The realm of contact lenses has grown so much that now there are contacts available for anyone. No matter your vision or eye problems, contact lenses can be a comfortable and stylish option to correcting your vision problems.
About 14 million Americans, two-thirds of them women, wear contact lenses.
Since the original hard lenses were invented in the 50s, contact lenses have
been steadily improved to correct a greater array of problems and fit more and
more people. Last year contact lens sales increased 30 percent over the previous
year, which lead to an ever greater increase in the number of suppliers offering
cheap and discounted content lenses.
Currently, contact lenses can be divided into three major categories - hard,
soft, and gas permeable hard.
Hard contact lenses arc made of a rigid plastic and allow no oxygen
to pass through them to the eye. They are smaller than soft lenses so air can
get around them. They generally are not as comfortable as soft lenses and require
several weeks to adjust to them. Most wearers cannot keep them in for more than
12 to 18 hours. Many eye specialists believe that wearing hard lenses slows
the deterioration of vision.
Soft contact lenses are made of very pliable water-absorbent plastic
and provide more comfort and longer wearing time than most hard lenses. They
need very little break-in time. But soft lenses do have drawbacks. They require
more care than hard lenses. Because they absorb water, they also absorb bacteria
and other substances. They arc less durable. While a hard lens can last as long
as 10 years, a soft lens wears out, sometimes within a year, and can tear. Apparently
the pros out-weigh the cons; soft lenses now account for more than 60 percent
of contact lens use.
Though soft lenses were welcomed by people who couldn't tolerate hard lenses,
they were off limits to others, particularly those with astigmatism. Then came
gas-permeable hard lenses offering the advantages of hard lenses - durability,
little care and can be worn by astigmatics - as well as allowing oxygen to the
eye and providing more comfort and longer wearing time. Besides the three basic
types of lenses, new lenses designed to correct specific problems are being
developed at a rapid pace. They include:
Soft lenses for astigmatism. Until recently people with astigmatism
could not wear soft lenses because the material fits unevenly over the rough
surface of the cornea. A soft lens called a toric lens, with two prescriptions
ground into it, is now available. Several area optometrists say they have been
prescribing it with great success, while others say they are encountering difficulties
in obtaining and/or fitting it. U is available for $200 to $400'.
Bifocal lenses and monovision. Contact lens wearers who developed the
need for bifocals until recently had the choice of wearing reading glasses with
their contact lenses, or giving up their contacts entirely and switching to
bifocal glasses. A few years ago a hard
bifocal contact lens was developed and has had varying degrees of success.
Another method of correcting the combination of myopia and farsightedness is
monovision, a system of placing a lens to correct nearsightedness on the dominant
eye and another lens to correct farsightedness on the other eye.
Contact lenses to correct color blindness. One red lens, called an X-Chrom
lens is placed on the non-dominant eye and corrects the distortion of colors.
Though color blindness, which occurs mostly in men, is not usually a serious
handicap, patients who need to distinguish colors in their job are greatly aided
by this concept
Orthokeratology. This is a somewhat controversial procedure that can
be compared to orthodonture for eyes. Contact
lenses are worn to shorten the distortion in the cornea, actually correcting
myopia and eventually making glasses or contact lenses unnecessary. The procedure
takes from a few months to a few years and ranges in price from about $500 to
$2,000. It is strongly advocated by some optometrists, while others believe
it is only somewhat successful.
Since the original hard lenses were invented in the 50s, contact lenses have
been steadily improved to correct a greater array of problems and fit more and
more people. Last year contact lens sales increased 30 percent over the previous
year, which lead to an ever greater increase in the number of suppliers offering
cheap and discounted content lenses.
Currently, contact lenses can be divided into three major categories - hard,
soft, and gas permeable hard.
Hard contact lenses arc made of a rigid plastic and allow no oxygen
to pass through them to the eye. They are smaller than soft lenses so air can
get around them. They generally are not as comfortable as soft lenses and require
several weeks to adjust to them. Most wearers cannot keep them in for more than
12 to 18 hours. Many eye specialists believe that wearing hard lenses slows
the deterioration of vision.
Soft contact lenses are made of very pliable water-absorbent plastic
and provide more comfort and longer wearing time than most hard lenses. They
need very little break-in time. But soft lenses do have drawbacks. They require
more care than hard lenses. Because they absorb water, they also absorb bacteria
and other substances. They arc less durable. While a hard lens can last as long
as 10 years, a soft lens wears out, sometimes within a year, and can tear. Apparently
the pros out-weigh the cons; soft lenses now account for more than 60 percent
of contact lens use.
Though soft lenses were welcomed by people who couldn't tolerate hard lenses,
they were off limits to others, particularly those with astigmatism. Then came
gas-permeable hard lenses offering the advantages of hard lenses - durability,
little care and can be worn by astigmatics - as well as allowing oxygen to the
eye and providing more comfort and longer wearing time. Besides the three basic
types of lenses, new lenses designed to correct specific problems are being
developed at a rapid pace. They include:
Soft lenses for astigmatism. Until recently people with astigmatism
could not wear soft lenses because the material fits unevenly over the rough
surface of the cornea. A soft lens called a toric lens, with two prescriptions
ground into it, is now available. Several area optometrists say they have been
prescribing it with great success, while others say they are encountering difficulties
in obtaining and/or fitting it. U is available for $200 to $400'.
Bifocal lenses and monovision. Contact lens wearers who developed the
need for bifocals until recently had the choice of wearing reading glasses with
their contact lenses, or giving up their contacts entirely and switching to
bifocal glasses. A few years ago a hard
bifocal contact lens was developed and has had varying degrees of success.
Another method of correcting the combination of myopia and farsightedness is
monovision, a system of placing a lens to correct nearsightedness on the dominant
eye and another lens to correct farsightedness on the other eye.
Contact lenses to correct color blindness. One red lens, called an X-Chrom
lens is placed on the non-dominant eye and corrects the distortion of colors.
Though color blindness, which occurs mostly in men, is not usually a serious
handicap, patients who need to distinguish colors in their job are greatly aided
by this concept
Orthokeratology. This is a somewhat controversial procedure that can
be compared to orthodonture for eyes. Contact
lenses are worn to shorten the distortion in the cornea, actually correcting
myopia and eventually making glasses or contact lenses unnecessary. The procedure
takes from a few months to a few years and ranges in price from about $500 to
$2,000. It is strongly advocated by some optometrists, while others believe
it is only somewhat successful.
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