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Specialty Contact Lenses Specialist

Suburban Eye Associates

Ophthalmologists & Eye Surgeons located in Philadelphia, Jenkintown, & Huntingdon Valley, PA

If you have obvious vision problems or experience chronic headaches, specialty contact lenses can restore your vision and improve the overall quality of life. At Suburban Eye Associates in Huntingdon Valley, Jenkintown, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, their highly trained optometrists offer comprehensive eye exams and vision tests to find out which glasses or contact lenses are right for you. Schedule your next eye exam by phone today.

Specialty Contact Lenses Q&A

What are specialty contact lenses?

Specialty contact lenses are firm or soft lenses that fit comfortably over the surface of your eyes to correct farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism, or other vision problems that make seeing difficult. You might opt for contact lenses instead of glasses, or both, to meet your needs and lifestyle.


What are the different types of contact lenses?

Numerous types of specialty contact lenses are available at Suburban Eye Associates. Examples include:

Hard contact lenses

Rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lenses and other hard contacts hold their shape in your eye but allow oxygen to flow through the lens. Your doctor might recommend hard contact lenses if you have keratoconus, astigmatism, or allergies that can deposit protein on contacts.

Soft contact lenses

Soft contact lenses are pliable and comfortably rest on the surface of your eyes to correct vision. Soft lenses are available as daily wear, extended-wear, toric lenses, and colored contacts. You usually wear soft contacts only during the day or when you’re awake. 

Some soft contacts are disposable, meaning you only wear them once before switching to a new set of lenses. Other specialty contacts must be replaced once or twice weekly or monthly.

Additional specialty contacts

Additional specialty contact lenses your optometrist might recommend, include contacts for typical vision problems that occur after age 40 (presbyopia), bifocal contacts, MultiFocal contact lenses, and monovision correction lenses. Bandage lenses don’t have a prescription but cover your eye’s surface to protect it after surgery or an injury.


Which specialty contact lenses are right for me?

To determine which type of contacts or glasses are right for you, expert optometrists at Suburban Eye Associates ask about your medical history and symptoms. They complete a comprehensive dilated eye exam to evaluate eye health and offer vision screening that may include:

  • Visual field testing
  • Eye muscle tests
  • Visual acuity tests
  • Refraction assessments
  • Color vision testing

You confirm the objects or letters you see well from a distance and up close while looking through various lenses. After vision testing is complete, your optometrist determines a personalized vision prescription and lets you know which specialty contact lenses best match your needs and lifestyle.

Routine eye exams and vision tests allow your eye doctor to detect eye problems early before complications develop, and to change contact lens prescriptions when needed.

Don’t live with headaches or blurry vision when numerous vision correction lenses are available. Schedule an eye exam with highly trained experts at Suburban Eye Associates by phone to find out if specialty contact lenses are right for you.