Sclerals and glasses

Dates: September 17-19

Participants: 521

Many people wear sclerals because glasses do not correct their vision. Others, though, may be wearing sclerals for dry eye or other indications. In both groups, there are many people who wear both sclerals and glasses. 

Without my scleral lenses, here is how I see:

With my scleral lenses, here is how I see:

For those who need prism lenses, where does the prism correction go?

Vision after sclerals

22% of participants said that after removing sclerals at the end of the day, their vision with glasses is not as good as it was at the beginning of the day.

Comments from participants

• I wear SHAW lenses because there is a large difference in prescription between my left and right eyes. I have convergence and alignment issues with my eyesight, which get worse when I switch between glasses and sclerals. I need to use my glasses when my eyes are too dry to wear my sclerals comfortably. I also wear glasses if I anticipate taking a nap!
• I've only had one prescription that ever seemed to work.  Others are a disaster - and expensive.
  Vision with glasses vs sclerals
• My glasses cannot match the level of vision correction that the sclerals give me. I don’t even feel comfortable driving short distances wearing glasses! They are for end of day or just at home use, where my environment is predictable and known and low risk.
• My prescription is so strong that sclerals allow me to see much better because they are closer to my eyes than glasses and allow me to have better peripheral vision, which is not possible with glasses.  I don’t see as well with glasses, which leads me to trip and fall.  However, sclerals are very challenging and I can only wear them for a certain amount of time and my eyes burn after I remove them.
• I cannot see well out of my left eye with glasses, my right eye compensates for it and does most of the seeing but I struggle with depth perception and nighttime driving.
• I need readers with my sclerals.  When I do not wear my sclerals, my vision with glasses is only ok; worse if I put my glasses on right after taking my sclerals out as I do at night and it is hard to see well to read.
• I have monovision both with my sclerals and without so I rarely need read[ing] type glasses in either situation.
• My eyes are painfully dry after wearing the sclerals & vision is foggy.
• I only wear a scleral lens in one eye, and my glasses work much better for the eye that doesn’t use a scleral lens.
• My glasses are clear with reader's in the bottom. My lens cloud up as the day goes on. If I want to see at night with the lens I have to take it out, clean it and put it back in. "
  Highly myopic (-13 & astigmatism). Would wear sclerals more but I do so much near work and have not figured out glasses on top of sclerals. My provider hasn't indicated much interest in adding glasses to lenses.
• I have my glasses as a backup, and on days when I get up late or am just lounging around the house, I don't want to fight with my contacts
  After cataract surgery (monofocal IOLs) I was left with one nearsighted eye and one farsighted eye. I got glasses after that surgery. When I cannot wear my scleral lenses I wear glasses only to drive (to read signs). I can see well enough without glasses or scleral lenses to manage around my house.
• I need the FL-41 tint in my glasses because my eyes are very sensitive to light
  I have monovision. I must wear glasses over my sclerals in low light situations such as night time driving, movie theaters or dark restaurants.
• I was never able to see 20/20 until I began using Sclera lens. Absolutely love mine!
• I never had a glasses prescription until recently, after I got a CTAK procedure done by Dr. Greenstein. I never need to wear them with my sclerals, and glasses make my uncorrected vision slightly better.
• My glasses are basically useless but I wear them when I remove my scleral lenses in the evening.
• My right eye has much better vision than my left so I get a little utility from my glasses. But there is no way I could drive with glasses. I worry that I might not be able to wear sclerals in the future as I age which would be very limiting.
• I see fine in my glasses but not great. Depth perception and peripheral vision are lacking.
• Sclerals provide vision for me where I feel like I’m seeing the world as it truly is. 
• I have distance-focused scleral lenses, so I need reading glasses. I see much better with my scleral lenses than I do with glasses, probably because it is easier to fine-tune the prescription of sclerals during fitting (you can swap out new lenses several times during the warranty period). My eyes without scleral lenses are so blurry from dry eye that getting a one-time refraction for an eyeglass prescription rarely results in the sharp vision I get from my scleral lenses. When adjusting the scleral prescription, the refraction is taken with the lenses inserted, so my eyes are more comfortable and not blurry. I usually buy a progressive reader pair of glasses, with plain (uncorrected) glass on top progressing to a reader below for wear with my scleral lenses.
• I need readers still with the sclerals. I see pretty well my prescription with the sclerals is 20/25. But depending on how dry my eye is that changes even with the lenses. I still use drops every hour with the lenses and wipe them about 5-6 times a day.
