What this site is
Most contact lens information online is about ordinary soft lenses. That is reasonable — most lens wearers wear them.
This site is about the rest: the lenses fitted when a standard soft lens is not enough. Hybrids, rigid gas permeables, orthokeratology, custom soft lenses, prosthetic lenses, bandage lenses, and scleral lenses in overview.
These are fitted for keratoconus, for corneas that are irregular after surgery or injury, for astigmatism that soft lenses cannot correct, for myopia management in children, and for eyes whose surface needs protecting. They are prescribed after measurement, usually over several visits, and the vocabulary around them is unfamiliar to most people who suddenly need one.
That gap is what this site exists to close.
What we do not do
- We do not fit lenses. We have no practice, no clinic and no appointments.
- We do not sell anything. No lenses, no solutions, no products.
- We do not take payment for coverage. No manufacturer, laboratory or practice pays to appear here or to be described in a particular way.
- We do not rank brands. You will not find a “best lens” list on this site. Which design suits an eye is a clinical question with a different answer for each person, and a ranking would be a fiction.
- We do not give medical advice. Everything here is general information.
How the pages are written
Three principles shape everything here.
Specific about process, never about outcomes. We describe what a fitting involves, how many visits to expect, what the measurements are for and what happens when a lens does not work. We do not tell you how well you will see, because that is not knowable from a web page and claims like that do real harm.
Every lens type gets its limitations stated. Each page has a section on where that lens falls short. A page that only lists advantages is marketing, and it is useless for making a decision.
No statistic we cannot source. If a number cannot be traced to a published source, we leave it out rather than repeat something plausible. There is a great deal of confidently stated, unsourced numerical claim in eye care content online, and we would rather be less impressive than wrong.
Who writes it
Pages are written and maintained by the Specialty Lens Team. We publish under a team byline rather than an individual one, and we keep a review date on every page so you can see when it was last checked.
Ownership and other sites
The same owner operates other independent eye care information sites, including Scleral Lens Guide (sclerallensguide.com), which covers scleral lenses in far more depth than we do here. Where sclerals come up on this site we link there rather than duplicate it.
We say this plainly because an “independent guide” that quietly shares an owner with the sites it links to is not independent in any meaningful sense. Our editorial policy sets out the full position.
Getting in touch
Corrections are genuinely welcome, particularly from practitioners. If something on this site is wrong, out of date, or misleading, tell us and we will fix it — email info@specialtycontactlens.org.
We cannot answer questions about your own eyes, recommend a lens, or comment on a fitting you have had. Those need your own practitioner, who can examine you.