ACUVUE^® Blog

What to expect at your first contact lens exam

By Dr. Giovanna Olivares, OD, FAAO; Johnson & Johnson Vision Director & Staff Writer

Know the basics before you go

We get it, visiting a doctor’s office can be intimidating, especially when you aren’t sure what you’re going to experience. A visit to the eye care professional is no different. So whether you’re a teen feeling nervous about getting your first pair of contact lenses or you’re slightly older but you’re anxious, we’re here to help demystify the experience so you can walk in confidently (or at least less nervously) and get a pair of contact lenses that give you freedom and flexibility you’re looking for.

A contact lens exam: An add-on to a comprehensive eye exam

When you call an eye care professional to set up a contact lens fitting, you’re essentially asking for a longer appointment than your typical comprehensive exam. That’s because you’ll get your eye health checked through a comprehensive eye exam, and then you’ll also get evaluated and measured for contact lenses. Once your eye care professional determines that contact lenses are right for you, you’ll receive some one-on-one instruction on how to put them on and take them off. This is why contact lens fittings cost more than a routine eye exam and glasses prescription—you’re getting a lot more!

What to bring to your appointment

Your current contact lenses or glasses, if you have them
You vision and medical insurance cards, if you're insured
A photo ID
Questions. Your eye care professional is a great resource for all things eye-related, so don’t hold back. Here are some examples of things you could ask:

How’s the health of my eyes?
What are my vision correction options?
What’s going to provide the best vision and most flexibility for me given my lifestyle?
What do I need to do to wear contact lenses safely? Are there any long-term issues with wearing contact lenses?

What happens in a first contact lens exam: Step by step

Every eye care professional has their own routine or equipment that they use, but typically the exams follow a similar structure. In the next few sections, we’ll go over what could be included at every step.

Step 1: Check in—early, if you can

As with just about every doctor’s office out there, the first thing you have to do when you check in is fill out paperwork. Some offices will allow you to fill it out electronically before you get there, but if not, grab a pen and take a seat. This is why it’s a good idea to get there ahead of time. Paperwork typically includes a medical and family history because many common diseases like diabetes and arthritis can have profound effects on eye health and vision, and some diseases are hereditary.

Step 2: The pre-test

When they call you back (this will likely be a technician, not the eye care professional yet), the first thing they’ll usually do is takes some initial measurements. This is called “pre-test” and it can include:

Collecting your vitals like height, weight and blood pressure
A basic visual test to determine your how well you can see shapes and details. Think: The eye chart you see on walls at the doctor’s office.
Taking a picture of your retina

Measuring your prescription and the curvature of the front of the eye with what’s called an auto-refractor
A test for color blindness (typically only done at your first comprehensive exam)
A measurement of your internal eye pressure, which can screen for early signs of glaucoma

Step 3: The comprehensive exam

Did you know that a comprehensive eye exam is good for more than just your eyes? The tests your eye care professional performs can help detect over 270 systemic diseases. In this part of the appointment, your eye care professional will test your vision, assess how your eyes work together, and evaluate the health of your eyes and retina. Let’s go over some of the elements.

Determining your prescription

During this part of the exam, your Optician will find out how much correction each eye needs. To do that, they’ll most commonly use a phoropter. You’ll be asked: “Which is better? Number one or number two,” because they’re cycling through different lens powers and seeing which ones provides the sharpest vision. Your Optician may also opt to use other tools like a retinoscope. A retinoscope shines a light into your eye, and depending how the light reflects off the retina, the doctor can determine your prescription.

Are your eyes working as a team?

Another part of the exam will test for abnormalities in the way your eyes function and/or move together. This is called binocular vision, because your brain has to take information from both your eyes to create one image. Because of that, it’s not just a test of your eye’s muscular function but also your neurological function. Your Optician may test this by moving an object around in different directions and asking you to follow with your eyes.

Inspecting the outside of your eyes

In this part of the exam, your Optician will take a look at the external parts of your eyes like your eyelashes, your cornea (the front surface of your eyes) and your iris (the colored part of your eye) with a special microscope called a slit lamp.

Will they dilate your pupils?

Your Optician may want to dilate your pupils, especially if this is your first visit with them. This procedure allows them to better see through to the back of the eye and evaluate the health of your retina and optic nerve inside the eye. This is especially important if you're nearsighted as nearsighted people have a higher risk of developing retinal problems.

Step 4: The contact lens exam

The consultation

There are different contact lenses for different needs (daily disposables vs. reusables, lenses for astigmatism and for presbyopia, etc) which your eye care professional will take into consideration depending on your lifestyle and prescription needs, so they’ll ask questions about how you want to use your contact lenses.

Additional testing

Glasses and contact lenses are different for more than just the obvious reasons. The prescription will be a little different because the contact lens actually has to sit on your eye, and the curvature of your eye is unique to you. So in addition to the testing from the comprehensive eye exam, your eye care professional may:

Take a few more measurements to know which lens to fit you with. This will include the curve of your cornea, and possibly the width of your cornea.
Test your tear film to see if you are predisposed to dry eye.

Step 5: Trying on contact lenses

Your eye care professional will have some recommendations based on the tests, your prescription and your lifestyle, and you’ll try them on to see how they feel, fit, and improve your vision. Your Optician will verify that the lenses fit well on your eye, that they move when you blink, and that they cover your cornea completely. If you have lenses that correct your astigmatism, the eye care professional will check to make sure that the lenses are positioned correctly on the eye. The prescription in the contact lenses will be checked using an eye chart and the phoropter, asking you once again, “Number one or number two?” If any change in the prescription is needed, they will make that change before you leave the office.

