Contact Lens Exams and Fittings

Yes. A contact lens is a medical device that sits on the cornea, and the law requires a valid contact lens prescription, which only a fitting produces. The fitting is also what catches a lens that is too tight or too loose, which you cannot feel but your cornea can.

After a comprehensive exam, the cornea is measured for curve and width, a lens type is chosen, and trial lenses go on. The doctor checks the fit under magnification and refines the power with the lens in place. You wear the trials for about a week, then a follow-up confirms fit and comfort before the prescription is written.

A contact lens exam includes the comprehensive exam, because the prescription and the health of the eye have to be current before a lens is fitted. If you had a full exam here recently, the fitting can be added without repeating it. Tell the front desk when you book.

Yes, once a year, to renew the prescription and check the cornea under the lens. If you are happy in your current lens the visit is short: fit confirmed, eye health checked, prescription renewed. If the lens has stopped feeling right, this is where a better one is found.

Many vision plans include the exam and carry a separate contact lens benefit; some also cover the fitting. It varies by plan and by lens type. Call (310) 305-2950 with your plan name and the front desk will tell you what yours covers before you book.

Almost always. Toric lenses are weighted to stay oriented on an astigmatic cornea, and they come in daily and monthly versions. Higher amounts of astigmatism may need a rigid lens instead, which gives sharper vision once you are used to it. The fitting decides which.

Dailies are the healthier default: a fresh sterile lens every day, nothing to clean, lowest infection risk, and the best choice for dry or allergic eyes and part-time wear. Monthlies cost less per day of wear and come in more materials and powers, which matters for strong prescriptions. The doctor will tell you if your eyes narrow the choice.

Yes. Multifocal contact lenses carry distance and near correction in one lens, and most people adapt within a couple of weeks. The alternative is monovision, one eye corrected for distance and the other for near. The trial period is how you find out which your brain prefers.

Soft lenses feel normal for most new wearers within a few days, and the wear schedule starts at a few hours and builds. Rigid lenses take two to four weeks. Any lens that still hurts after the first few days is a fit problem, not something to push through, and the follow-up catches it.

Do not swim or shower in lenses; water carries organisms that cause serious corneal infections. Do not sleep in a lens unless it is a type approved for overnight wear and your doctor has said so for your eyes. Overnight wear is the single biggest risk factor for infection in lens wearers.

Your current lenses, worn in, plus the box or packaging that shows the brand and parameters, your glasses, and your insurance card. If you are new to lenses, bring nothing but a little time: the first fitting includes learning to put them in and take them out.

Yes. Lenses are supplied through the office with home delivery, so reordering is a call or an email. The prescription belongs to you and can be filled anywhere; ordering here means the parameters are on file and a lens change is one conversation away.