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Contact Lenses
Fitting Contact Lenses
Contact Lens Prescriptions
Contact Lens Complications
Caring for Contact Lenses
Contact Lenses
More and more people are opting to wear contact lenses for
their vision correction requirements.
There are several different types of contact lenses available.
1) Hard Contacts
Less than 1% of people wearing contact lenses choose
hard contacts. Although the hard plastic offers sharper
vision, the hard lenses don't allow oxygen to pass through to
the cornea. Hard lenses also take a longer period of time to
adjust to.
2) Daily Wear Soft Contact Lenses
These contact lenses are made using a thin polymer plastic
that is able to conform to the shape of the eye. They promote
cornea health by allowing oxygen to pass through. These lenses
are more flexible than hard contacts and are easier to adjust
to wearing. They also tend to stay in place well. These lenses
are more durable than disposable contact lenses. They can
correct most vision problems, with certain exceptions, such as
serious cases of astigmatism.
a) Daily Wear Soft Toric Lenses
These lenses are specifically designed to address problems
associated with astigmatism.
3) Rigid Gas Permeable Contact Lenses
These contacts are made with hard plastic and contain spots
where good amounts of oxygen can reach the eye. They require
some adaptation period, but are available to address almost
all types of vision problems. These lenses are less likely
than soft contacts to cause eye irritations or infections and
are very easy to care for. They can provide sharper vision
than soft contacts; however, they are more likely to slip off
the eye and must be worn consistently.
4) Disposable Contact Lenses
These are soft contact lenses that are available both in daily
wear and extended wear, for periods from one day to several
months. They are worn while awake and discarded before bed.
They offer the same advantages as other soft contacts, they
are more porous to oxygen and usually more comfortable.
Because they are discarded nightly, infections and irritations
are minimal. Disposable contacts are more fragile than other
contact lenses, and should be cleaned and disinfected prior to
use.
Extended wear contacts are soft contacts that can be worn for
over a day continuously, even while sleeping. They can be worn
for periods of 7 days without requiring cleaning. Note that
wearing any contact lens, including extended wear contacts,
overnight increases risk of infection and irritation.
5) Bifocal contact lenses
These contacts are lenses that contain two prescriptions,
similar to bifocal glasses. These lenses are only available as
rigid gas permeable lenses.
ALERT!
The FDA has alerted consumers about
potentially serious side effects associated with wearing
special effects contact lenses. The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological
Health has advice for consumers wishing to
purchase contact lenses on the Internet.
The National Eye Institute (A
Division of the National Institutes of Health) offers
excellent resources about
vision, eye
care and contact lenses. This site is available in
both English and Spanish. The Optometrists Network
provides detailed information for parents about
children and vision care. |
