I have keratoconus and have been facing difficulty being fit in contact lenses that are comfortable. My eye doctor recommended I try Wave Contact Lenses but I am not sure what they are or why they would be more comfortable. Can you please explain what these lenses are and why I should consider trying them out?
Answer:
Wave lenses are gas permeable contact lenses that are designed based upon a corneal image. The first thing your contact lens fitter will do is capture a topography image of your cornea. Since you have keratoconus, I am assuming you have had topography images taken before.
Topography Image Of A Left Eye With Keratoconus
Your lens specialist will then begin designing a contact lens that uses your topography image as a base model for the actual lens.
The Wave Contact Lens System is actual a software program that will import the topography image and allow a Certified Wave Designer to create a lens that will provide the best in comfort, clarity, and eye health.
The reason Wave lenses can be made so comfortable is because they are the only lenses that are actually designed to follow the contour of your eye in all meridians.
For example, you can see in this topography image the bottom half of the cornea is much steeper than the top half. (the hot colors are steep, the cool colors are more flat) This is common in keratoconus, but most kc lens designs are spherical. It comes back to the old saying “you can’t put a round peg in a square hole”. With a wave design, you can have a lens that actual fits the entire cornea, not just an average of the overall cornea.
Wave Contact Lens Software
The benefit is a more comfortable and stable lens. Wave lenses can be used for any cornea where a gas permeable lens would be best suited.
Because the software is essentially a tool to create and design an individual contact lens, success with the system is reliant on the fact that your lens fitter is qualified to use the software and knows how to fit/design contact lenses.
If you are considering Wave lenses, find a certified wave designer and discuss your case with them.
Wave lenses can be made to accommodate most any contact lens need, from standard single vision lenses to irregular corneas such as keratoconus, and everything in between. Including multifocals, large diameter lenses, and orthokeratology (wear them at night, take them off in the morning and you can see all day with no contacts or glasses!)
So in answer to your question, if you are having trouble finding a comfortable fit for your eyes and you have access to a certified wave contact lens designer, by all means go for it. (personally, I wear wave lenses for OrthoK myself and I love them).
I really hope this helps and good luck finding that right set of lenses.
{ 2 comments }
Hi I recently stsrted to wear Wave Contact Lenses, they are really greate and I recommend them, my question is, each of the lenses have a point on it, what is that point for?
Thanks in advance
Rafael
Oaxaca Mexico
I believe the ‘point’ you are referring to is a little dot near the edge of the lens? If that is the case, it is a essentially a marker to help the designer know how they are aligning on the eye. Many GP lenses are designed with a dot near the edge on only the right eye to help the wearer differentiate the right and the left lens. Sometimes with more complex designs (such as Wave lenses) it is optional to place this marker on both lenses so your eye care provider will be able to know exactly how they are matching up to your cornea.
These markers are not on all Wave lenses, or all GP lenses for that matter. It usually depends on the specific scenario and the lens designer.
I am glad to hear you are doing so well with your Wave lenses. I love mine too!