Archives: Lessons

Conclusion Contact Lenses have come quite a way throughout history, from humble beginnings of blown glass to plastic lenses that offered a lighter wearing experience but a different set of unique challenges, laying the groundwork for the advanced contact lens technology we have today. It is the innovative minds of the scientists, researchers, and ophthalmic … Continued

Silicone Hydrogel (Cosmetic; non-prescription) Contact Lenses: This lens type can be a bit tricky as many patients aren’t aware that an optical professional is still necessary and should always be consulted when acquiring cosmetic, non-prescription, contact lenses. The ease of acquiring these lenses may give patients and customers the illusion that they may not need … Continued

Silicone Hydrogel Daily (Daily Wear [DW]) Lenses: As daily wear silicone hydrogel contact lenses are available in various specs from many manufacturers, some have very high Dk (oxygen permeability) values and a wide variety of base curves and diameters. Daily wear contact lenses are available in a spherical format and also with a reasonable range … Continued

Common Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lens Complications As the patient learns the best practices around caring for their silicone hydrogel contact lenses, as fitters, we must also familiarize ourselves with some mechanical complications associated with these lenses, such as Superior Epithelial Arcuate Lesions (SEAL), Mucin Balls, and Corneal Staining with certain solutions. Let’s dig into what … Continued

A Brief Look Into the Practitioner/Patient Interaction: Once you have determined that Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses are a good fit for your patient and you’ve gone through the proper fitting procedures, there are a few steps that must be taken to ensure that the patient understands the proper handling, cleaning, Do’s and Don’ts associated with … Continued

Therapeutic Soft Contact Lenses (TSCL) Now, the inception of Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses at the start of the new Millennium allowed for a wide range of uses. Although there were contact lenses that were used for certain therapies, one therapy that silicone hydrogel contact lenses were used for was a “Bandage Lens” or TSCL (Therapeutic … Continued

Introduction In today’s retail contact lens market, silicone hydrogel contact lenses are one of the most used and reliable materials utilized for soft contact lenses. Let’s explore some pros, cons, ins and outs of silicone hydrogel contact lenses! Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses, or “SiHy” for short, are currently the industry standard for the average soft … Continued

Click to download and print the course. To get the most out of this course, we recommend completing it in an environment free from distractions. Platform Instructions If you prefer to print the course and test questions, the PDF version is located below. Download & Print Courses are now broken down into Lessons. You can … Continued

References: Carlson, Nancy B. & Kurtz, Daniel (2004). Clinical Procedures in Ocular Examination. McGraw Hill Medical Publishing Division.  Meister, D., & Sheedy, J. E. (2002). Introduction to ophthalmic optics. SOLA Optical. Tangella, Krish MD, MBA (2023) Autorefractors: Understanding the Eye Examination Tool. www.Dovemed.com. Kozlov, Yuval; Kinori, Michael; Armarnik, Sharon; Yahalomi, Tal; Ekshtein, Aya; Levian,  Leora; … Continued

Troubleshooting Visual Concerns Despite our very best efforts, it is inevitable that not everyone will be happy with their new eyewear. It is crucial that we have a systematic and thorough process for evaluating prescription concerns. Often, a patient’s immediate self-evaluation is that they need to see the doctor again to get the prescription checked. … Continued

Determining Prism Binocularity testing is part of all refractions to determine how the eyes work together to create a singular image. Vergence tests the eyes’ ability to turn in unison to focus on the same object. Fusion is the brain’s ability to combine the images from both eyes into one. Stereopsis is the eye’s perception … Continued

Refracting for Hyperopia Hyperopia is a refractive error defined by the eye not converging light rays to a focal point within the eye. Light never reaches the potential focal point and would not converge until beyond its retinal target. The causes are the opposite of myopia, where the eye does not have enough plus power. … Continued

Visual Acuity Visual acuity (VA) measures the clarity of one’s vision compared to an individual with what is considered “normal” eyesight. We use the measure of 20/20 visual acuity to signify optimal vision, meaning at 20 feet away from something, you can see clearly and comparably what someone with good vision can also see from … Continued

Subjective Refraction Objective methods of refraction are solely relied upon for patients who cannot respond to subjective questioning. Otherwise, these techniques are used as preliminary data. Using the patient’s participation through choices and preferences, a subjective refraction fine-tunes the final prescribed power. This involves test lenses in spherical and cylinder power, along with acuity charts … Continued