Scleral Lenses vs. Soft Contacts: The Best Custom Contact Lens Options for Dry Eyes

Contact lenses should provide clear vision without leaving your eyes irritated, dry, or uncomfortable. For people with dry eye, however, traditional soft contacts may become difficult to wear for a full day. At Elite Eye Care, we evaluate your eye health, tear film, prescription, and individual needs to help determine which contact lens option can provide lasting comfort and clear vision.

How Soft Contact Lenses Affect Dry Eyes

Soft contact lenses are popular because they are lightweight, flexible, and typically easy to adapt to. Many patients with mild dry eye can wear them successfully, especially when the lens material and replacement schedule are carefully selected.

However, soft lenses sit directly on the cornea and interact with the tear film. For people with chronic dry eye, this can sometimes lead to dryness, burning, blurry vision, or discomfort as the day progresses.

Signs your current contacts may not be working well for your dry eyes include:

•          Burning, stinging, or gritty sensations

•          Contact lenses that feel dry later in the day

•          Frequently needing lubricating eye drops

•          Fluctuating or blurry vision

•          Redness after wearing contacts

•          Needing to remove your lenses earlier than planned

If these problems are becoming routine, a specialty contact lens evaluation may help identify a more comfortable option.

How Scleral Lenses Are Different

Scleral lenses are larger than traditional soft contacts. Rather than resting directly on the cornea, they vault over it and rest on the white portion of the eye, known as the sclera.

The space between the scleral lens and cornea is filled with preservative-free saline before the lens is inserted. This creates a fluid reservoir over the cornea that can help keep the eye's surface hydrated while the lens is worn. For this reason, scleral lenses can be an excellent custom contact lens option for certain patients with moderate to severe dry eye.

Who May Benefit From Scleral Lenses?

Scleral lenses may be considered when dry eye makes standard contacts difficult or impossible to wear comfortably. They can also benefit people with irregular corneas, keratoconus, corneal scarring, or previous eye injuries.

Because scleral lenses are customized to the individual eye, proper fitting is especially important. Measurements of the cornea and surrounding eye structures help us determine the appropriate lens design, size, and prescription.

Choosing the Best Contacts for Dry Eyes

There is no single contact lens that works best for every person with dry eye. Some patients may remain comfortable in carefully selected soft lenses, while others need the added hydration and customized fit of scleral lenses. A contact lens evaluation allows us to determine why your current lenses are uncomfortable and recommend an option based on your eye health rather than simply switching brands.

Schedule contact lens exam with Elite Eye Care to discover whether scleral lenses can provide the comfort and clear vision your eyes need. Contact our office in Winchester, IN at (765) 584-1320, or our office in Portland, IN at (260) 726-4210 to book an appointment.