Gone are the days when people used to wear those big, old and ugly spectacles for correcting their vision. With the help of latest technology in eye care, people are able to correct their vision with a more advanced formula known as contact lenses. Although the popularity of contacts have really picked up, there exist some myths which have lead to development of certain apprehensions. Some of these are:
A) Myth: Contact lenses are not meant for children.
Fact: Use of contact lenses does not depend upon the age factor. Your child can use lenses for correcting the vision if he/ she is responsible enough to take care of them. In fact maturity factor is important for determining the ability of wearing the contact lenses.
B) Myth: Use of contact lenses may lead to infection.
Fact: Some infections or health problems related to lens do occur but only when you have a poor cleaning routine or are careless about taking care of your lenses. To avoid infections or any other disease, always follow your doctor's directions and keep your lenses clean.
C) Myth: Contacts can get lost behind your eye.
Fact: This statement is 100 percent wrong as it is physically impossible for the contacts to get lost behind your eye. Your lens cannot go beyond the front surface of the eye.
D) Myth: Contact lens usually falls out of eye, a lot.
Fact: This is only possible in hard lenses but in case of soft lenses, the contacts are tucked under the eyelids which makes it impossible for them to move or fall out of the eye. They are also more stable.
E) Myth: It is not safe to wear contact lenses during sports.
Fact: Contact lenses have made a deep impression in the hearts of sports oriented people as it provides a peripheral and wider field of vision without any obstruction. However contact lens are not safe only for water sports.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Contact Lens Problems
Trial and error often is involved in finding the perfect lens for you. People react differently to various lens materials and cleaning solutions. Also, the correct "parameters" of your lens — that is, power, diameter, and curvature — can be finalized only after you've successfully worn the lens. This is especially true for more complex fits involving extra parameters, such as with bifocals or toric contact lenses for astigmatism.
If you experience discomfort or poor vision when wearing contact lenses, chances are that an adjustment or change of lens can help. Today, more contact lens choices than ever are available to provide comfort, good vision, and healthy eyes. If you're not feeling good and seeing well, ask your ECP for help.
By, Liz Segre
If you experience discomfort or poor vision when wearing contact lenses, chances are that an adjustment or change of lens can help. Today, more contact lens choices than ever are available to provide comfort, good vision, and healthy eyes. If you're not feeling good and seeing well, ask your ECP for help.
By, Liz Segre
Contact Lens Wear and Care
More than 3 million people in the United Kingdom enjoy the many benefits that contact lenses have to offer. Just as the obvious cosmetic advantages, many people actually see better with their contact lenses what to do with their performances, such as contact lenses provide a more natural form of vision correction. There are also many practical advantages for using contact lenses for sports and recreational use.
There are basically two types of contact lenses available: rigid gas permeable and soft. However, there are many different lens materials and designs. The lenses can be used in everyday use, either discarded and every day (daily disposable) or disinfected and re-use, or wear a wide base where they are kept in overnight. Her contact lens professional will advise on the most suitable type of lens, the use schedule, the frequency of replacement regime and care for their needs. Never change the type of lens solution or use, except in your doctor's advice.
Remember that contact lenses can only be installed by or under the supervision of a registered optometrist, qualified dispensing optician or doctor. Regular aftercare check-ups, at intervals specified by your doctor, are essential to ensure that their eyes are healthy and you're using the best lenses for their particular needs. Contact lenses are constantly improving so that even if they have not been successful in the past it's worth trying again. Today almost all those who need vision correction and want to wear contact lenses can do.
Safe use contact lenses
For most people, bear contact lens is safe and completely free of problems. However, research studies have shown a slight increased risk of eye infection associated with contact lens wear compared to not use lenses. Sleeping in your lenses with carries a higher risk than taking out every night, although the new, highly permeable silicone hydrogel lenses can carry a lower risk than traditional extended wear lenses. Rigid gas permeable lenses and disposable daily have a very low incidence of infection.
Useful tips for contact lens care
The following tips apply to all contact lens types:
There are basically two types of contact lenses available: rigid gas permeable and soft. However, there are many different lens materials and designs. The lenses can be used in everyday use, either discarded and every day (daily disposable) or disinfected and re-use, or wear a wide base where they are kept in overnight. Her contact lens professional will advise on the most suitable type of lens, the use schedule, the frequency of replacement regime and care for their needs. Never change the type of lens solution or use, except in your doctor's advice.
