At Charl Laäs Optometrists, we have a particular interest in supplying and fitting all types of contact lenses. We supply and fit from the ordinary refractive error lenses to the more advanced and challenging cases. These include patients with high astigmatism, irregular corneas due to disease or trauma and vision enhancement after refractive surgery.

Due to the latest technical developments, contact lenses have all become super specialised.  This allows for even the most discerning person’s visual and comfort needs to be met. Advancements in contact lens materials made from a silicone hydrogel and other high gas permeable polymers allow patients to sleep with their contact lenses for extended periods. Double aspheric design contact lenses provide superior comfort and clear aberration-free vision. Speciality coatings and bio-friendly materials mean that even dry eyes and allergy prone patients can enjoy contact lens wear.

No matter what your requirements are, there is a contact lens at Charl Laäs Optometrists that will meet your needs.

Contact lenses usually are divided into groups depending on their materials, replacement schedules or uses:

• Disposable contact lenses (soft lenses)
• Rigid gas permeable contact lenses (hard lenses)
• Scleral contact lenses (large diameter lenses)
• Orthokeratology (night/sleep lenses)

Disposable contact lenses

Daily disposable

Daily disposable contact lenses are replaced on a daily basis.

Two weekly disposable contact lenses

These lenses are disposable contact lenses that are replaced every two weeks. An example of this is the whole range of Acuvue soft contact lenses from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care and Cooper Vision.

Monthly disposable contact lenses

Monthly lenses are frequently replaceable lenses that are replaced every 30 days. Most soft disposable contact lenses fall within this range.

Continuous wear contact lenses

Continuous or extended wear lenses are a new generation of monthly disposable Silicone Hydrogel contact lenses. The new material allows maximum oxygen to reach the cornea and allow normal physiological function, even when the lenses are worn on an extended or continuous wear basis (days to weeks).

Conventional contact lenses

Conventional or permanent soft contact lenses are replaced on a three month, 12 month or 24-month schedule. These lenses are usually custom made for our patients and allow for a more individualised fit.

Astigmatic contact lenses

Astigmatic or toric contact lenses are used for people with astigmatism. Toric lenses are available in daily, monthly or two yearly replaceable soft contact lenses or Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses. With all the new designs of toric contact lenses on the market virtually all forms of astigmatism (regular and irregular) can be successfully fitted with contact lenses.

Presbyopic contact lenses

Bifocal and Multifocal Contact Lenses are used to correct the sight of people who struggle to see near objects after the age of 42, a condition called presbyopia. They are available in daily or monthly disposable soft contact lenses or RGP lenses.

Coloured contact lenses

Colour or cosmetic contact lenses enhance or change the colour of the eye and are available with or without a prescription.

Prosthetic contact lenses

Prosthetic contact lenses are custom, hand-painted contact lenses and are typically used with an injured eye.  The lens is used to restore the iris (coloured part of the eye) to its original colour.

Special-Effect Contact Lenses also known as crazy lenses are lenses with strange and exciting designs for parties and special occasions.

Rigid gas permeable contact lenses

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses can be used to correct any form of refractive error. The lens is more complex to fit and is initially more uncomfortable, but the optical results are usually far more superior to soft contact lenses.

Rigid lenses are typically used for high prescriptions like astigmatism, myopia and hyperopia and visual rehabilitation in corneal dystrophies cases like early and moderate keratoconus and Pellucid Marginal Degeneration and post-refractive surgery complications.

We use the revolutionary EyeSpace contact lens design software to custom design each and every rigid lens.  EyeSpace lens designs allow for superior comfort and health to the eye and significantly reduces the need to fit multiple trial lenses.

Scleral contact lenses

Scleral lenses are large diameter rigid lenses that vault the cornea and fits on the white portion of the eye, know as the sclera.  They are very comfortable to wear, similar to soft contact lenses and are used to correct a wide spectrum of eye conditions and prescriptions.

Scleral lenses are most useful in advanced cases of keratoconus, corneal grafts (penetrating keratoplasty), complicated LASIK refractive surgery and radial keratotomy (RK) cases.

Scleral lenses capture fluid between the lens and eye surface, keeping the eye’s surface moist and isolated from the environment, which makes them ideal for patients working in dusty areas and people with dry eye conditions and diseases like Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Orthokeratology

Orthokeratology lenses are worn only at night. The lens reshapes the top layer of the cornea while you sleep, thus improving daytime vision without the lens.

Orthokeratology provides an alternative to glasses, refractive surgery, or for those who prefer not to wear contact lenses during the day. It is a popular choice for active sports athletes and nearsighted children.

The orthokeratology must be worn every night and removed upon awakening.  For the remainder of the day, you will experience clear vision without the need for spectacles or contact lenses. When it is bedtime, the OrthoK lens is reinserted, and tomorrow morning the process repeats itself.