History Of Contact Lenses
Contact lenses are made from very thin & soft materials and are placed directly on to the eye for vision correction. Contact lenses are invisible and are therefore chosen over glasses mainly for appearance purposes.
Contact lenses are also more suitable for sport as they are less affected by wet weather, do not steam up and provide a wider field of vision.
In 1508 Leonardo da Vinci first sketched and described several pioneering concepts for contact lenses.
Up until the 1970's the first contact lenses were hard and were made of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate). The problem with hard PMMA contact lenses was that they were very uncomfortable and they did not allow any oxygen to get through the lens to the cornea.
In the 1978 RGP (rigid gas permeable) contact lenses were introduced. The first RGP lenses were made of silicone and allowed oxygen to pass through the lens to the cornea.
Today's hydrogel materials for soft water-absorbing contact lenses were first invented in 1960 by a Czech scientist Otto Wichterle and in 1971 soft contact lenses were made available for distribution in The USA.
In 1987 Johnson & Johnson launched The World first 'disposable' soft contact lens called 'Acuvue'. Acuvue was made from a soft water absorbing material called 'Etafilcon A' and was initially introduced as a 2 weekly disposable soft contact lens.
There are approximately 150 million contact lenses wearers worldwide with 40 million wearers in The US and 15 million wearers in Japan. The types of lenses used varies between countries, with RGP (rigid gas permeable) lenses accounting for over 20% of contact lens wearers in Japan, Netherlands and Germany but less than 5% in Scandinavia. In The US, over 50% of contact lens wearers wear soft contact lenses with a disposable modality of 2 weeks or more.
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Types Of Contact Lenses
- Daily Disposable Contact Lenses
Daily disposable contact lenses give you fresh new lenses every day which is proven to be better for the health of your eyes!
The types of daily disposable contact lenses available are:
Daily contact lenses for regular distance vision correction e.g 1-Day Acuvue
Daily contact lenses with extra mositurising agents added to help dry eyes: e.g 1-Day Acuvue Moist
Daily Toric contact lenses to correct astigmatism: e.g. 1-Day Acuvue for Astigmatism
Daily multifocal contact lenses for distance & reading vision: e.g. Focus Dailies Progressives
Daily Coloured contact lenses for cosmetic change: e.g. Freshlook 1-Day Colours
- Monthly Disposable Contact Lenses
Monthly disposable contact lenses can be worn every day for up to 30 days.
Monthly disposable lenses need to be taken out every night and cleaned & disinfected.
If you wear monthly disposable contact lenses, you will need contact lens solution to clean, rinse & disinfect your lenses every night.
The types of monthly disposable contact lenses available are:
Monthly contact lenses for regular distance vision correction e.g Proclear Biocompatibles
Monthly toric contact lenses to correct astigmatism: e.g. Soflens 66 Toric
Monthly bifocal contact lenses for distance & reading vision: e.g. Soflens Multifocal
Monthly coloured contact lenses for cosmetic change. Coloured contact lenses are available both with and without a prescription for distance vision or astigmatism correction: e.g Freshlook Colorblends
- Extended Wear Contact Lenses
Extended wear contact lenses can be worn all day & all night for up to 30 days and do not need to be taken out every night! This is because the new materials used in extended wear contact lenses can allow up to 10 times more oxygen to pass through the lens to your cornea and therefore you do not need to give your eyes a break as with regular disposable contact lenses.
The types of extended wear disposable contact lenses available are:
Weekly disposable extended wear contact lenses: These lenses can be worn all day and all night for 7 days before they are thrown away: e.g. Acuvue Oasys
Monthly disposable extended wear contact lenses: These lenses can be worn all day and all night for 30 days before they are thrown away: e.g. Airoptix Night & Day or Purevision
Toric extended wear contact lenses: These lenses correct astigmatism and can be worn all day and all night for either 7 days e.g. Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism or for 30 days e.g. Purevision Toric
Extended wear contact lenses do not need to be taken out and cleaned, rinsed & disinfected so you do not need contact lens solutions if you are using extended wear contact lenses.
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Contact Lens Insertion & Removal
General Tips:
Your hands should be washed and thoroughly rinsed before handling lenses.
It is also recommended taht you use a soap which is free of oils, lotions or perfumes and dry your hands with a lint-free towel.
Use your finger tips to handle the lens (avoid finger nails and sharp objects).
Check that the lens is clean, wet and damage-free.
Contact Lens Insertion
- Place the wet, clean right eye lens on the tip of
the index or middle finger of your dominant hand (if you're right-handed
this would be your right hand), and pull down the lower lid with the middle
or ring finger of the same hand. Use your other hand to hold the upper
lid firmly open.
- Look directly at the lens or look directly into
a mirror and place the lens directly on your iris (the large colored circle
in the center of your eye).
- Slowly release your hold on the lid. If there are any air bubbles beneath the lens, close your eye, and with the eye closed, roll the eye gently. Another way of getting rid of air bubbles is to massage the lids very lightly. Under no circumstances, however, should your rub your eyes!
Contact Lens Removal
Look up and hold down your lower eyelid with your middle finger. Use your forefinger to slide lens to the lower part of your eye. Pinch the lens with your thumb and forefinger and remove without excessively folding the lens.
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Contact Lens Cleaning & Disinfection
The following instructions apply to most of the 'all in one' contact lens solutions on the market e.g 'Optifree Express', 'Renu', 'Complete'. These solutions are available 'over the counter' from most pharmacies & opticians. You will receive full instructions plus a free sterile lens case when you purchase your 'all in one' solution.
The Basics of Soft Contact Lens Care: CLEAN, RINSE and DISINFECT!
- Wash your hands so that you don't transfer dirt
and germs to your eye. Try to avoid moisturizing soaps, as they are not
good for contact lenses. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel.
- Remove one lens and clean it with the recommended
solution. Cleaning removes eye-produced buildup, cosmetics and other debris
that impairs lens comfort. The FDA recommends that you rub the lens in
the palm of your hand with a few drops of solution, even if you are using
a "no-rub" product.
- Rinse the lens again to remove the loosened debris,
making sure to take as long as the package directs: rinsing is an important
step.
- Place the lens in your clean lens case or lens holder
and fill with fresh solution; don't "top off" your old solution. Disinfecting
kills microorganisms on the lens. Disinfection time varies from product
to product; check the package for details.
- Repeat steps two through four for your other lens.
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