The Advantages Of Contact Lenses Over Glasses

Contact lenses are optical medical devices, just as spectacles are, and often provide cosmetic and optical advantages over them. The more than 35 million people in the United States who have opted for contact lenses over the use of glasses have done so because of their convenience, and cosmetic value. Many people initially feel discomfort when starting to use contact lenses, but the benefits of using them far outweigh these minor discomforts.

The Short History Of Spectacles

The invention of spectacles has greatly influenced progress in the arts and sciences, yet it is not very clear who invented this instrument. In 1270, Marco Polo saw elderly Chinese using this device, which they claim to have originated in Arabia in the 11th century.

The spectacles evolved in the western world from the late 1200s onwards, with riveted spectacles used by monks and scholars, who held the lenses in front of there eyes, or balanced them on their noses. The invention of the printing press in 1452 encouraged the mass production of spectacles, along with the growing popularity of books. For the lower and middle classes, there were spectacles mounted in wood, horn, bone, etc, whereas the upper classes used hand held spectacles in gold or silver frames.

The significant advancement in frame design occurred in the 1600s, with rigid bridges that allowed the spectacles to remain in place. In the present times, there has been a tremendous progress in frames and lens acuity, with the spectacles, whether plain or prescription, becoming a fashion statement.

The Short History Of Contact Lenses

If you are of the view that contact lenses are a new invention, you are way off the mark. Leonardo Da Vinci first described and sketched his ideas of contact lenses way back in 1508! However, it took more than 300 years to fabricate and wear them.

 

 

Swiss physician A.E. Fick and Paris optician Edouard Kalt are credited with fitting the first contact lenses, in the late 1800s, for myopia and hyperopia. These heavy glass lenses could be used for a few hours of wear only.

Plastic came into use in 1936, when William Feinbloom, an optometrist in New York, made contact lenses with the central portion of glass surrounded by plastic in the periphery that covered the sclera. 1948 saw a Californian optometrist, Kevin Tuohy produce contact lenses completely made of plastic.

The same year, George Butterfield, an optometrist from Oregon, improved upon Kevin Tuohy's design with lenses that matched the shape of the cornea, and would not easily pop off. These lenses have evolved to the present soft contact lenses, which are worn by more than 90% of the contact lens wearers in the United States.

Contact Lenses vs. Glasses

Contact lenses offer functional advantages over glasses in areas, such as sports, work – in humid environment, and in occupations where spectacles are inconvenient and not compatible with the equipment used, such as special headgears. Let us look at some of the advantages that contact lenses offer over glasses:

Natural Vision - As they are worn right on the cornea of the eye, contact lenses provide vision that is more natural. The objects appear in the correct size and position, without any distortion. The distance between the eye and the glasses can vary, causing the objects to appear larger or smaller than they actually are.
Stable Vision – Contact lenses are not affected by quick body movements, such as in sports and similar activities, and remain in place, providing clear and stable vision. Eyeglasses are unstable on your face when running, making your vision unstable, affecting your performance.
Peripheral Vision – Contacts give you a wider and better peripheral vision that glasses. Contact lenses move along with your eyes and you are always looking through the clearest part of the lens – the optic zone. On the other hand, the frames of the glasses block your peripheral vision, and when you move your eyes to the side, you are no longer looking through the optical center, causing blurred and distorted vision.
Unaffected By Weather – Contact lenses do not fog up when you come in from the cold, and neither do they get splattered by rain. In addition, they do not steam up from body heat or perspiration.
Comfortable – Contact lenses are quite comfortable to wear as they do not pinch your nose, or rub or press against your ears and temple, unlike glasses, which, in addition, slide down your nose when you perspire.

Contact lenses have been a boon for children in one particular sense. They do not get picked on at school by their friends. This relieves them from the psychological and physical traumas related to wearing glasses.

Glasses, at times do not work, and contact lenses are certainly superior to them:

Thick glasses are required in cases of severe short sightedness, making them very heavy, and your eyes look very small.
Glasses do not provide adequate correction when the difference between the visual acuity of your eyes is more than 2.5 diopters - a unit of measurement of the refractive power of lenses.
After cataract removal, your eyes need a special protection, which only contact lenses can provide adequately.

With improvements in technology, a wide variety of contact lenses are available, both for ophthalmic, as well as cosmetic uses. People who normally wear glasses can easily and safely shift to wearing contact lenses. People had many misgivings about using contact lenses, and opted for glasses, but these are no longer hold true.

There was a time when contact lenses used to pop out, and this was during the time when contact lenses were hard lenses. Today, there is no 'popping' out with the introduction of soft contact lenses. These soft contact lenses conform to the shape of the eye, and do not move or pop out.

Another myth of contact lenses being expensive is not correct. These are less expensive than many of the designer frames that are available today.

Follow the instructions of the manufacturers to take care of your contact lenses, to enable them to provide you with clear and healthy vision.

Michael Wright is a virtual authority on contact lenses. He also writes articles about color contact lenses and toric contact lenses.

