In keeping with the American Optometric Affiliation, there are over 45 million contact lens wearers within the US. This determine isn’t a surprise contemplating the numerous advantages contact lenses have over eyeglasses.
However don’t be in a rush to commerce your eyeglasses simply but. Listed below are 5 issues that each one first-time customers ought to know earlier than switching to contact lenses.
You’ll Want a Prescription
Like your eyeglasses, the FDA classifies corrective and ornamental contact lenses as medical units. Which means you have to have a legitimate and up-to-date prescription written by a licensed eye physician to purchase or order contact lenses. The rationale for this comes all the way down to protecting your eye health and imaginative and prescient.
Contact lenses are nothing like vogue sun shades. Contemplating that they keep straight on the attention, these skinny, plastic discs can truly trigger severe eye infections, corneal ulcers, and even blindness if they aren’t the correct match. You don’t need any of those.
Your journey to the right contact lenses begins with a visit to your physician for a contact lens becoming. An eye test for contact lenses begins with a whole eye examination, throughout which the physician inspects your eyes for pre-existing circumstances which will disqualify your contact carrying. In the event you’re a superb candidate, the physician seeks to grasp your way of life to information you to essentially the most applicable contact lenses.
Lastly, the physician measures your corneal curvature and pupil and iris dimension and assesses your tear movie earlier than writing your contact lens prescription.
It’s important to resume your contact lens prescriptions after 1-2 years. It is because our imaginative and prescient naturally modifications with time. Annual eye examination ensures that you simply put on the proper lenses in your particular wants.
Some are Smooth, Others are Arduous
There are two main classes of contact lenses: gentle and inflexible fuel permeable (RGP) contacts. Smooth contact lenses are product of versatile plastics mixed with water for glorious oxygen permeability. These are the preferred and what most individuals discuss with when discussing the most effective contact lenses.
Smooth contact lenses drape properly over the attention’s floor because of their flexibility, making them comfy to put on. Additionally, they’re simple to get used to as a result of they create much less feeling of a international physique within the eye.
The key drawback of soppy contact lenses is their shorter helpful life, thus requiring common substitute. For that purpose, they are usually comparatively pricier than laborious contacts in the long term.
Inflexible fuel permeable contacts, generally often known as laborious contacts, are product of barely versatile, oxygen-permeable plastics. Arduous contacts are extra sturdy than gentle lenses. However their key promoting level is their clearer and crisper imaginative and prescient.
On the draw back, laborious contact lenses take just a little longer to adapt to as a result of they aren’t as comfy at first. This longer adaptation additionally makes them unfavorable for intermittent contact carrying.
Contact Lens Carrying Modality
Contact lenses fall into certainly one of three classes by way of put on and substitute schedule; day by day disposables, day by day put on, and prolonged put on. It’s vital to stick to the really helpful contact lens put on and substitute schedule to keep away from bacterial infections and different issues that would have an effect on your imaginative and prescient.
Every day Disposables
Every day disposables are contact lenses designed for single use. They’re generally often known as dailies or one-day contacts since you solely put on them as soon as after which throw them away on the finish of the day. Advantages of day by day disposables embrace improved hygiene, which implies more healthy eyes and comfort as a result of they don’t require common cleansing and storage.
Every day Put on
Every day put on are contacts supposed for use for greater than sooner or later earlier than disposal. Not like day by day disposables which can be thrown away after a single use, day by day put on lenses are eliminated at night time for cleansing and storage and worn once more the next morning.
Relying on the make and supposed use, day by day put on contacts could be worn for one week, two weeks, and even a month. Most day by day put on contact lenses are usually not meant for in a single day use. Nevertheless, Acuvue Oasys with 24 individual lenses per pack is amongst different manufacturers that may be worn in a single day.
Prolonged Put on
Prolonged put on contacts are these which can be allowed for in a single day put on. These lenses have a better oxygen permeability and could be worn for as much as six nights straight.
Contacts Might Not Be Appropriate for Everybody
There isn’t a minimal or really helpful age restrict in relation to carrying contact lenses. Nevertheless, not everybody in want of imaginative and prescient correction can or ought to use contact lenses. Your optometrist will let you realize whether or not or not you’re a superb candidate after a complete contact lens examination.
Dry eyes syndrome is among the many main elements that scale back individuals’s probabilities of qualifying for contact lens put on. A high quality tear movie is crucial for maintaining the lenses moist and permitting them to maneuver fluidly across the floor of the attention. In the event you’re affected by dry eyes syndrome, contact lenses might worsen the situation, inflicting eye irritation and scratchiness.
Extreme nearsightedness is another excuse contacts is probably not a sensible imaginative and prescient correction downside. Though the know-how is enhancing day-after-day, even essentially the most potent contact lenses right now aren’t ok for extreme nearsightedness.
You even have a low likelihood of qualifying for contact lens put on when you’ve got extreme allergy symptoms. Contact lenses worsen allergy symptoms as a result of the moist floor acts as a magnet for allergens, corresponding to mud, pollens, and spores.
There are New Habits to Adapt
- In the event you’re about to start out carrying contact lenses, there’s a record of excellent habits so as to add to your routine to maintain your eyes glad and wholesome;
- All the time wash your arms with cleaning soap and dry them totally utilizing a lint-free fabric earlier than dealing with or touching your lenses.
- By no means use water to scrub, rinse or lubricate your contact lenses. All the time use the really helpful lens answer.
- By no means overwear your contact lenses.
- All the time clear and disinfect your contacts day-after-day until you utilize day by day disposables. Though prolonged put on contacts don’t should be cleaned day by day, cleansing them not less than as soon as weekly will assist scale back deposit buildup.
- Keep away from sleeping whereas carrying your contact lenses. Even in the event you’re utilizing prolonged put on contacts that enable in a single day carrying, eradicating them earlier than mattress permits your eyes to breathe, thus sustaining their well being.