Remember that contact lenses can only be installed by or under the supervision of a registered optometrist, qualified dispensing optician or doctor. Regular aftercare check-ups, at intervals specified by your doctor, are essential to ensure that their eyes are healthy and you're using the best lenses for their particular needs. Contact lenses are constantly improving so that even if they have not been successful in the past it's worth trying again. Today almost all those who need vision correction and want to wear contact lenses can do.
Safe use contact lenses
For most people, bear contact lens is safe and completely free of problems. However, research studies have shown a slight increased risk of eye infection associated with contact lens wear compared to not use lenses. Sleeping in your lenses with carries a higher risk than taking out every night, although the new, highly permeable silicone hydrogel lenses can carry a lower risk than traditional extended wear lenses. Rigid gas permeable lenses and disposable daily have a very low incidence of infection.
Useful tips for contact lens care
The following tips apply to all contact lens types:
Always
- Wash, rinse and dry your hands thoroughly before handling their lenses.
- Have an update pair of glasses when you need to remove their lenses.
- Replace lenses in the range specified by your doctor.
- Have regular checkups with your doctor as recommended.
- Get professional advice if you're having trouble with his contact lenses.
- Ask yourself these three important issues every day that you use lenses:
Do my eyes look good?
Do my eyes feel good?
Can I see well?
If you can not answer 'yes' to all these, or if you have any further questions regarding their contact lenses, remove your lenses immediately and seek advice from his doctor contact lenses.
Never
- Go to bed with a sore red eyes - seek advice immediately.
- Bring any contact lens in contact with tap water.
- Wet lenses with their saliva.
- Use your lenses for swimming (unless you use glasses) or shower.
Which Contact Lens Is Right for You?
First, your contacts must address the problem that is prompting you to wear lenses in the first place. Your contact lenses must provide good vision by correcting your
or some combination of those eye problems.
Second, the lens must fit your eye. To do that, lenses come in tens of thousands of combinations of diameter and curvature. Of course, not every lens brand comes in every "size."
Your ECP is skilled in evaluating your eye's physiology, and your eyesight, to determine which lens best satisfies the two criteria above.
Third, you may have another medical need that drives the choice of lens. For example, your ECP might pick a particular lens if your eyes tend to be dry.
Finally, consider your "wish list" of contact lens features — colors, for example, or overnight wear.
When you and your ECP decide on the right lens for you, you'll be given a contact lens prescription. You'll be able to buy a supply of lenses from your ECP or from the many other outlets that sell contact lenses.
By, Liz Segre
or some combination of those eye problems.
Second, the lens must fit your eye. To do that, lenses come in tens of thousands of combinations of diameter and curvature. Of course, not every lens brand comes in every "size."
Your ECP is skilled in evaluating your eye's physiology, and your eyesight, to determine which lens best satisfies the two criteria above.
Third, you may have another medical need that drives the choice of lens. For example, your ECP might pick a particular lens if your eyes tend to be dry.
Finally, consider your "wish list" of contact lens features — colors, for example, or overnight wear.
When you and your ECP decide on the right lens for you, you'll be given a contact lens prescription. You'll be able to buy a supply of lenses from your ECP or from the many other outlets that sell contact lenses.
By, Liz Segre
Contact Lens Designs
Many lens designs are available to correct various types of vision problems:
- Spherical contact lenses are the typical, rounded design of contact lenses, which can correct myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness).
- Bifocal contact lenses contain different zones for near and far vision to correct presbyopia, which is the age-related, decreased ability to obtain a full range of vision.
- Orthokeratology lenses are specially designed to reshape the cornea during sleep, providing lens-free daytime wear.
- Toric contact lenses correct for astigmatism, as well as for myopia and hyperopia.
All of these lenses can be custom made for hard-to-fit eyes. Many other additional lens designs are available. Typically these are less common and fabricated for use in special situations, such as correcting for keratoconus.
More Contact Lens Features
Colored Lenses. Many of the types of lenses described above also come in colors that can enhance the natural color of your eyes — that is, make your green eyes even greener, for example. Or these lenses can totally change the eye's appearance, as in from brown to blue.
Special-Effect Lenses. Also called theatrical, novelty, or costume lenses, these take coloration one step further to make you look like a cat, a zombie, or another alter-ego of your choice.
