Potential Benefits Include Reducing Light Sensitivity, Migraine Relief, Promoting Healing, and More
Restoring Comfort, Promoting Cellular Healing, and Calming Sensitive Eyes
Therapeutic contact lenses are a specialized category of contact lens designed to address specific eye conditions or provide therapeutic benefits beyond traditional vision correction. Some common types of therapeutic contact lenses include tinted or colored lenses which reduce light sensitivity and/or offer migraine relief, bandage contact lenses, and scleral lenses which are prescribed for therapeutic abilities, such as to promote healing from severe dry eye.
Patients who are considering a therapeutic lens often require a skilled doctor who has the time to investigate the details of the situation to understand the root cause of the issue.
The Charlotte Contact Lens Institute is well-equipped for these types of situations. Our doctors have experience with prescribing many different types of therapeutic contact lenses for different types of eye conditions. Additionally, patients spend 100% of their time one-on-one with the doctor, and we feature advanced and unique technology, in-depth exams, and plenty of time for answering questions.
If you have questions on therapeutic lenses, we can be reached at (704) 800-5230 or hello@charlottecontactlens.com. More information on therapeutic lenses can also be found below.
An Introduction to Therapeutic Contact Lenses
Specialty contact lenses can be used in various therapeutic ways, depending on the patient’s current eye condition, goals for their vision, lifestyle, and many more factors. For example, did you know there are contact lenses available specifically for relief of migraines?
Our doctors pride themselves on the breadth of their knowledge of the many applications for specialty contact lenses, and they are available to discuss your situation more if you are interested.
Listed below are the main ways that contact lenses can be used therapeutically, but this is not an exhaustive list, and Charlotte Contact Lens Institute specializes in new and unique applications of therapeutic contact lenses:
Reducing Glare & Painful Light Entry
Tinted contact lenses can help individuals who are highly sensitive to light (photophobic) by reducing the total volume of light that enters the eye. Custom densities and pupil apertures filter bright ambient illumination, providing constant relief indoors and outdoors.
Learn more about light sensitivityEnhancing Spectral Discrimination
Specialty tinted contact lenses are precision-engineered to enhance color perception and contrast for individuals with specific red-green or blue-yellow color vision deficiencies (color blindness) by optimizing wavelength separation.
Precision Spectral Filtering (FL-41)
Precision-tinted lenses, including specialized FL-41 filters, are prescribed to patients who suffer from debilitating visual stress, light-triggered migraines, and cortical hyperexcitability stimulated by fluorescent bulbs and digital displays.
Explore migraine relief optionsMechanical Shield for Surface Regeneration
Bandage contact lenses are placed on the ocular surface to protect fragile epithelium and promote rapid healing in cases of corneal abrasions, recurrent corneal erosion, persistent epithelial defects, or following ophthalmic surgery.
Continuous Fluid Hydration Reservoir
Scleral contact lenses offer profound therapeutic benefits for severe dry eye, Sjögren’s syndrome, and GVHD by maintaining a continuous reservoir of preservative-free fluid between the lens and the cornea, preventing cellular breakdown.
Discover dry eye scleral therapy
The team at the Charlotte Contact Lens Institute are experts in fitting unique and specialized therapeutic contact lenses for the treatment of a wide variety of complex ocular conditions.
Our office is one of a few practices in the country equipped with the Pentacam AXL Wave and Optovue Solix OCT, which aid in the precise design and custom adjustment of therapeutic contact lenses.
We do not offer traditional eye exams for “normal” eyes. Instead, a large percentage of our patients come to us looking for advanced and customized options, including contact lenses that offer therapeutic benefits.
Our doctors are directly available to answer questions you have after your exam, and will make sure you have the information needed in order to ensure the best possible visual outcome and healing.
We allow generous 90–120 minute appointment slots for comprehensive evaluations, thorough patient education, and unhurried discussions. No rushing in and out here.
We keep our overhead costs low and offer very competitive prices as a result. We have monthly payment options available and also accept Cherry™, HSA, & FSA accounts.
The Charlotte Contact Lens Institute specializes in specialty contact lenses and their wide-ranging applications for providing therapeutic benefits. Our doctors take the time to truly understand the situation and evaluate multiple potential treatment options. From the moment you first walk through the door, it’s clear to see that the Charlotte Contact Lens Institute prides itself on customer service and delivering the best potential visual outcome for their patients.
Our doctors are leaders in their field and Dr. Cerenzie has been honored with the distinction of Fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society (FSLS), which is bestowed on advanced level practitioners within the specialty lens industry. In fact, currently there are only approximately 300 members worldwide of this elite group of specialty contact lens doctors.
If you have questions about the therapeutic benefits of contact lenses, we can be reached at (704) 800-5230 or hello@charlottecontactlens.com.
Understanding Bandage & Therapeutic Contact Lenses
Unlike conventional contact lenses prescribed solely for refractive error correction, therapeutic contact lenses are medical devices designed to treat, protect, or rehabilitate damaged, inflamed, or irregular ocular tissue. Therapeutic modalities include bandage contact lenses that shield healing corneas, precision-tinted lenses that block migraine-inducing light wavelengths, and therapeutic scleral lenses that bathe severe dry eyes in an oxygenated fluid reservoir.
A bandage contact lens acts as a transparent, protective anatomical shield over the cornea. During normal blinking, the upper eyelid creates mechanical friction across the fragile corneal epithelium. A bandage lens eliminates this shear force, reduces acute corneal pain by insulating exposed nerve endings, and allows new epithelial cells to migrate and adhere firmly to the underlying basement membrane following abrasions, surgeries, or recurrent erosions.
Precision-tinted contact lenses incorporate specialized spectral filters—such as FL-41 or custom wavelength notches—that selectively attenuate irritating bands of light (particularly 480–520 nm blue-green spikes common in fluorescent bulbs and digital screens). These specific wavelengths trigger hyperexcitable trigeminal pain pathways in migraine sufferers. Filtering this light directly at the pupil provides constant relief indoors and outdoors without needing dark sunglasses.
Yes. Scleral lenses are frequently prescribed as a primary therapeutic treatment for severe ocular surface disease, neurotrophic keratitis, persistent epithelial defects, Sjögren’s syndrome, and Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD). Because scleral lenses rest on the sclera and vault entirely over the cornea, the fluid reservoir constantly bathes the ocular surface in non-preserved saline, promoting re-epithelialization and profound physical relief.
In many cases, therapeutic contact lenses qualify for medical insurance consideration because they are prescribed as medically necessary treatment for ocular pathology or postoperative healing rather than elective vision correction. Our practice provides detailed medical diagnostic coding, fee documentation, and itemized receipts that patients can submit to their health insurance carrier. We also accept HSA, FSA, and flexible monthly financing through Cherry™.
Whether you require corneal healing protection, migraine wavelength filtering, or severe dry eye relief, our fellowship-trained team provides unhurried, one-on-one medical care.
Direct Doctor Communication • No Rushing In and Out • Flexible HSA, FSA & Cherry™ Financing
