[FW] Can contact lenses be used for eyes with a high degree of myopia (-7 in both eyes)? If yes, will such a person have more difficulties using his lenses than a person with a lower degree of myopia who uses contacts?
Can contact lenses be used for eyes with a high degree of myopia (-7 in both eyes)? If yes, will such a person have more difficulties using his lenses than a person with a lower degree of myopia who uses contacts?
8 Answers
Leslie Williamson, Optician and Contact Lens Technician at Optometry (1996-present)
Absolutely contact lenses can be used for eyes with a high degree of myopia (-7.00 in both eyes and even much higher up to -20.00 in certain disposable soft lenses), in fact I would highly recommend soft contact lenses as the more preferred method of correcting such prescriptions. Correcting high myopia in glasses can cause certain problems, such as extremely thick lenses that will result in a good amount of distorted peripheral vision, causing a very queasy feeling when wearing said glasses. With contact lenses, there is no distorted vision. If there is also a high amount of astigmatism along with the myopia custom made contact lenses may be required but they would still be considered the preferred method of correction, for most. Truthfully, most high corrections do better with contact lenses rather than glasses, either myopia or hyperopia, due to the distortion experienced with glasses. With these high prescriptions, a lens that sits on the eye versus one that sits away from the eye is typically the better choice. The exeptions being a lower spherical correction with high amounts of astigmatism or presbyopia, but even those can usually be corrected to satisfaction with contact lenses. Anyone one with a high amount of myopia or hyperopia, given that they can tolerate the use of contact lenses, lack of dry eye sensations, accomplish insertion and removal, etc. should do very well in contact lenses and not experience any more problems with someone with a lower prescription. On the contrary, they might be happier and more satisfied with their vision over all. Hope that answered your question. Thanks for the A2A! Good luck…go get some contacts!
Related QuestionsMore Answers Below
Por Yong Ming, Ophthalmologist
Answered Sep 3, 2014 · Upvoted by Sirisha Asmath, Ophthalmologist and Mitul Mehta, Vitreoretinal (eye) surgeon · Author has 671 answers and 1.5m answer views
Yes, contact lenses can be used for very high degrees of myopia, even for those who are more than -10D myopic.
The maximum power for monthly disposable spherical soft contact lenses is about -12D (Purevision 2HD, Biofinity), and for torics about -9D of sphere. This translates to a maximum spectacle power of -14D and -10D respectively, taking into account a vertex distance of 12mm.
Such high powered soft contact lenses have a thicker edge than low powered ones, and patients are more likely to be aware of them. Still, they are comfortable enough for most people. Being thicker, they are also more likely to be associated with dry eyes (the soft hydrogel material acts like a sponge that absorbs tears/water from the surface of the eye). Because of the thickness (and associated effect on oxygen permeability as well as dryness), some people who use these high powered soft contact lenses are unable to wear the lenses the whole day ie it becomes uncomfortable wearing the lenses towards the end of the day.
These issues are mostly overcome with rigid gas permeable lenses ('semi-hard lenses'), which are smaller, thinner, more oxygen permeable than soft lenses, and which do not absorb tears from the surface of the eye. That is why many very high myopes wear these lenses, however, they do take quite a long time to get used to.
@http://eyesurgerysingapore.blogs...
So the short answer to your question is yes, and if there are difficulties they are usually associated with soft lenses-a situation which may be remedied by switching to RGP lenses.
The maximum power for monthly disposable spherical soft contact lenses is about -12D (Purevision 2HD, Biofinity), and for torics about -9D of sphere. This translates to a maximum spectacle power of -14D and -10D respectively, taking into account a vertex distance of 12mm.
Such high powered soft contact lenses have a thicker edge than low powered ones, and patients are more likely to be aware of them. Still, they are comfortable enough for most people. Being thicker, they are also more likely to be associated with dry eyes (the soft hydrogel material acts like a sponge that absorbs tears/water from the surface of the eye). Because of the thickness (and associated effect on oxygen permeability as well as dryness), some people who use these high powered soft contact lenses are unable to wear the lenses the whole day ie it becomes uncomfortable wearing the lenses towards the end of the day.
These issues are mostly overcome with rigid gas permeable lenses ('semi-hard lenses'), which are smaller, thinner, more oxygen permeable than soft lenses, and which do not absorb tears from the surface of the eye. That is why many very high myopes wear these lenses, however, they do take quite a long time to get used to.
@http://eyesurgerysingapore.blogs...
So the short answer to your question is yes, and if there are difficulties they are usually associated with soft lenses-a situation which may be remedied by switching to RGP lenses.
Your response is private.
Is this answer still relevant and up to date?
Mukesh Patidar, MSc CS + BSc (Hons) Pharmacol + MSc Prescribing
In theory, yes. In practice it does depend partly on the proportion of your myopia that is corneal and of the rest which would be due to the antero-posterior length of your eyeball being too long, meaning that the image tends to focus in front of the retina (hence the use of concave [minus] lenses used to correct myopia - such lenses cause a divergence of the light rays, so that with the optimal corrective lenses, the image is pushed backwards onto the retina).
It will depend also on the degree of astigmatism, if any, you have. If there is a significant amount of astigmatism AND if it is mostly corneal, you might need soft toric lenses (lenses with a an astigmatic back curve, so that it aligns with the astigmatic cornea thus reducing the chance of the lens falling off, but also, more importantly to correct the astigmatism.
Rigid (GP) lenses automatically correct corneal astigmatism (up to about 4 dioptres) because the tear film between the lens and the cornea itself acts an an astigmatic lens!
4.3k Views · Answer requested by Rob Fang
Michele Garcia, works at McDonald's
Pandu R Arkeri, Knows Biomedical Engineering
Yes, I have heard about people with myopias as high as -10 to-11 are using contact lenses. Unfortunately, it takes bit of time for you to get used to these thick edged contact lenses. You also need to be watchful about your eyesight deterioration.
However, there are no undue dangers of using contact lenses for high degree myopia.
However, there are no undue dangers of using contact lenses for high degree myopia.
1.7k Views
Hannah Papernick-Yudin, studied at Wayne State University
I know someone who is severely nearsighted (I don't know her lense power) and she has not trouble wearing monthly lenses. However, when she wears dailies she must wear a prescription slightly weaker than her own, because daily lenses are thinner and are more limited in prescription capacity. But ability for high prescription in monthly lenses is guaranteed, with no problem.
5.3k Views
Mitul Mehta, Vitreoretinal (eye) surgeon
Yes you can. I do and my prescription is worse than that.
You may find it difficult to read for a long time because high mope glasses give a little help with the comfort of reading from the induced base-in prism. And from your eyes drying out. But it wont be any different from anyone else with contacts.
You may find it difficult to read for a long time because high mope glasses give a little help with the comfort of reading from the induced base-in prism. And from your eyes drying out. But it wont be any different from anyone else with contacts.
https://www.quora.com/Can-contact-lenses-be-used-for-eyes-with-a-high-degree-of-myopia-7-in-both-eyes-If-yes-will-such-a-person-have-more-difficulties-using-his-lenses-than-a-person-with-a-lower-degree-of-myopia-who-uses-contacts
留言
張貼留言