nutritional supplementation. EyePromise Restore, one of Zeavision’s macular health formulas, replicates the natural 2:1 ratio of zeaxanthin to lutein found in a healthy macular, as well as providing other essential vitamins and nutrients to support healthy vision. High-dose zeaxanthin and lutein, along with a diet rich in antioxidants and sun protection outdoors, are probably the best practices to prevent macular disease in those patients with risk factors for macular degeneration. Please ask your eye doctor to discuss macular disease prevention at your next annual exam with us!
If you need to schedule an annual check-up for yourself or another member of your family, feel free to call us at (303) 450-2020, or use the button below to schedule your appointment online.
