strong>Correcting Vision With Contact Lenses

Eyeglasses are great for some people. Laser surgery works for many. But millions now enjoy the comfort, ease of use and sharp optics given by contemporary contact lenses.

Because of the way the eye and visual system work, it’s relatively straightforward today to design contact lenses that correct most vision problems. Manufacturing techniques have been raised to a high art and most of the research now goes into finding materials for longer wear or less likelihood of eye health problems.

That makes choosing a contact lens a snap today. A modern, professional eye exam allows for extremely accurate measurement of the eye and vision correction needs. The result is a prescription that fits you perfectly in any of dozens of designs and types you might want.

Choices run the gamut.

Soft contact lenses have been in use for a generation now and they continue to be the choice of millions. Virtually gone are the hard, glass contacts of yesteryear. Today’s soft lenses come in disposable, extended wear and many other options, including different types of tinting or coloring. Some tints are only meant to make the contact easy to see and handle and hard to lose. Others are intended to shift or change entirely your eye color.

But firmer lenses are still desired by or needed by many. RGP (rigid gas permeable) types are the most common here. Midway between a hard lens and a soft lens, they allow considerable oxygen through the lens to optimize eye health. Their extra firmness makes them a good choice for those with mild astigmatisms or who desire extra long life in a contact lens.

Toric contact lenses, particularly the prosite type, are useful for those with more pronounced astigmatisms. They’re also a good choice for those who want a multifocal lens, such as bifocals or progressives.

Whichever type of contact lens you get, they will generally be comfortable and provide excellent vision, if cared for and used correctly. That means cleaning them when needed, inserting and removing them according to the manufacturer’s and your doctor’s guidance. It also means using them the right way, not trying to treat daily contacts like extended wear, for example.

But, even lenses that are designed and used perfectly can occasionally cause complications. Dry eye, blurred vision, discomfort and other issues do happen to a small percentage of contact lens users. In some cases, conjunctivitis, corneal abrasions and other eye health issues are possible. When they happen, remove the contacts and consult your physician immediately. In most cases, the problem can be cleared up quickly and you can resume wearing your contacts soon.

Get a careful exam, buy from reputable dealers and use your contacts the way they were meant to be worn and you can enjoy years of perfect vision.

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strong>Contact Lenses - Material and Types

What your contact lenses are made of affects how they wear in many senses of the word, including how long they last, your comfort and their health impact. For many years contact lenses were made of glass. Today, fewer than 1% are, with the other 99% made from various types of plastic. The choices are predominantly some type of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), polycarbonate or silicon hydroxy gel.

Hard contact lenses introduced in the 1960s are made of PMMA and don’t allow oxygen to move directly through the lens, but some air does reach under it anyway. When a person blinks the lens moves slightly and some air diffuses through the tear solution that covers the eyeball.

Soft contact lenses, first introduced in 1971, were made of a polyacrylamide containing nitrogen (hydroxyethyl methacrylate or HEMA) which made them what is called ‘hydrophilic’. This ability to absorb water makes them flexible, and therefore more comfortable. At the same time, they are slightly more permeable to air than their older cousins.

RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable) lenses are midway between a truly hard lens, like glass or PMMA, and a soft lens. They combine PMMA with silicone and fluoropolymers that allow air to get to the eye. That increases your comfort and reduces the odds of health problems due to long-term wear.

Extended wear lenses, which come in anywhere from 2-day to 7-day to even 30-day use models, are made of silicon hydroxy gel. That material allows up to seven times the amount of oxygen to pass through the lens, making it possible to wear them longer than others.

Disposable contact lenses, first introduced in 1987, have now become extremely popular. They can be worn daily for a week or two and removing them every night is an option. Most are designed to be worn continuously then simply thrown away. Made from a combination of a polymer called etafilcon (42%) and water (58%), they’re very thin, flexible and have excellent gas permeability.

Disposables are especially popular among sports enthusiasts because of the fact that they fit close to the eye, making them very difficult to dislodge. They’re also very comfortable, so they can be easily ignored during activity. However, many don’t offer quite the level of crystal clear vision as other types, so they’re not suitable for everyone. Also, they don’t correct some vision problems as well as other types, which limits their use for some.

Apart from the choice of material and wear characteristics, there are several options today in contact lenses that simply didn’t exist 20 years ago.

Single vision lenses are like a pair of glasses worn close to the eye. They were once the only choice. Today, bifocals in contact lenses are possible. Even multifocal or progressive lenses are an option. These help compensate for presbyopia, a type of farsightedness that affects nearly everyone as they age, typically beginning in the mid-40s.

Investigate your options with your eye care professional and you’ll soon find a pair of contact lenses just right for you and your lifestyle.

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strong>Change Your Eye Color With Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are first and foremost a practical device. But there’s no reason they can’t also be a fashion statement, a way to alter your natural attributes to suit your fancy.

The types of contact lenses that make that possible fall into four categories:

Visibility tints are typically a light blue or green cast infused into a contact lens. The dye is too weak to affect how your eye color looks, but it’s just enough to make the contacts easy to see. That helps when inserting them and minimizes the odds of losing one.

An enhancement tint, by comparison, is a richer dye that does change the hue of your natural eye color. They won’t change your color from, say, blue to brown but can give blue or green eyes a more vibrant look.

Color tints take the process one step further. They are virtually opaque and are designed to alter the natural color of your iris, the colored portion of the eye. Brown eyes can be made to look blue, blue eyes can change to brown with the flick of a lens. They come in an assortment of colors including hazel, green, or blue and even violet or gray.

These contacts generally do a very effective job not only of shifting or changing color, but of making the effect look very natural. Uniformly colored dyes are enhanced with dots, stripes and other features to mimic the mottled look of the iris. The central portion is clear to allow for full passage of light. Since the pupil of even the lightest eye-colored person is still very dark the natural effect isn’t spoiled.

At the extreme end of the range of effects are special effects theatrical contact lenses used for ‘eye decoration’. They may be in the form of slits to produce cat’s eyes or larger colored areas to make the iris look unnaturally large. They can be intentionally designed in unnatural colors such as red or white to produce a character effect for a party or just for fun.

A full range of special-contact lenses are available but almost all of them still give the ability to improve vision the way regular contact lenses do. They’re typically available in soft, RGP, daily wear or extended wear, and other common choices. Some theatrical lenses may be designed solely for effect with no ‘eyeglasses’ ability, but even many of those are available for those who do require contacts.

Extend the range of your fashion choices by including colored contact lenses. After all, why should the fun stop at your earrings?

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