A Real Story
A little girl was so excited went running towards her mom. Her mom’s back was facing her, and this little girl was about to hug her mom from the back when her mom suddenly turned and accidentally jabbed the scissors she was holding to this little girl’s eye. This is the story of one of our patients whom we fitted with a prosthetic contact lens. Unfortunately, this left her cornea to appear white, scarred from the trauma.
The White Eye
The whitish appearance of the eye can either be a corneal opacity or leukocoria. Scars from trauma, infection, and swelling can bring about corneal opacity, while leukocoria (white pupil or cat’s eye pupil) is when the reflections from the pupil are seen to be white. Some of its causes are Retinoblastoma, Coats disease, Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), Vitreous hemorrhage, Retinochoroidal coloboma, Endogenous endophthalmitis, Retinal detachment, Pediatric uveitis, TORCH (Toxoplasmosis, other agents, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, and Herpes simplex syndrome), and Congenital Cataracts.
Although we know that we always need to be confident and accept our circumstances, we understand that there will be moments when you feel conscious or wish that your eyes look normal. Prosthetic contact lenses can be helpful to hide your eye’s blemish, allowing you to increase your confidence level in talking to people and gamely take that selfie or groufie shot.
Difference between the colored contact lens and the prosthetic contact lens?
The tint and printing differ between what we usually know as enhancing cosmetic contact lenses and prosthetic contact lenses. Pigments used in prosthetic contact lenses are darker, usually more opaque. This dense printing allows the lens to hide what is underneath. Conventional colored lenses, on the other hand, are lightly printed, allowing the natural eye color to be slightly visible.
Prosthetic contact lenses come in various designs. It can be just a solid brown or black print that hides the whole circumference of the colored portion of the eye; some come with a transparent part in the middle, just a tiny round print covering the pupil and their combination.
Can I order a prosthetic contact lens off the shelf without scheduling an appointment?
Especially for first-time contact lens wearers and those who will be wearing prosthetic contact lenses for the first time, it is a must to see your optometrist for proper evaluation. As seen above, there are different designs of prosthetic contact lenses. We can design a more natural-looking contact lens when we see the lens on your eye and take pertinent measurements of the unaffected eye.
To schedule an evaluation, you may call 09215452389, or send us a message via our Facebook page @GoldHeartOptical.
Reference:
- Kanukollu VM, Tripathy K. Leukocoria. [Updated 2021 Aug 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560794/
About the Doctor:
Dr. Millette Romualdez is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, Scleral Lens Society, Philippine College of Optometry and International Association of Contact Lens Educators. She has also received a Certification of Advanced Contact Lenses from the Australian College of Optometry.
To book an appointment for a doctor that fits keratoconus contact lenses such as scleral contact lenses, GP lenses and Kerasoft IC , contact us via 09215452389 or docmillette@goldheartoptical.com.
