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