Contact Lens Fitting vs. Eye Exam

Are you considering getting contact lenses? Did you know the difference between a contact lens fitting exam and a routine comprehensive eye exam?

If you are considering trading your eyeglasses for contact lenses, it is important to notify your eye doctor when you schedule your next eye exam. This is important because they will need to schedule a contact lens fitting exam, in addition to the routine comprehensive eye exam.

Contact Lens Fitting

When it comes to a contact lens exam, the eye doctor will need to perform additional tests and procedures. They perform these additional tests to evaluate and test your vision with contacts. The first test they will perform will measure the surface of your eye to determine what size and type of contacts will be best for you, and fit your eyes best. The second test they will perform is a tear test, which determines whether you have enough tears to wear contacts comfortably.

The results gathered from those tests allow the eye doctor to prescribe the best contact lens prescription for your eyes. It is important to understand that a contact lens prescription and eyeglass prescription are not the same. When it comes to a contact lens prescription, the eye doctor measures for lenses that sit directly on the surface of the eye. An eyeglass prescription measures for lenses that are positioned approximately 12 millimeters from your eyes. Having an incorrect prescription of fitting can damage your eye health and vision.

The next step after getting your contact lens prescription is deciding whether you would want disposable contacts or extended wear contact lenses.

In order to ensure that contacts are the right choice for you, your eye doctor will prescribe a trial pair of contacts to wear for a week. After that trial week, you will need to visit your eye doctor again for a follow-up exam to make sure you’ve adjusted to your new lenses.

Eye Exam

A comprehensive eye exam will examine your eyes for signs of potential eye diseases, check your vision for sharpness, determine your prescription strength, examine how your eyes are working and check the fluid pressure in your eyes. Furthermore, the eye doctor may dilate your eyes to see if you have any eye conditions or signs of other serious health conditions such as diabetes.