Greetings to you,
How are you doing and how is your week going so far? I am happy you have found my article and i am glad that you get to read what i share with you today. It is always a pleasure when a writer's works are appreciated by a reader.
As an Optometrist, i am mostly about ocular health and so i do my best to share my knowledge about the eye as an organ and the various conditions that affect it as well as how best we can go about protecting ourselves regularly, today i would be talking briefly about contact lenses and i do hope you enjoy the read and learn a thing or two.
Introduction
Contact lenses are devices or materials used in place of a spectacle, and placed on the cornea for the purpose of vision, aesthetics as well as management of pathologies. It may be made of plastic materials and the type would determine its strength, durability and ability to stay on the eye comfortably for long.
Currently we have the soft contact lenses which are the most common ones as they mostly come in the form of the fashion brands which changes your iris color, most of the simple refractive error conditions also come with a soft contact lens. The are easy to wear and feel more comfortable on the eye compared to the other.
Thus the hard contact lenses also known as Rigid Gas Permeable contact lenses (RPG). They come in handy for astigmatic corrections as well as therapeutic care such as orthokeratology and the likes. We also have the band contact lenses and the scleral which all serve their own purposes.
For our discussion today we would be limiting it to the Hard and Soft Contact lenses as our categorization. So what purposes do these lenses really serve? Why choose a contact lens over a spectacle and who is eligible to wear these type of lenses on their eyes? Let's find the answers to these in the next chapter.
Contact Lenses (CLs)
Contact lenses are becoming the new ish among a lot of young ladies now due to the color change that it gives to the iris, some are also opting for it and letting for of their spectacles but unfortunately it is not everyone who can wear contact lenses or even tolerate it should they be eligible to wear it.
Mostly we recommend it for people whose job description doesn't allow them to wear glasses however they still need to have their prescription on for best vision. And so sportsmen who need prescriptive glasses are mostly in contact lenses, workers who needs to wear a lot of protective gear may have to go in for contact lenses to make things easier for them.
If your prescriptive power is too high, you may not be able to wear contact lenses and astigmats can't have comfortable soft contact lenses, so they may have to endure with the RPGs. Individuals who have very sensitive cornea may not be able to tolerate contact lenses and also those with cornea ulcers and other conditions would not be allowed to wear contact lenses as it may worsen their condition and likely result in visual defects from scars.
Contact lenses suit hyperopes better than myopes though as the minus lenses tend to elicit accommodation from myopes. Why would you choose contact lenses? Well it may be as a result of your Optometrist advising you based on your job description or any other parameters he or she may deem necessary, some individuals may also just want to try new things, it is always good to explore.
Contact lenses may also offer the same protection in terms of photochrome or blue-light blocking effect based on the type however these may be more expensive. More work is been done done on these though since its small interface makes working on them quite difficult. But Please do not just buy any CL and use, always consult your eye care provider before putting anything on or in the eye.
Important things to note
Keeping your contact lens well is quite paramount is you are a frequent user, especially if you are using lenses that are reuseable, how well you keep it will ensure you do not end up infecting your eye with acanthamoeba. Your lens' liquid should be changed regularly and please do not sleep with your CL.
There may be those who would be allowed to sleep with it example is during orthokeratology therapy, however unless instructed by your Optometrist sleeping with your contact lens is a no no. If you are a CL user, you need to have more regular appointment at the eye clinic and all redness should be considered serious.
Contact lenses may reduce cornea sensitivity which could also affect your tear film intgerity, remember to keep the eye moist always, your Optometrist may recommend ocular lubricants for you where necessary, if so, please do well to take or use them accordingly.
Conclusion
When in doubt report to your Optometrist or Ophthalmologist for immediate care, remember that the eye is quite the delicate organ and should be treated as such, early detection saves life as well as sight, do not wait till things escalate before you seek help.
Contact lenses do have its pros and cons, make sure to be in the know before you let go of your spectacles, remember that it is not all of us who are meant to wear it, if you happen to wear it too, do well to abide by the instructions your Optometrist gives you for you safety. Stay safe and have a wonderful time.
Further Reading
Blümle, S., Kaercher, T., & Khaireddin, R. (2013). Richtige Kontaktlinsenhygiene [Correct contact lens hygiene]. Der Ophthalmologe : Zeitschrift der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft, 110(6), 522–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00347-012-2769-7
Rathi, V. M., Mandathara, P. S., & Dumpati, S. (2013). Contact lens in keratoconus. Indian journal of ophthalmology, 61(8), 410–415. https://doi.org/10.4103/0301-4738.116066
Lim, C. H. L., Stapleton, F., & Mehta, J. S. (2018). Review of Contact Lens-Related Complications. Eye & contact lens, 44 Suppl 2, S1–S10. https://doi.org/10.1097/ICL.0000000000000481
Bloise L. (2017). Surveillance, hygiène et entretien des lentilles de contact [Contact lens care and maintenance]. Journal francais d'ophtalmologie, 40(4), 329–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfo.2017.01.004
Contact lens is becoming a widespread fashion these days, but please I will like to know if there is any side effect to using them, especially for those who fix a permanent one.
There’s nothing like a permanent contact lens, there always a limit to how long it can stay on the eye, we have daily disposable one and reuseabke ones, whichever it may be at the end of the day you will have to take it out of ur eye and keep it in its solution of throw it away.
As I mentioned in the writeup, frequent wearers are likely to suffer from reduced cornea sensitivity and are more prone to keratitis infection especially when they CL is not kept well, however should you follow the instructions of you OD accordingly you should be fine
Contact lens is common with blindness issues and most times I usually wonder how do they remove it from someone eye
Thanks for your contribution to the STEMsocial community. Feel free to join us on discord to get to know the rest of us!
Please consider delegating to the @stemsocial account (85% of the curation rewards are returned).
You may also include @stemsocial as a beneficiary of the rewards of this post to get a stronger support.