Contact Lens

Contact lenses are a good solution to refractive vision errors. It is a thin lens which is directly placed on the eye surface. Statistically, it is known to be quite a popular method and 2/3rd of the users are females.

Most common reason for adopting contact lenses are:
1. Aesthetics and cosmetic, where people choose to avoid putting on glasses and take up contact lenses.
2. Also optical motivating factors make people choose contacts. The peripheral vision provided by contact lenses is better as compared to glasses.
3. Functionally, contact lenses are preferential to glasses for outdoor activities and sports. Also unlike glasses they are moisture resistant eg – from sweat, rain.
4. Also for outdoor activities requiring any other eye gear- eg swimming, or sunglasses, compatibility issues are minimized with contact lenses. Prescription glasses pose congruency issues.
5. Contact lenses provide better vision correction in eye conditions like keratoconus and aniseikonia.

Types of Contact Lenses
Corrective Contact lenses – these are aimed at improving refractive vision by direct focussing of the light.
a. Spherical contact lenses – distribute light at even angles in all directions and are used for myopia and hypermetropia.
b. Toric contact lenses – focuses light horizontally than vertically and is used for correcting astigmatism.

Corrective lenses can be of these types:
• Multifocal contact lenses: As the name suggests, they have multiple focal points – progressive lenses, bifocal contact lenses – help in reading and distance viewing both.
• Monovision contact lenses: As the name suggests they have one focal point per lens and are also called single vision. Is usually used when the need is to focus one eye which is the dominant eye of the patient for distance vision.

Cosmetic contact lenses are used to change the appearance of the eye – they can also be refractive in nature. Schedule a consultation with our contact lens department to understand better the correct way of applying and removing contact lenses. It is important to wear them correctly to avoid any abrasion to the eye surface.

Contact lenses need special care, ensure that the contact lenses and their storage are cleaned and disinfected periodically as per the eye doctor’s instructions. Strictly avoid wetting them with the saliva or by putting them in the mouth. They have a replacement schedule, which should be followed to avoid infections. Also change the storage solution of the lenses regularly and don’t top off the old with fresh. The contacts need good rub cleaning with the solution provided.