Thursday, December 19, 2013

My Quest For Contacts

By Dr. Joyce Wei


A couple of years ago, I went to get fitted for contact lenses. It was the first time I ever attempted to use lenses and was a bit nervous. The millions of choices for different types of contact lenses did nothing to alleviate my stress levels.. The eye doctor claimed I could possibly opt for hard lenses or soft lenses. If I wanted, I could even transform my eye color to green or grey.

With so many choices, purchasing lenses can be extremely confusing. This post should aid you in deciphering some of the terms frequently used when talking about contact lenses.

The original contact was Gas permeable contact lenses, otherwise known as hard contacts. These provide many benefits to the hard to fit contact lens wearer. They are better able to correct vision problems and give you the sharpest vision possible. They are also long lasting and do not tear like soft lenses can.

Hard lenses are made in such a way that allows a lot more air to get to the cornea. This, your eye doctor will tell you, has an essential job in stopping eye problems and eye infections. So if you happen to be someone that gets a lot of eye infections, you might want to consider these lenses.

Gas Permeable lenses might additionally save you cash (over time). Since they hold their shape and do not break easily, a Gas lens is likely to hold up so that it can be used for years and years (assuming your prescription does not change). There longevity is one more reason that they are good lenses to buy.

On the other hand, many people find Gas Permeable lenses very uncomfortable. They are called "hard lenses" for a reason! It can take some time to get used to the feeling of a hard lens in your eye. Once you do, many people find that if they do not wear the lens everyday their eyes, which took so long to adjust, become adjusted!

Honestly, if you don't wear your contacts every day for most of the day, hard lenses probably won't work for you. No one wants to have to readjust to their lenses every Monday morning because they haven't worn them all weekend. Monday's are hard enough without the added pain of gas permeable lenses.

Hard lenses last longer than soft lenses but keep in mind that the replacement cost of gas permeable lenses is much higher. Since you should not need to replace them that much, you it shouldn't really matter. The costs, as mentioned, should even out.

One of the reasons these lenses are recommended for people whose eye sight is constantly changing is because it has been proven that hard lenses can slow down the rate at which your eye sight changes. Though children do not often wear contacts, this could be a reason to consider putting them in contacts.

There is also the world of disposable contact lenses. In short, you can choose to wear a new pair of lenses every single day! You can change your lenses once a week or monthly. You can even sleep with them in your eyes at night.

Besides daily lenses, there are also weekly or monthly kinds. It all depends on how much you want to spend, your eye conditions and your own preference.

All in all, like with anything you are going to purchase, there are many factors to take into consideration. Speak to your eye doctor to find out what his opinion is.




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