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Show VISION (These articles are submitted weekly by your Optometrists of Southern Utah, In cooperation with your local newspaper, In order to better acquaint you with the function and problems of vision). Recently a great deal of interest has developed on the subject of "Contact Lenses"; therefore, today we shall consider con-sider a few questions regarding these unique lenses which you may find interesting. WHAT ARE CONTACT LENSES? They are small plastic lenses which are inserted up under the eyelids and against the eye itself. ARE THEY SAFE? Contact lenses are unbreakable and cannot dig or gouge the eye. They are safer than wearing ordinary spectacle spec-tacle lenses and they are safer than wearing no lenses at all. ARE THEY SOMETHING NEW? No. Professional men have been fitting various types of them for over 50 years. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES OF CONTACT LENSES? They eliminate the necessity of wearing regular glasses. In many subnormal vision cases, the will increase the ability to see. They are invisible in the eye. They are wonderful for sports, as they will not "steam" is in the case of spectacles and are safer by far. The prescription in contact lenses does not change as in spectacle lenses. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF CONTACT LENSES? They are rather expensive. In some cases, the wearing time is limited. They cannot be made up in bifocals; therefore, reading read-ing glasses (if necessary) must be worn over them. WHAT FACTORS DETERMINE WHETHER YOU CAN WEAR CONTACT LENSES? The type of lens is extremely important. Early contact lenses were large and relatively hard to wear. They were usually a shell made up from a mold of the eye and into which a solution (buffer solution) was poured before inserting in-serting into the eye. The latest lens is the "Microlens." This lens is a very small wafer of plastic, ground to your individual prescription, which is fluidless and rests upon the cornea (colored part) of the eye; not really touching the eye because of a thick layer of tears between the eye and the lens. Your cooperation and the skill of the fitter are important import-ant factors. With the improvements made on the manufacture manu-facture and fitting of contact lenses, you can wear them today if you have the desire and motivation. If any one point should be stressed, it should be MOTIVATION! If you really try and want to badly enough, you can wear contact lenses. With the new "Microlens," wearing time of six to eight hours, and even all day, in many cases, is not unusual. unus-ual. If you have any questions on the subject of "Vision," "Vis-ion," please direct thern to your editor, and we shall attempt at-tempt to answer them in this column. |
