2009 March | Eye Contact Guide

Archive for March, 2009

Continuous Wear (Extended Wear) Contact Lenses

Do you hate wearing glasses – but also hate the thought of being tied to a bottle of cleaning solution just so you can see? Welcome to the world of extended wear contact lenses (also known as continuous wear contact lenses). These lenses are able to be worn for as much as a month at a time – without the need to remove them.

New advances in the materials used to make extended wear contact lenses have reduced the risks of infection that used to be attached to wearing contact lenses for too long. In fact, the risk of infection is less than if you were popping them in and out of your eyes and handling them frequently.

What are extended wear contact lenses made of?

The lenses are made of a gas permeable silicone with a high water content. The flexible silicone easily molds to the shape of your cornea and floats on its surface – but it doesn’t block oxygen from reaching the tissues beneath it.

This was a major reason that conventional contact lenses needed to be removed. Most bacteria are anaerobic – they thrive in the absence of oxygen. With conventional lenses, oxygen doesn’t reach the corneas because the plastic ‘protects’ them, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. Extended wear lenses are made of a breathable film that lets the oxygen through so that there’s far less chance of infection in your eyes.

What are the advantages of extended wear contact lenses?

Extended wear contact lenses make your entire life so much easier. You put them in once – and don’t have to think about them for days or even weeks at a time. Imagine waking up without having to grope around for your glasses or contact lens case BEFORE you can see properly. With extended wear lenses, your vision is corrected all the time.

Extended wear contact lenses also reduce the chance of infections because you handle them less, so there is less chance of you inadvertently transferring bacteria to your eyes.

Can anyone wear extended wear contact lenses?

Approximately 90% of all contact lens wearers can wear extended wear contacts. Only your doctor can tell you if you’re one of them. Even if your doctor told you a few years back that soft contact lenses weren’t an option for you, check back with him. Advances in the manufacturing of contact lenses have made more and more options available for everyone.

A Guide to Contact Lenses

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Contact lenses are a corrective lens worn over the cornea of the eye. Contact lenses are used to correct certain eye disorders including myopia (short sightedness), hyperopia (far sightedness), astigmatism and presbyopia (age related).

Contact lenses were introduced in the 60′s and have developed from the hard lens type to the more comfortable soft lenses which can be worn daily, monthly or for extended periods.

The convenience of contacts make them an ideal choice over regular glasses as once in they can remain for up to a day or more depending on the type. They can be used in most situations and unlike the old rigid contacts will not slip out.

The range of contact lenses available today ensures that everyone can be catered for. Whether you are looking for daily disposables, extended wear, soft or hard contacts, you will find the right contact for you.

The latest rage are theatrical or crazy contacts. These are regular contact lenses with designs for any occasion including Halloween. They can be used for people with a need for contact lenses and also those who don’t have a prescription.

Caring for contact lenses is an important aspect of wearing contact lenses. Dust and grime can build up behind the contact and cause eye infections and problems so it is important to ensure that contacts are cleaned regularly.

Soft Contact Lenses

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You can throw them out every night – or wear them for months at a time. They can correct both your near-sightedness and your far-sightedness at the same time. You can choose your own eye color or play with the shape of your pupils.

Contact lenses have come a long way in the last two decades. From the early 1970s when soft contact lenses were first introduced to now, advances in materials and manufacturing have created a whole new class of corrective eyewear that works for almost everyone.

As little as ten years ago, you may have been told that you couldn’t wear contact lenses at all – or that soft contact lenses wouldn’t fit properly to correct your vision problems.

Or you may have tried wearing one of the earliest versions of soft contact lenses and decided that they simply weren’t comfortable enough for everyday wear. The expense of having contact lenses fitted may have been more than you were willing to pay.

All of those problems have nearly been eliminated over the past twenty years, and the new silicone materials have opened new possibilities in corrective eyewear.

If you’re considering trying soft contact lenses, take a look at the wide range of options available to you and then discuss your options with your eye care professional.

Disposable Soft Contact Lenses

One of the most time-consuming parts of wearing hard contact lenses was always cleaning and disinfecting. It’s a necessity – dirty contact lenses can cause dangerous eye infections. Disposable contact lenses completely eliminate the hassle of cleaning and disinfecting and the possibility of infection from dirty lenses.

Disposables are available in nearly every prescription, and seldom need to be fitted to the shape of your eye. There are colored disposables, daily wear disposables that can be worn for a day or two and then thrown away and extended wear disposables that you can wear day and night for up to a month before removing and replacing them with a fresh pair.

Colored Soft Contact Lenses

Always wanted something to make your brown eyes blue? Colored contact lenses are both fashionable AND practical. The tint in colored contacts can help you find one if you drop it, enhance your eye color, change your eye color – even protect your eyes from the sun. They can correct your vision if you need it – or you can purchase colored contacts without vision enhancement for purely cosmetic reasons.

Soft bifocal and toric contact lenses

The newest contact lenses can correct both nearsightedness and far sightedness with bifocal lenses, or even help correct vision problems caused by astigmatism.

There are some people who shouldn’t wear contact lenses. They include people with a history of viral eye infections, those whose eyes don’t produce enough tears and those who are constantly exposed to fumes. If you’re uncertain about whether you can wear soft contact lenses, speak to your eye care professional.

Disposable Contact Lenses

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Disposable contact lenses make sense for the type of lifestyle most people lead these days. Busy, active folk don’t have time to mess with cleaning solutions and disinfecting every day. Disposable contact lenses are meant to be worn once and then thrown away to be replaced with a new, clean pair. They come in a wide variety of prescription strengths, and in varieties that can be worn for as little as a few hours or as long as a month.

