What it is
A contact lens consultation measures your eyes and fits a lens to the shape of your cornea, rather than dispensing a lens from the spectacle power alone. Alongside routine soft lenses, specialty rigid and scleral lenses are used for irregular corneas — most commonly keratoconus — where spectacles no longer give clear vision.
When you might need it
- You want to use contact lenses instead of, or alongside, spectacles
- Keratoconus or another irregular cornea, where spectacles no longer help enough
- Your current lenses feel uncomfortable, dry, or move out of position
- You have never used lenses and want to learn to handle them correctly
What happens during your visit
Your cornea is measured and its shape mapped, tear film and eyelid health are assessed, and trial lenses are placed and evaluated on the eye. You are taught how to insert, remove, clean and store the lenses, and given wearing limits. Specialty and scleral fittings usually need more than one trial visit to get right.
Aftercare
Follow the wearing schedule and hygiene routine exactly, and do not sleep in lenses unless specifically advised. If the eye becomes red, painful or light-sensitive, remove the lens and come in. Follow-up checks confirm the fit is not affecting the cornea.