They made time to help me even as a new patient with an emergency visit. Short wait nice staff and Dr Mahboobi was awesome!
— Lady Kryptonite
Switching from Glasses to Contact Lenses
What to Expect During a Contact Lens Fitting
A contact lens fitting is a dedicated appointment that goes beyond a routine eye exam. It includes additional measurements and hands-on steps that take a bit more time, but the thoroughness is what makes wearing contacts comfortable and safe.
A standard eye exam checks your overall eye health and determines your corrective prescription. A contact lens fitting builds on that foundation and adds specific tests focused on how a lens will perform on your particular eyes. The visit tends to run longer, and it may carry a separate fee. Our team can explain exactly what your appointment includes and how your vision insurance applies when you call to schedule.
Several targeted measurements are gathered before any trial lens is placed on your eye. These help our team select the most appropriate lens design for your corneal shape and tear film.
- Keratometry or corneal topography to map the curvature of your cornea
- Tear film evaluation to assess how well your eyes produce and retain moisture
- Lid hygiene and blink pattern review
- Refraction to fine-tune the power for a contact-lens-on-eye calculation
Corneal topography provides a detailed map of your cornea's shape, which is especially useful for patients with astigmatism or irregular corneas. The tear film check is equally important because low tear production can affect how long you can comfortably wear a lens each day.
After measurements are complete, our team places a trial lens on each eye. You wear the lenses for a set period while the provider watches how each lens centers, moves with your blink, and performs at your prescription power. Small adjustments are common on a first fitting. The goal before you leave is to confirm that both fit and vision are right for your eyes, and the prescription is only finalized once that is established.
Learning to Insert, Remove, and Care for Your Lenses
Knowing how to handle your lenses properly is just as important as having the right prescription. Good technique and daily habits protect your eyes and extend how comfortably you can wear lenses.
Before you leave with lenses, our team walks you through insertion and removal in the office. You practice placing each lens in your own eye with a staff member guiding you, and you practice taking them out as well. Most offices do not send new wearers home until they can complete both steps independently. This training also covers hand hygiene, solution use, and your replacement schedule. It takes longer for some patients than others, and that is completely normal.
A few consistent habits make a significant difference in reducing the risk of eye infections. These are the most important ones to build from day one.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your lenses
- Never use tap water on your lenses at any step
- Never sleep in lenses that are not specifically approved for overnight wear
- Replace your lenses on the schedule your provider set, not when they stop feeling comfortable
Tap water can carry microscopic organisms that are harmful to the eye, even when the water looks clean. Using only the solution your provider recommends keeps your lenses and your lens case safe.
Even after a successful fitting, having a current pair of glasses on hand is important. If a lens tears, if your eyes need a rest, or if you develop a cold or eye irritation, glasses are the safe alternative. Contact lenses must come out during any active eye infection without exception. Having a backup pair means you are never caught without usable vision correction when you need it.
How Your Eyes Will Adjust in the First Two Weeks
Most new contact lens wearers notice that their eyes need a short adjustment period. Understanding what is normal helps you know when to give it time and when to call our team.
Most new wearers adapt to contact lenses within a few days to two weeks. Some patients feel comfortable from the very first morning. Others notice mild lens awareness, a slight feeling of dryness later in the day, or a subtle difference in near vision compared to glasses. These sensations usually settle as your eyes get used to the lenses. If symptoms worsen rather than improve during the first two weeks, contact our office. A small adjustment to the lens brand or material often resolves the issue quickly.
Contacts and glasses do not always produce identical visual experiences. Some patients notice a small change in near focus, particularly those with early presbyopia (the gradual loss of close-up focusing ability that typically begins around age 40). Others notice a subtle difference in peripheral vision, since a contact lens moves with the eye while glasses stay fixed. These differences are usually minor, and our team can help you decide whether a different lens design would be a better fit for how you use your eyes throughout the day.
Long periods of screen use can feel different with lenses in. Blink rate tends to drop during focused screen time, which can allow lenses to dry out slightly. Taking short breaks away from the screen, using preservative-free rewetting drops approved by your provider, and keeping indoor air from getting too dry can all help. Patients who spend most of their workday at a screen often do well with silicone hydrogel lenses or daily disposable lenses, both of which support oxygen flow to the eye and resist drying.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Contact Lenses
The great majority of people who wear glasses can transition to contact lenses. Candidacy depends on several factors that our team evaluates during the fitting visit, and specialty lens options exist for more complex situations.
Patients with nearsightedness (difficulty seeing far away), farsightedness (difficulty seeing up close), and astigmatism (an irregularly shaped cornea that causes blurred vision) can all wear contact lenses. A standard soft lens works well for most of these patients. Candidacy also depends on the health of your tear film and the surface of your eye, which is why those checks are part of every fitting visit.
Patients with certain eye conditions may not find a standard soft lens comfortable or visually clear. Specialty lens options are available for these cases and can provide excellent vision where a standard lens cannot.
- Patients with keratoconus (a condition where the cornea gradually thins and bulges forward)
- Wearers with high levels of astigmatism
- People with corneal scars from a past injury or eye infection
- Patients whose corneal shape changed after eye surgery
Scleral lenses, rigid gas-permeable lenses, and custom soft lenses are examples of specialty designs. Our team can refer you for a specialty fitting if a standard lens is not the right option for your eyes.
Severe dry eye, chronic blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelid margins), or certain types of eye allergies can make lens wear more challenging. These conditions do not always rule out contacts entirely, but they often influence which lens material works and how many hours per day you can wear lenses comfortably. A thorough conversation during your fitting visit allows our team to recommend the lens most likely to work well for your situation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Switching to Contacts
A few preventable habits account for most of the problems new lens wearers experience. Being aware of them before you start helps you build a safe routine from the beginning.