Now’s the time to practice and ask questions

While you’re at the office, they’ll walk you through the process of putting on the lenses and taking them off. You’ll have time to practice with them while in the office so you are confident enough to do it on your own at home.

See how to apply lenses

Free* trial lenses

Contact lenses are often “try them before you buy them.” ACUVUE^® is no different—you can get free* trial lenses, and we’re confident you’ll love them!

Get a Free* Trial

The follow up appointment

Even when you go home with your free trial pair, don’t worry if you end up with more questions. That’s what the follow up is for. You’ll go back to the eye care professional in a few days or weeks to check in and make sure the lenses are right for you. It’s then that you’ll get your official prescription and can order your full supply of contact lenses. If the lenses aren’t right for you, your eye care professional will likely start over with a new lens and repeat the process. If at any point you experience pain, redness, or blurry vision in between your contact lens exam and your follow-up appointment, stop wearing them and contact your eye care professional.

Enjoy!

Life with contact lenses can be a game changer for many. If you’re active, you don’t have to worry about glasses falling off. If you like a more natural look, you can now go out without glasses covering up part of your face. And you get a full field of unobstructed vision, to enjoy the world around you, crisp and clear.

Hopefully this helps take some of the nerves out of going to get your contact lenses. We hope you find some ACUVUE^® contact lenses that you love, and enjoy seeing the beauty of the world around you.

Find an Eye Care Professional

About the author

Giovanna E. Olivares, OD, FAAO is the Global Director, Specialty Platforms Research & Development, at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (JJVC). In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the strategy, design, and development of new products to support the company’s global Astigmatism and Presbyopia platforms. In 2017 under her leadership, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, launched ACUVUE^{^®} Oasys 1-Day with Hydroluxe^{^®} for Astigmatism and ACUVUE^{^®} Vita^{^®} for Astigmatism to meet our patients’ needs. In 2021, her team launched ACUVUE^® OASYS MULTIFOCAL with PUPIL OPTIMIZED^{^®} design. Recently in September, 2022, she launched ACUVUE^{^®} OASYS MAX MULTIFOCAL for presbyopia patients.

Dr. Olivares joined Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. in 2004 as Sr. Manager of the R&D Design Clinical Research Group. In this role, she led a multidisciplinary group including Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, Vision Scientists, and Biostatisticians responsible for the development of new innovative contact lens products and clinical methodology. Under her leadership, the group launched several brands including ACUVUE^{^®} ADVANCE for ASTIGMATISM, ACUVUE^{^®} OASYS for ASTIGMATISM, and 1-DAY ACUVUE^{^®} MOIST for ASTIGMATISM. Under her leadership, the first validated patient questionnaire for JJVC was developed, CLUE (Contact Lens User Experience).

In 2010, she was appointed to the position of Director of Professional Education, responsible for developing innovative educational programs across the spectrum of students, eye care professionals, Professional Affairs Consultants, and the company’s Sales & Marketing organizations.

Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson Vision, Dr. Olivares served as the Director of Clinical and Professional Development for Unilens Corp. USA, where she developed contact lens designs for presbyopia. Additionally, she has practiced in an ophthalmology practice, private optometric practice, retail optometry, and as a technical medical consultant at TLC, a center for LASIK surgery.

Dr. Olivares received her BS degree from the University of Rochester and her OD degree from the State University of New York (SUNY). She subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Ocular Disease management at the SUNY College of Optometry. After her fellowship, she joined the SUNY faculty as an Assistant Professor with clinical and didactic teaching responsibilities in the areas of contact lenses, ocular disease, pediatric/binocular vision, and primary care.

Dr. Olivares is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, has authored numerous scientific articles and has lectured internationally on contact lens technology and fitting for success.

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs About What to expect at your first contact lens exam

What is the process of getting contacts for the first time?

If you are thinking about getting contact lenses, the first thing that you will need is a comprehensive eye exam. During this exam, the eye care professional will determine your prescription and make sure that your eyes are healthy enough to wear contacts. After the comprehensive exam, you will need contact lenses fitting.

What to expect when you start wearing contact lenses?

Symptoms like tired, strained, or dry eyes are normal but can be managed with simple adjustments. To prevent eye fatigue, start by wearing your contact lenses for just a few hours a day, gradually increasing wear time. Use rewetting drops or lubricating eye drops to keep your eyes hydrated and reduce dryness.

Do contacts hurt your eyes at first?

It's common to experience some discomfort when first wearing contacts. This can be due to dryness, dust particles, or having an improper fit.

What is the difference between an eye exam and a contact lens test?

Comprehensive eye exams are in-depth vision and eye health exams that test your visual acuity and for certain eye diseases. Exams for contacts, by contrast, only check your visual acuity and fit you for contact lenses.

Should I remove my contact lenses before an eye test?

During the examination, an eye care specialist may ask you to remove your contacts. This helps ensure accurate measurements and a comprehensive assessment of the cornea, ocular surface, and overall health of your eyes.

Footnotes

* Please note professional eye examination and fitting fees may apply. GCC residents 18 or over only. One trial per person. Eligibility subject to Eye Care Professional approval. Participating Eye Care Professionals only. See link for full terms and conditions.

All ACUVUE^® Brand Contact Lenses have Class 1 and Class 2 UV-blocking to help provide protection against transmission of harmful UV radiation to the cornea and into the eye. UV-absorbing contact lenses are NOT substitutes for protective UV-absorbing eyewear such as UV-absorbing goggles or subglasses because they do not completely cover the eye and surrounding area. UV transmission measured with -1.00D lens.

For more information on proper wear, care and safety, talk to your Eye Care Professional and read the Instructions for Use.

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