Prosthetic Lenses. Colored contact lenses can also be used for more medically oriented purposes. People with disfigured eyes, as a result of accidents or disease, can use a custom, opaque colored lens to mask the disfigurement and match the appearance of their normal eye.
UV-Inhibiting Lenses. Today, many contacts incorporate an ultraviolet blocker in the lens material, to cut down on UV light that can eventually cause cataracts and other eye problems. You can't see this blocker by looking at the lens. And since contacts don't cover your entire eye, UV blockers cannot substitute for traditional sun protection like good quality sunglasses.
Hybrid Lenses. One brand of lenses features a GP center with a soft outer skirt, providing wearers with both the crisp optics of a rigid lens and the comfort of a larger, soft lens.
By, Liz Segre
Contact Lens Wearing Time
Until 1979, everyone who wore contact lenses removed and cleaned them nightly. The introduction of "extended wear" enabled wearers to sleep in their contacts. Now, two types of lenses are classified by wearing time:
1. Daily wear — must be removed nightly
2. Extended wear — can be worn overnight, usually for seven days consecutively without removal
"Continuous wear" is a type of extended wear lens that can be worn for 30 consecutive nights.
Disposal Intervals for Contact Lenses
One problem with soft contact lenses is that proteins and lipids — which are naturally found in tears — adhere to the surface of the lens, sometimes causing discomfort and providing hiding places for infection-causing germs.
Lens-cleaning products help. But over time buildup still occurs, necessitating lens replacement. Disposable lenses, first introduced in 1987, address this problem in different ways. (Note that, although "disposable" generally means single-use, this is not not always true regarding contact lenses.) Here are the options:
1. Daily wear — must be removed nightly
2. Extended wear — can be worn overnight, usually for seven days consecutively without removal
"Continuous wear" is a type of extended wear lens that can be worn for 30 consecutive nights.
Disposal Intervals for Contact Lenses
One problem with soft contact lenses is that proteins and lipids — which are naturally found in tears — adhere to the surface of the lens, sometimes causing discomfort and providing hiding places for infection-causing germs.
Lens-cleaning products help. But over time buildup still occurs, necessitating lens replacement. Disposable lenses, first introduced in 1987, address this problem in different ways. (Note that, although "disposable" generally means single-use, this is not not always true regarding contact lenses.) Here are the options:
- Daily disposable — replaced every day
- Disposable (used for daytime wear) — replaced every two weeks
- Disposable (used for overnight wear) — replaced every week
- Continuous wear (used for 30-day wear) — replaced monthly
- Planned replacement — replaced monthly or less frequently
By, Liz Segre
Contact Lens Material
Classified by material, there are three types of contact lenses:
1. Hard lenses are made from PMMA — also known as Plexiglas or Lucite. These lenses are virtually obsolete and rarely used.
2. Soft lenses are made from gel-like, water-containing plastics, and are most common. They're a bit larger in size than your iris (the colored part of your eye).
3. GP lenses, also known as RGP or "oxygen permeable" lenses, are made from rigid, waterless plastics and are especially good for presbyopia and high astigmatism. These lenses are usually about eight millimeters in diameter, which is smaller than your iris.
From the introduction of soft lenses in 1971 until relatively recently, most lens brands have been made from "hydrogel" plastics. Recently, new silicone hydrogel contact lenses have been introduced. They have become the contact lenses of choice for many eye care practitioners, because they allow more oxygen to pass through the lens to the eye, and they are less prone to dehydration.
By, Liz Segre
1. Hard lenses are made from PMMA — also known as Plexiglas or Lucite. These lenses are virtually obsolete and rarely used.
2. Soft lenses are made from gel-like, water-containing plastics, and are most common. They're a bit larger in size than your iris (the colored part of your eye).
3. GP lenses, also known as RGP or "oxygen permeable" lenses, are made from rigid, waterless plastics and are especially good for presbyopia and high astigmatism. These lenses are usually about eight millimeters in diameter, which is smaller than your iris.
From the introduction of soft lenses in 1971 until relatively recently, most lens brands have been made from "hydrogel" plastics. Recently, new silicone hydrogel contact lenses have been introduced. They have become the contact lenses of choice for many eye care practitioners, because they allow more oxygen to pass through the lens to the eye, and they are less prone to dehydration.
By, Liz Segre
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