Navigation

Contact Lenses

The invention of acrylic (plastic) contact lenses in the middle of this century has revolutionised the way millions of people look at this world. The young short sighted maiden or the budding athlete no longer need to bear the burden of a pair of spectacles on their nose or on their personality and can enjoy all activities like their better sighted colleagues.

Which Contact Lens to Choose

Contact 1enses have come along way from the glass contact 1enses of the 1ast century. Now even hard contact 1enses - the standard 0f yesteryears are out of favour in most eye hospitals and are being replaced by the more advanced Gas Permeable Rigid (GP) contact lenses and Soft contact lenses. These two types of lenses now have innumerable subtypes of materia1s and more are being added every year. There is as yet no 1ens material which can be called a universal ideal and each patient needs to be assessed on an individual basis.

• Gas Permeable Rigid ( GP. or usually ca11ed Semi Soft ) Contact lenses are essentially hard contact lenses which allow gases (oxygen) to diffuse through to the eye while retaining most other advantages of earlier hard contact lenses viz. the ease of maintenance & somewhat lesser risk of infection. They provide sharp vision even for eyes with cylindrical number and being hardier usually last longer. The disadvantages are that these are relatively more difficult to fit. May occasionally displace to a side and at times cause irritation or watering from the eyes and hence may not be tolerated by all patients. These are good lenses for patients of irregular astigmatism and Keratoconus. Special Rose-K & Boston lenses are also available.


• Soft Contact lenses (including universal fit soft lenses which are wrongly called Super-soft) are generally well tolerated by most people. Do not displace easily even in active sports and are easier to fit. These lenses are also oxygen permeable being composed of a spongy plastic which contains up to 40% or even more of water. These however need somewhat more care and maintenance in order to avoid infection and collection of protein /salt deposits from tears. Lens deposits can cause eye allergies and also limit lens life. Good lens care & hygiene with better lens care solutions have made soft contact lens infection less common. Disposable soft contact lenses are now available which are less likely to cause infection and allergies. These can be monthly. fortnightly or daily disposables.

Lens Care for Healthy Eyes

Patients are instructed always to wash both hands and face before putting contact lenses in the eye, use proper lens cleaning and storage solutions and give equal attention to hygiene of the contact lens storage case. One should not sleep with the lenses in the eye. Keep the contact lens case handy while going out so to be able to remove contact lenses in case of an emergency like getting some insect or dust in the eye. Patients are also instructed not to use any eye drops unless prescribed by an eye specialist. not to exceed the advised wearing time. not to wear a broken or chipped lens and to discontinue lens use and report immediately to the doctor in case of red eyes or blurred vision not correcting itself in a short while.