For patients who qualify, LASIK can dazzle away years of chunky glasses and scratchy contacts. However, for some candidates, innovations other than laser vision correction may better suit your eyes, wallet, or medical preferences.
If LASIK is making you squint, consider these alternatives:
- 30-Day Contact Lenses: These permeable lenses allow the wearer to see perfectly without glasses for a full month. Non-invasive and simple, most contact lenses can be used safely and effectively by even young teens. We do not recommend sleeping with contact lenses – even the extended wear ones- due to the higher risk of infection
- Corneal Reshaping: Another strong, non-surgical alternative to LASIK, this vision correction requires almost no effort—in fact, it happens while you sleep. Using contacts that are placed in the eye at bedtime, this technology uses oxygen-permeable lenses to reshape the cornea overnight for better vision during the waking hours. There is however a risk of infection that can seriously impair vision.
- Gas-Permeable Lenses: These lenses, worn during the day, are specially engineered to allow more oxygen to the eye. This increased transfer of gases results in better vision, without surgery or recovery of any kind. These lenses are also more durable and tear less easily than the softer, standard contact lenses.
- Photo-Refractive Keratectomy: Though its name is a mouthful, this procedure will offer only an eyeful—in fact, it is the most effective surgery for vision correction yet discovered. Unlike LASIK, there is no need to cut a flap with PRK. Although it is a surgical procedure which requires some recovery, its effectiveness and rate of success may recommend it as an alternative to both LASIK and contacts.
It’s not always easy to clearly discern which corrective option will be best for your vision. The surgeons at Boston Eye Group and Boston Laser will be more than happy to act as your seeing-eye guide through your entire ocular journey, whether it takes 20 minutes or 20 years. Call us at (617) 566-0062 and schedule a consultation to discuss which option is right for you.
