Contact Lenses Care

Prosthetic Contact Lenses

This type of lens has been put to artistic use in the movies by actors creating bizarre special effects, such as the eyes of monsters. Ironically prosthetic lenses can also be of real help to those who need something special in order to appear normal. They can dramatically improve the appearance (and sometimes the vision as well) of eyes that have been disfigured or in some way appear abnormal. This includes those who suffer from albinism or unsightly, deformed eyes whose defect is congenital in origin or due to accidental injury or a result of eye surgery. The ultimate type of prosthetic contact lens is the one that forms the “false eye“—or shell over the entire socket when an eye is enucleated (surgically removed).

Prosthetic contact lenses, which may cover the entire sclera or only the cornea, are predominantly manufactured in rigid form, though soft prosthetic lenses are available. The lenses simulate a normal iris and pupil by incorporating an opaque area that is colored artistically to achieve the final appearance of the eye. The desired image may be placed on any portion of the lens, and may be of any color. It is stable and nontoxic because in one type the image is “painted” on the surface of one lens and then covered with another lens, forming a “sandwich.” Another method employs a special tinting process of a soft lens.

CosmeticContact Lenses

For those who wish to change the color of their eyes, especially actors or models, the cosmetic contact lens is a real boon. Some of these lenses cover only the cornea, are made of rigid PMMA material, and are opaque, except in the transparent central area. This clear zone covers the pupil and may have a prescription incorporated. Obviously the lens has to center perfectly. Fitting is difficult and may require many sessions. Care and handling is similar to the standard hard lens. Soft lenses may also be tinted to provide similar cosmetic results.

SHARP VISION

As many see it, the main advantage of hard lenses is that when fitted properly they provide the sharpest visual acuity for all the refractive errors—even better than spectacles can. It’s not uncommon for those who have nearsightedness, farsightedness, presbyopia, and most degrees of astigmatism to report 20/10 vision—that’s better than “normal”! Your prescription can be accurately ground into the front surface of a hard lens, and its smooth, firm, domelike undersurface, combined with the tears trapped beneath, forms a perfect refracting surface for the eye. A conventional soft lens, on the other hand, conforms to the shape of the cornea much like a tablecloth drapes over a table and so cannot completely correct astigmatism originating in the cornea. There are special new soft and gas- permeable lenses capable of correcting a relatively high degree of astigmatism, but hard conventional lenses are still the best for consistently correcting the higher amounts of astigmatism; besides, not everyone can deal with the soft lenses‘ disadvantages. Read the rest of this entry »

Since contact lenses rest directly—and nearly invisibly—on a thin layer of tears over the cornea, there are many advantages:

You Look Better.This is the greatest single reason people switch from glasses to contacts. There are no unflattering frames to obscure and change the appearance of your face, nor thick lenses to enlarge or diminish your eyes. Contact lenses have been called “invisible glasses” that allow the natural beauty of your eyes, eyelids, and eyelashes to be seen by everyone, and you’ll be able to communicate better with them. Read the rest of this entry »