Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Advantages Of Wearing Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are the rage these days with more and more wearers discovering the comfort and ease of wearing contact lenses. It also enhances the looks of a person as contact lenses are worn on the eyes and can be a fine substitute for a pair of spectacles. Thus one can see one's face without the hindrance of spectacles over the bridge of the nose that shades away the beautiful eyes.

What then are contact lenses? One might wonder. A contact lens is actually a thin piece of plastic or glass that is fitted over the cornea of the eye. Thus it can eliminate the need for spectacles as defects in one's vision can be set right merely by wearing these thin pieces of glass or plastic over the cornea of the eye. Thus contact lenses can be worn easily by people with vision defects like myopia. Hyperopia, astigmatism, and other related problems.

These corrective measures to be worn over the cornea of the eye come in two different types. Contact lenses come with hard or soft lenses. They are defined as soft lenses as these contact lenses are made of soft plastic and are much preferred by the today' wearer. They are very comfortable to wear, as they can hold water. Most times soft lenses are disposable lenses as well. Thus the busy wearer of today, who cannot be strapped to a routine of regular lens cleaning in addition to his or her other responsibilities, is rightly suited for wearing soft lenses.

The contact lenses that are made with a glass piece are usually the hard lens variety. These lenses are rigid and gas permeable. Some of these hard lenses may even have a colored tint so that locating these lenses for the wearer becomes easier.

They are also fitted with UV protection in most cases and can be fitted with bifocal lenses as well. The wearer of such a lens is blessed with durability though cleaning these lenses has to be a regular routine.

As these lenses are now made with silicone polymers, they allow oxygen to circulate freely to the cornea. They are meant for regular wear, but extended wear over the night is not recommended. Constant wear can limit the flow of oxygen to the cornea and in some cases can even lead to damage of vision.

By and large, with a little precaution, one can find the contact lens that is ideally suited for one's lifestyle and go about one's work unhindered by the hassle of having to carry a pair of glasses as one of the essential items in one's bag.

About the Author
http://www.contactlenseclub.com/contacts/ & Contact Lens provides detailed information on contact lens, color contact lens, acuvue contact lens and more.

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Monday, September 04, 2006

The Truth About Toric Contact Lenses

Regular contact lenses and Toric contact lenses are made from the same materials. The most significant difference is that Toric lenses are designed for people with astigmatism, one of the most commonly treated eye conditions.

What's remarkable is that modern toric contact lenses offer astigmatism sufferers a selection and freedom that was unavailable in the past.

Toric contact lenses are created with two focal powers in them, as opposed to regular contacts, which only have one. Torics are designed to include different angled curves: one of them is for the astigmatism, and the other is for the nearsightedness or farsightedness of the user.

Because the astigmatism curves must be aligned with the eye in a specific orientation, toric contact lenses also come with a mechanism that helps the contact lens stay relatively stable on the eye. This allows the wearer blink or move their eyes without concern for the lenses shifting around, guaranteeing the torics will provide the clearest and most comfortable vision correction possible.

If this measure was not taken and the lenses could move around when the wearer blinked or moved their eyes, the lenses would rotate and prevent the wearer from seeing as crisply as possible.

With this added clarity and comfort comes increased complexity, causing toric contact lenses to cost a bit more than their standard spherical lens counterparts. The main cause for the bigger price tag is the time intensive prescription process. In order to properly fit a toric lens, an eye doctor must invest more time.

The requisite added curves require more expertise from both the eye doctor (to get the fitting correct) and the manufacturer (to produce the lens properly). This means that not only will the exam and fitting fees run slightly higher, but that the lenses themselves will sport a steeper price as well.

Fortunately for people with mild astigmatism, such as between zero and 1.00 diopter (either +1.00 or -1.00), it is usually recommended to simply wear a regular spherical RGP or even a spherical soft lens rather than the more complex toric contact lenses.

The standard spherical lenses are rigid enough that the wearer's cornea will actually conform to them more than they conform to it, effectively hiding the effect of the mild irregularity of the cornea (astigmatism). When using regular soft contact lenses, optometrists will often compensate for mild astigmatism by prescribing a slightly stronger prescription. Of course this may not work for everyone, so the doctor may need to use trial and error to find the right prescription and fitting for a specific patient.

About the Author
Patricia Brown writes for several web sites, on
consumer choices and shopping topics.

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