If you are considering disposable contact lenses, but haven’t yet made up your mind, then comparing the pros and cons will help you to decide if they’re right for you.

Pro: Convenience

Wear-once disposables never have to be cleaned, disinfected or stored. You wear them once, and then throw them away. No messy solutions, no spending half an hour disinfecting them – just open the package, wear them – and when it’s time to take them out, toss them in the trash.

Pro: More sanitary

Because you wear the contacts only once, there’s less chance of eye infections and irritation caused by improperly cleaned lenses. There’s less chance for the buildup of proteins and lipids (a natural consequence of wearing contact lenses) to breed bacteria and transfer it back to your eyes.

Pro: Less Expensive

We tend to think of disposable anything being more expensive – but in the case of disposable contact lenses, the expense of buying a new pair is offset by not having to buy cleaning solutions, storage cases and disinfectant. Your only expense is the disposable lenses themselves. You can wear disposable contact lenses for only a few cents a day.

Con: They may not be right for you.

About 90% of contact lens wearers can wear disposables. The simpler your prescription is, the better the chance that a manufacturer makes contact lenses that come in your prescription. Because manufacturers only stock standard sizes and prescriptions, you may be out of luck if your prescription is unusual or uncommon.

If you’ve never tried wearing contact lenses – or if you’ve tried but couldn’t because you got frequent eye infections or were sensitive to the contact lens cleaning solutions, disposable contact lenses may let you lose the glasses for good. Check with your doctor to see if disposable contact lenses may be a solution for you.

Acuvue Contact Lenses – Oasys, Acuvue 2, Advance

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For many years,Acuvue brand contact lenses have been a leader in the eyewear industry. Acuvue is a subdivision of Johnson and Johnson, a trusted household name known for safe, high-quality products, and has lived up to that excellent reputation.

Acuvue was a pioneer in the disposable soft contact lens market, creating the first extended-wear contacts that could be left in the eyes even while the wearer is sleeping. Their innovative disposable design allowed lens wearers to leave their contacts in for up to a week at a time, ensuring perfect vision at any time, day or night.

The highly popular Acuvue Oasys brand is a great choice offering a moist contact lens providing great relief. It definitely is an oasis for those suffering from tired dry eyes.

The Acuvue Advanced brand is according to the company a contact lens that will stay comfortable and moist all day. Other brands include Acuvue 2 available in a variety of colors and 1-Day Acuvue 30 pack Contact Lenses

The introduction of disposable contact lenses into the market were a huge success, mainly because they eliminated the need for tedious daily cleanings and vastly reduced the cost of replacing lost or broken contact lenses. Disposable contact lenses also meant an end to the annoying factor of having to remove contact lenses before dozing off for a nap.

The construction of these contact lenses is a marvel of technology. The lenses are made from a soft, permeable material, which allows the eyes to receive the oxygen that they need to continue to function well. The special mix of materials that make up Acuvue’s lenses keeps them feeling moist and smooth against the eye, preventing scratchiness and redness. The result is a comfortable, long-lasting, and healthy set of contact lenses.

Throughout their illustrious history, Acuvue lenses have continued to innovate, coming up with advances such as contact lenses that are specially designed for people with astigmatisms and bifocal contacts. These innovations make Acuvue lenses available to people who were formerly unable wear contacts successfully.

Acuvue colored contacts are available in a variety of colors, for both prescription and non-prescription uses. Acuvue offers two types of colored contacts, one nearly transparent line that enhances light-colored eye colors, and one that completely transforms the colors of the eyes. Acuvue 2 Colours is the brand to pick here.

With their strong safety record and their wide variety of vision correction options, Acuvue contact lenses are a popular choice for comfortable, attractive eyewear.

EPI LASIK Surgery

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The awesome Epi-Lasik surgery procedure

Epi-LASIK is short for epithelial laser in-situ keratomileusis, which is a very advanced form of corneal surgery and a variation of LASIK surgery. It is used to correct farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism. This type of procedure brings together some of the best features from LASIK, PPK, as well as LASEK. Epi-LASIK is an outstanding surgery that can improve the vision with very little pain.

The Epi-LASIK surgery involves creating a very thin flap in the cornea with a microkeratome that is able to lift the epithelium from the under layers without actually cutting the surface as one must do in common LASEK procedures. Epi-LASIK is gentler and because it doesn’t require cutting, even those with very thin corneas are able to take advantage of the surgery where they may not be able to in LASIK procedures. Once the epithelial layer is removed from the cornea a laser remodels the cornea to provide better vision for the patient. Once the reshaping has taken place the epithelial flap is folded back down to its original position.

Many patients opt for the this type of eye surgery because it has proven to have far less complications than the common LASIK procedures because of the way the flap is cut. Patients having this procedure also experience a faster rate of recovery. Most see a return of normal or better vision in just three days as opposed to 5-7 days that most patients report with PPK, LASEK, or LASIK procedures. The Epi-LASIK procedure is also not painful, so patients do not deal with more pain for a faster healing time. Most patients report that there is very little or no pain, whereas there is moderate pain associated with the PPK procedure.

After the surgery a soft contact lens is usually worn to help the eye heal as well as to minimize any discomfort. Epi-LASIK surgery is an excellent choice for a good portion of the population, though the only people qualified to determine what type of advanced corneal ablation surgery you need is your eye doctor. If you believe you are a candidate for this type of eye surgery, discuss your options and the pros and cons of each procedure in relation to your specific eye conditions, with a qualified eye doctor.