Contacts 101
Contact lenses, done properly.
Contact lens fitting isn’t just measuring your eye and handing you a box. It’s about how the lens sits, how it moves, how your eye breathes, and how comfortable you are eight hours into wearing it.
Why fittings matter
A contact lens is a medical device.
Two patients with identical prescriptions can need completely different contacts. Eye shape, tear film, blink pattern, and what you actually do during the day all change what works.
That’s why a real contact lens fitting at Pine Vision Care takes time. We measure your cornea, evaluate your tear film, watch how the trial lens moves on the eye, and check whether your vision and comfort stay good after a few minutes of wear.
If you’ve been getting the same brand for ten years and never really thought about it, there’s a real chance there’s a better lens out there for you.
Lens types
The contact lens designs we actually fit.
The right contact depends less on your prescription than on your eye, your eyelids, and your day.
Daily disposables
Fresh lens every day, no cleaning, no storage case. Best for most patients, especially anyone with allergies, dry eyes, or unpredictable wear schedules. The cleanest, healthiest option.
Bi-weekly & monthly
Reusable lenses you clean and store overnight. We typically recommend these only when your prescription needs a parameter that daily disposables can't offer. In practice they're less convenient than they sound: solution adds up, a single torn lens means the whole month is gone, and most patients drift past the replacement schedule — which raises infection risk. If dailies fit your script, we usually point you there first.
Toric (for astigmatism)
Modern toric lenses can handle most astigmatism prescriptions. The fit is more particular. We measure orientation and rotation, not just power.
Multifocal
Distance and reading in one lens, designed in zones. The transition takes a week or two for most people. Worth it if you’re used to readers and want to ditch them.
Multifocal for astigmatism
One of the newest options in contacts, and most people don’t know it exists yet. Until recently, anyone with both astigmatism AND reading-age vision had to choose: contacts or readers. That’s why so many patients drop out of contacts in their 40s. Now there’s a lens that handles both: distance, reading, and astigmatism correction in a single contact. Worth asking about if you’ve been told you can’t wear contacts anymore.
Scleral & specialty
For keratoconus, severe dry eye, post-surgical eyes, or anyone whose cornea won’t fit a standard lens. These are custom-fit and we do them in-house.
Myopia control (kids)
MiSight and other multifocal designs that slow how fast a child’s prescription gets worse year over year. See our myopia management page.
Orthokeratology (overnight)
Custom hard lenses you wear only while you sleep. They gently reshape the cornea overnight so you wake up seeing clearly all day, no contacts, no glasses. Non-invasive and reversible. Especially powerful for kids: ortho-K is one of the strongest tools we have for slowing down how fast a child’s prescription gets worse year over year.
Your fitting
What a real contact lens fitting looks like.
If your last fitting was 5 minutes and a free trial pair, you didn’t actually get fit.
Eye health check
Cornea, tear film, eyelid health. If contacts aren’t safe for your eye right now, we’ll tell you.
Measurements
Corneal curvature, diameter, pupil size, and where your eye actually sits. These drive lens selection.
Trial lens
You wear it in-office and we watch how it moves and centers, then check vision and comfort.
Follow-up
For straightforward updates we skip the routine 1-week check — no extra visit if your eye and lens are doing fine. If your prescription changed significantly or you're in a more complex fit, we schedule a follow-up to confirm the lens is settling well and your vision is comfortable.
When contacts hurt
If contacts feel terrible by 5pm,
The lens isn’t the only suspect. Most end-of-day discomfort is actually your tear film evaporating faster than the lens can hold onto moisture, not the lens itself.
Real options include: switching to a daily disposable, changing the lens material, treating underlying dry eye, or adjusting your wear schedule. Sometimes it’s as simple as not sleeping in contacts (which we’ll always recommend against, but we know it happens).
Discomfort isn’t something to power through. It’s information about how the lens, your eye, and your day are interacting. Come in and we’ll figure it out.
I’d worn the same monthly contacts for fifteen years thinking they were fine. Dr. Julia switched me to dailies and my eyes feel like a different person’s eyes.Pine Vision Care patient
Frequently asked
Common questions about contacts.
Why do I need a separate fitting? I already have a prescription.
Your glasses prescription tells the lens what power to be. The fitting tells us which lens shape and material will actually sit on your eye and stay comfortable. They’re different measurements.
Can I switch to dailies?
For most patients, yes. Dailies are the healthiest option and we recommend them when they fit your needs and budget. There are good options now even for high prescriptions, astigmatism, and multifocal.
I have astigmatism — can I wear contacts?
Almost certainly yes. Toric contacts have come a long way and we fit them daily, including in dailies. Bring in any old contacts that didn’t work and we’ll talk through what went wrong.
How long does a specialty fitting take?
About 30 minutes. We do specialty custom fittings driven by corneal topography (a detailed surface map of your cornea), which lets us fit anyone, even patients with significantly irregular corneal shapes that other practices typically can’t. Specialty lenses are custom-ordered for your exact eye, not pulled from stock, so you won’t leave with lenses the day of your fitting; we’ll let you know when they’re in. Heads-up: specialty contact lens fittings are usually NOT covered by vision or medical insurance. They’re a separate out-of-pocket service. We’ll quote you the cost up front before any work begins.
How often should I really replace my lenses?
Whatever the box says — not longer. "Stretching" a 2-week lens to a month or a monthly lens to two months is the number one cause of contact-related eye infections.
Where should I buy my contact lenses?
Directly from us. We price-match the major retailers, your lenses arrive shipped to your door or to the office, and every box is verified authentic and stored properly from the manufacturer: no counterfeit risk, no storage-condition guesswork. Plus our team catches any prescription updates or fit issues before you’ve stocked up on the wrong lenses.
Ready to be fit properly?
Let’s find the contact lens your eye actually wants.
Book a comprehensive eye exam with a contact lens evaluation and we’ll walk through your options, honestly.