Table of Contents
Are contact lenses better and safer than spectacles? Are glasses better than contacts?
Both are ideal forms of vision correction and one cannot outweigh the importance of the other. However, there is always an extra level of caution to be considered to keep a biocompatible foreign body that rests on the surface of your eye.
Are contact lenses safe?
Contact lenses are safe if provided proper care and maintenance and wear regimen.
Are colored contact lens safe?
Colored lenses are also a type of contact lens that can provide vision correction and improve cosmesis at the same time. However, the impregnated color within the lens matrix does halt the oxygen transmissibility. It would be ideal to have your practitioner’s suggestion to guide you based on the condition of your eyes.
What is the maximum time I can wear contact lens?
This depends upon the type and modality of your contact lenses as advised by your practitioner.
Are daily disposable contact lenses worth it?
Absolutely. Your eyes are going to experience a new lens every day.
What are the requirements to get contact lenses?
The minimum requirements to get contact lenses are “B” “P” and “D” which stands for the Base curve, Power, and Diameter. These are the most important attributes in achieving an ideal fit and clear vision with lenses on. However, there are other parameters such as water content and oxygen transmissibility which are also important for uncompromised eye health.
Can an eyeglass prescription be used for contacts?
Eyeglass or spectacle power prescription should not be used for contact lenses simply because of their relative position to the surface of the eye. The distance between the surface of the eye and the back surface of a lens (vertex distance) plays an important role in determining the effective power required for a lens prescription.
As a general rule, you need a less strong prescription when switching to contact lenses from spectacles if you are myopic (short-sighted, uses a minus prescription for vision correction) and vice-versa for a hyperopic (far-sighted, uses a plus prescription for vision correction)
Can you wear contacts while swimming?
You may use lenses while swimming too however there can be issues with contamination. Therefore, it is not ideally recommended until and unless you wear a swimming goggle preventing the water from going into your eyes or the lenses are daily disposables which you can throw away after swimming.
How long should I wear contact lens per day?
This is solely based on the attributes of your lenses. As per general lenses, you may use your lenses 6-8 hours per day.
Why does contact lens make my eyes hurt?
Contact lenses do not make your eyes hurt on their own but other aspects associated with it such as dirty lenses (deposits or microbes), improper fit and suboptimal lens materials can hurt your eye.
What happens if you sleep with your contacts still in?
The health and structural integrity of your ocular surface is paramount. Presumably, the rate of infection and inflammation increases tremendously if you sleep with your contact lenses on.
Why should we remove contact lenses before sleeping?
Our transparent surface of the eye (cornea) is solely dependent on the surrounding atmosphere for oxygen (the tissue is devoid of blood vessels and needs oxygen fuel for metabolism). Upon closed eye conditions, oxygen supply to the eye is substantially reduced. Even highly permeable contact lenses are worn on the eye surface also reduces some amount of supply of oxygen to the eye and plausibly exacerbates the tissue hypoxia (inadequate supply of oxygen) making the conditions more favourable for the growth of microbes.
What are the precautions to wear contact lenses?
The simple precautions to be set in your mind if you are opting to wear lenses are as follows:
- Clean, rinse, and disinfect your lenses every day.
- Never touch your eye, lenses, and lens care products with dirty hands.
- Never sleep with contacts on. [Unless they are speciality contact lenses to control myopia (short-sightedness)]
- Consult your eye care practitioner if you experience any unexplained redness, persistent pain, discomfort, change in vision, excessive tearing, light sensitivity, or unusual discharge from your eyes.
Which is the best brand for contact lenses?
Based on the condition and need of your eyes your practitioner would be the ideal person to suggest you the best brand available for you.
Read more about Contact Lens Brands and Features Details Comparison
How often do you change your contact lenses?
Based on various wear modalities you may be required to change lenses daily, weekly, monthly, or six months to a year.
Do you prefer daily, bi-weekly, monthly, or yearly contacts, and why?
Your preference is based on the condition of your eyes, your necessity, and cost. In my view, wearing dailies would provide you with flexibility and comfort in lens wear above all the other wear modalities however bi-weekly and monthly lenses are equally good with the advent of new lens materials and lens designs. The conventional lenses used for more than a month can underperform over a period and compromise eye health.
Can contact lenses correct presbyopia?
Yes they can be used in a multitude of refractive correction. Presbyopia is one of them.
If contact lenses are so thin, why aren’t glasses?
The ability to bend the light to or away from a point (Refractive Power) of a surface depends upon its curvature (how curved a surface is). It is the difference between the curvature of the front and back surface that determines the power of a spectacle or a contact lens. As contact lenses sit on the surface of our eye, the refractive power can be generated by a relatively small difference in front and back surface radii of curvature as opposed to a spectacle lens that sits 10-20 mm in front of the surface of the eye, making them ideally thinner.
Can Contact Lenses Damage Your Eyes?
Yes, contact lenses can damage your eyes if worn in an improper and unhygienic way. One should be aware that contacts are, after all, a foreign body that is inert and biocompatible due to our natural tear film.
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