Attempting to order contact lenses online without a current, valid prescription is both illegal and risky. Lenses purchased without a proper fit check may have the wrong base curve or diameter for your eyes, which increases the risk of corneal abrasion (a scratch on the eye's surface) and infection. Your prescription must match the specific brand and parameters confirmed during your fitting.
Some new wearers prefer to skip the insertion and removal training and practice at home. The in-office training session is worth the time it takes. Learning correct technique while a staff member is present helps you avoid habits that lead to irritation, a scratched cornea, or a lens lost under the upper eyelid. Patients who skip this step are more likely to return with a preventable problem.
Extending lens wear beyond the recommended schedule, even by a single day, increases the buildup of protein deposits, roughens the lens surface, and raises the risk of infection. If keeping track is difficult, a phone reminder set on your replacement day is a simple solution. Replacing lenses on time is a small, consistent habit with a large safety payoff.
Any active eye infection, including conjunctivitis (pink eye) or a stye, means lenses come out immediately and stay out until your eye doctor clears you to return to lens wear. Wearing contacts over an active infection can trap bacteria against the eye, prolong recovery, and in some cases lead to a corneal ulcer. When there is any doubt, leave lenses out and contact our office for guidance.
When to Contact Our Team About Your Lenses
Knowing when a symptom is urgent and when it can wait for a routine visit helps you respond appropriately and protect your eyes. When in doubt, removing your lenses and calling our team is always the right first step.
Some symptoms require removing your lenses right away and seeking same-day care. Severe eye pain, sudden vision loss, a white spot visible on the cornea, significant sensitivity to light, or thick discharge from the eye can all indicate a serious infection or other urgent condition. Remove your lenses, switch to glasses, and contact our office or an urgent eye care provider the same day.
Not every concern is an emergency, but some ongoing issues during the first weeks of lens wear still call for a follow-up appointment. Many of these are easily resolved with a lens adjustment.
- Lenses that dry out several hours before your day ends
- Redness that persists even after the lenses are removed
- A consistent feeling that vision is clearer in one eye than the other
- A scratchy or gritty sensation that does not improve with a fresh lens
A different lens material, a modified wear schedule, or a small power adjustment often addresses these concerns in a single visit.
Even when your lenses feel comfortable and your vision seems stable, an annual contact lens exam is an important part of safe lens wear. Subtle changes such as new blood vessel growth on the cornea, papillary conjunctivitis (inflammation on the inner eyelid surface), or early ocular surface changes often appear first on a slit-lamp examination before causing any noticeable symptoms. Yearly visits allow our team to stay ahead of those changes and keep your eyes healthy for long-term lens wear.
Frequently Asked Questions
These answers address the practical questions that often come up after a fitting, or when patients are deciding whether to make the switch.
Yes, in most cases. Toric contact lenses are designed specifically to correct astigmatism and are widely available in soft lens materials. If your astigmatism is very high or your cornea is irregularly shaped, a specialty lens such as a rigid gas-permeable or scleral lens may provide sharper, more stable vision than a standard toric soft lens. Our team determines the right design during your fitting based on your actual corneal measurements rather than the degree of astigmatism alone.
First, do not panic. A soft lens cannot move behind the eye. If a lens feels displaced, look in the opposite direction of where it seems to be and gently massage the closed eyelid toward the center of the eye. If it still does not move, apply rewetting drops and wait a few minutes before trying again. If you cannot locate or dislodge the lens after several calm attempts, call our office. Do not force the lens or use anything other than approved rewetting drops to assist.
Cabin air is significantly drier than most indoor environments, which can cause lenses to dry out and feel uncomfortable during a long flight. Bringing preservative-free rewetting drops and making a conscious effort to blink regularly can help. For very long flights, some wearers choose to remove lenses before boarding and switch back on arrival. If you have a history of significant dryness during flights, discuss this with our team before your next trip so we can recommend the best lens material for your situation.
Yes. A change in your glasses prescription usually means your contact lens prescription needs to be updated as well, since the two are calculated differently. Wearing contacts with an outdated power can cause eye strain, headaches, and reduced clarity that builds up gradually. Scheduling a contact lens exam whenever your glasses prescription changes ensures that your lenses continue to give you the best possible vision and fit.
Unless your lens is specifically approved for extended or continuous overnight wear, sleeping in contacts, including short naps, reduces oxygen flow to the cornea and significantly increases the risk of infection. If you tend to fall asleep with lenses in, talk to our team about whether an extended-wear silicone hydrogel lens might be appropriate for you. Even lenses approved for overnight wear carry a higher risk than daytime-only use, so the safest habit is always to remove lenses before sleep.
If standard adjustments such as changing lens brands, modifying wear time, or adding rewetting drops have not resolved ongoing discomfort, it is time for a more thorough evaluation. Persistent redness, recurrent infections, or difficulty achieving clear vision with any standard soft lens may indicate an underlying corneal condition or significant dry eye disease that benefits from specialist-level care. Our team can evaluate your situation and refer you for a specialty fitting or additional testing when needed.
Schedule Your Contact Lens Fitting at The Eye Center
Our team at The Eye Center is here to guide you through every step of switching to contact lenses, from your first fitting appointment to long-term lens care across our offices throughout Northern Virginia. We take the time to match the right lens to your eyes, your prescription, and the way you live. If you are ready to get started, reach out to our team to schedule your contact lens fitting today.