Do you need scleral contact lenses?

Many people feel that scleral contact lenses are an excellent alternative to glasses or conventional contacts. They have become more well-known in recent years as a result of their excellent visual performance, versatility in complex corneal shapes, and high prescription compatibility.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about this eye care option and whether it’s suited for you if you’re curious about what scleral lenses are and whether you should ask your eye doctor about them.

Scleral contact lenses: What are they?

Contact lenses known as scleral lenses lay on the sclera or the white of the eye. Compared to standard contact lenses, which sit on the cornea of the eye, they are wider.

Scleral lenses serve to offer hydration by bridging the cornea and being separated from the eye by a chamber filled with tears. Many people who dislike the way conventional lenses feel on their corneas or who have degenerative or other problems with their corneas prefer them.

How Do They Function?

How are these lenses able to offer such sharp vision? There are several factors to take into account. Our corneas’ irregularly shaped surfaces can affect our vision as one potential cause. Regular soft contact lenses or glasses may be particularly challenging to use for those with keratoconus, a condition where the cornea is severely deformed.

Additionally, astigmatism—an irregular corneal curve—affects almost 85% of the population. A serious condition can occasionally be indicated by severe astigmatism. Your eyesight may be impacted by these disorders, but scleral lenses can help by adjusting the shape of your eyes.

Scleral lenses were created in a way that controls how the eye develops, giving the eye a perfectly round, spherical surface for accurate vision. The cornea, the transparent tissue that covers the front of the eye, is not an entirely circular surface. Conditions that change the shape of the cornea might not only impair vision but also make it considerably more challenging to fit conventional soft lenses and eyeglasses. For these individuals to have the best eyesight possible, scleral lenses, which are more precisely fitted to the eye, maybe a better option.

For Whom Are Scleral Lenses Intended?

Patients with: 

• Keratoconus
• Pellucid Small-scale deterioration
• extreme astigmatism
• ocular injuries brought on by burns or chemicals
• Dry Eye Disease
• retinal deterioration
• dystrophic cornea
• complications from LASIK, such as corneal ectasia

Since the lens stays out of direct touch with the cornea, individuals who have had their corneas damaged or who have imperfections on their surface are spared the discomfort associated with conventional contacts.

Speak with your optometrist about the use of scleral lenses if you encounter any of these symptoms or find contacts to be rough or irritating.

Should I Consider Scleral Lenses?

If you have any of the conditions mentioned above, you might be an excellent candidate. Some patients may simply accept their impaired vision without knowing they have these diseases. Additionally, it’s conceivable that the patient’s existing eye doctors are not using the proper tools and technologies to look for them.

What Fits How They Are?

To purchase excellently fitting scleral lenses, precise measurements are required. Many technologically advanced procedures will employ high-quality ultrasound scans known as Optical Coherence Tomography, or OCT imaging, as well as 3D scans of the cornea termed corneal topography.

A corneal topographer is necessary to identify an irregularly shaped cornea. A topographer scans the cornea’s three-dimensional shape and gives the doctor extremely precise measurements of the cornea’s shape.

Your eye doctor will be able to construct a lens that is ideal for your eyes by using this technology to precisely map the surface area of the eyeball. By accommodating atypical eye shapes, the lens can give you comfort and effectiveness that standard lenses and spectacles might not be able to.