• I have worn scleral lenses for 7 years. Added progressive glasses for reading 2 years ago. 
  "readers" only
• Only used at night and if can not wear contacts.
• I have two pair of glasses.  One to use with my lenses and one without.  I need glasses all the time because of my need for prism.
• My vision is definitely less after i take out lenses. Harder to focus.
• I have corneal transplants. Best vision w glasses is 20/50. Best vision w sclearls is 20/20
• I had congenital cataracts removed in 1968, long before lens implants were possible. I wore gas RGP lenses until 2019 and due to some scarring on my cornea I began wearing scleral lenses. So without my lenses, my glasses are the only way I can see anything. I just ordered a new pair this week. My vision isn't as good with my glasses however I am functionable around the house, watching TV and reading.
• I use sclerals for both extreme dry eye and correction, but must still use a strong reader with my lenses.  Glasses do not provide adequate correction for anything more than bumbling around the house without the lenses due to scleral scaring and other damage.  Therefore I wear my lenses as much as 18 hrs a day, although I might have to reinsert them 3-4 times due to clouding.  I am fortunate to have access to excellent specialist eye care.  My lenses fit well and I have never had any particular problem inserting or caring for them.
• Due the scarring on my corneas the best I can do with glasses is 20/30 left and 20/40 right. I'm 20/20 and 20/25 with scleral lenses. Night vision is better with scleral. Reading glasses are necessary both with and without the scleral lenses.
• Because of Radial Keratotomy, I can no longer wear glasses. I have readers for close up.
• I need the glasses to read.
• I have a very high distance prescription which includes prism + astigmatism. My glasses correct for all these; my sclerals only correct the distance, and I wear glasses with a prism + astigmatism with them. I also experience light sensitivity, which means I have two additional pairs of prescription sunglasses. My insurance only covers my scleral lenses, so I have paid for 4 pairs of frames + lenses out of pocket--highly expensive!
• Glasses work but my vision is much better with my sclerals in.
• My sclerals vastly improve my vision - correcting  high astigmatism, and comfort - severe dry, under lid/lid margin scar tissue. Best vision/comfort = glasses over sclerals.
• I wear bifocals. The scleral in right eye keeps the floppy eyelid (post surgery) off the sclera and conjunctiva. Once scleral is removed later in day, vision becomes difficult even with glasses and pain from abrasion of conjunctiva increases until the best option is to place ointment in right eye and go to bed.
• I only wear a scleral lens in one eye.  Without it, my vision is poor and isn't constant so glasses don't help all that much--too much variance
• Keratoconus is my diagnosis.
• Progressive lenses. Use Ziena frame with the eye cup
• No daytime glasses over sclerals. But night driving RX over sclerals. The RX is overpowered to help reduce glare & better able to read road signs.
• I am researching tools to use in vision office to mimic headlight glare to better tailor my night RX.
• I use prescription bifocals when I have to take a break from my scleral lenses, which I wear as much as possible (often over 16 hours per day).  I got the prescription bifocals so I can drive even if I can't wear my sclerals.  Neither my sclerals nor my glasses correct my need for readers.  So, I tend to use readers with the sclerals very frequently and use the prescription bifocals when I don't need to read very fine print / typefaces.
• I wear sclerals for severe dry eyes.My sclerals provide a distance prescription. Over these I wear readers with a Plano upper section and wear these together all day.  Without my sclerals I wear progressive glasses but my dry eyes greatly affect my vision without sclerals.  I must use Ivizia Gel for Severe/Night Dry Eyes multiple times while wearing these.  If I am in an environment with moving air of any type, whether it is A/C, a light breeze or wind, I must wear my 7Eye wind glasses whether or not I am wearing my sclerals.  These do help. And then, there is the need for sunglasses to address light sensitivity which often accompanies dry eyes.  That is yet another expense.
• I see the best only while wearing my Scleral lenses. I wish I could wear my glasses more but they are just for wearing after taking out my Scleral lens for the day. I can see the TV ok with my glasses but on the rare occasion where I've had to not wear my Scleral lenses for a whole day or longer it is a struggle to only have my glasses.
• Right now, I can only wear my contacts 3-5 hours, every other day, they irritate my eyes too much  
• I have regular prescription glasses in my left eye and the scleral lens in the right eye
• I now wear glasses with my lens…clear on top and I focal on the bottom. This way I don’t need to take on and off glasses to read…see car dashboard ..menue etc. After taking my lens out….takes an hour or so with my distance glasses to see well. 
• Optimal vision is with scleral lenses and glasses atop. Very difficult for eye doctor (even specialist) to get prescriptions in sclerals and glasses to align. Usually takes several orders.