Video Source: Youtube

Working Hard To Correct Lazy-Eye

(NC)-A baby is born. Soon after it opens its eyes, there is a critical period, during which time its visual experiences have a profound effect on the development of the visual areas of its brain. Ideally, both eyes have visual experiences of equal quality. But, if the baby is born with a cataract or with a serious vision problem in one eye, the child may develop a severe and permanent loss of vision, commonly known as lazy-eye. By understanding the changes in the brain that are associated with lazy-eye, Kathryn Murphy and a team of researchers at McMaster and Dalhousie Universities, aim to improve treatments for children at risk for developing this condition.

Dr. Murphy's research is being funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). CIHR is Canada's preeminent health research catalyst and is funded by the government of Canada. An exciting new concept, CIHR is modernizing and transforming the health research enterprise in Canada.

To learn more about CIHR please visit: www.cihr.ca, e-mail: info@cihr.ca or write to: CIHR, 410 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa ON K1A 0W9.

Vision Without Glasses Review - Restore Vision Without Glasses Ebook

Vision Without Glasses Review

Just Diagnosed With a Visually Impaired Child

Finding out that your child is blind, partially blind, or has low vision can be a scary experience. Some disorders will be discovered at birth, if the vision impairment has observable characteristics such as cataracts or congenital glaucoma, but many go undetected until the child doesn't meet certain visual milestones. Parents may start to notice that their child does not seem to make eye contact or track bright high contrast items. Children with profound vision loss will often have nystagmus. Nystagmus is an observable condition where the eyes tend to shift back and forth rapidly, giving the appearance of jiggling eyes. There are a few children that are born with normal vision and develop vision loss due to accidents, brain tumors, or severe illnesses. Generally if your child is not meeting typical vision milestones by around three or four months your pediatrician will refer your child to an ophthalmologist. Proper diagnosis cannot be made without a thorough exam from an ophthalmologist.

Visual Acuity

Visual Acuity may not be determined until your child is older. When doing an exam on an infant, ophthalmologists often use visual acuity cards. Basically these are large posters of black and white lines. Infants see high contrast, black and white items the best. The cards will start off with very thick black lines and each card will have gradually thinner black lines. The thicker the line, the easier it is for an infant to see. By observing how your infant tracks these cards, your ophthalmologist can determine more about your infant's visual acuity.

Dealing with the shock

There is no easy way to deal with finding out your child is blind or has a significant vision issue. Usually the diagnosis comes as a shock. Even if you are aware that there is a problem, actually hearing the words that your child may be blind or partially blind is emotionally crushing. Talking to others parents going through the same thing will help some. Educating yourself on the subject matter will also help. Not knowing what to expect is one of the most difficult aspects of having a vision impaired child. With most conditions your ophthalmologist can't give you a perfect idea of how well your child will be able to see in the future. Once your child starts being able to communicate well, you will have a better idea of the severity of your child's condition.

Coping with family members and friends

Not only do parents have to deal with their own emotions but also they have to handle the reaction of their family and friends. Sometimes family members can say things to make the situation worse, questioning your prenatal care, dismissing the problem as not as severe as you are telling them, or giving you unwanted advice. You may hear things like "well you can just get him glasses", or "you know they have surgeries for that". Even as you try to educate them on the subject, often times they have their own beliefs. Sometimes it is best to keep the discussions to a minimum if they are not supportive or helpful to you.

What to do next

Once you receive your diagnosis, you may be wondering what you can do. Talk to your pediatrician about getting services with a vision therapist. This is often available through Early Intervention programs. Ask your pediatrician whom to contact for more information on this. Read as much as you can on the subject. Knowledge about your child's vision condition will make you feel less helpless. Find a support group. If you can't find one locally, you can find one online. There are many support groups available for specific vision disorders.

Helpful links:

Albinism- NOAH
http://www.albinism.org
The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation

Nystagmus - American Nystagmus Network
http://www.nystagmus.org

Optic Nerve Hypoplasia/ Septo Optic Dysplasia - Focus Families
http://www.focusfamiles.org

Retinopathy of Prematurely
The Association for Retinopathy of
Prematurity and Related Diseases
http://www.ropard.org

Strabismus
http://www.strabismus.org

Blindness and low vision
http://www.blindness.org

National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments
http://www.spedex.com/napvi/

Sunglasses: Form Versus Function

The incorporation of sunglasses into contemporary pop culture has brought the fashion aspect of glasses to full throttle. Individuals purchasing sunglasses today look first to style and only second to functionality. And while the ‘coolness’ of sunglasses is certainly vastly better today than the rigid frames of just a couple of decades ago, the emphasis on style threatens to undermine the most important characteristic of sunglasses: protecting your eyes.

Acute eye damage does not affect just those that spend hours outside day in and day out. In fact, just a single outing in the bright sun can cause severe sun damage. This is because of direct exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet radiation is a component of the light emitted from the sun which damages our eyes. While our eyes are usually able to cope with a few short term episodes of damage through intense UV exposure, exposure to repeated intense cycles has been linked to long term vision damage. That means that individuals that go snow skiing just a few times without sunglasses can get permanent damage. While less common, those that simply spend one day a month outside, particularly between the hours of 10 and 2, can develop permanent vision problems.

As a result, it is extremely important that shoppers not just look for the most popular sunglasses on the market, but rather are also cognizant of some important characteristics that all good sunglasses should have. If the functional purpose of sunglasses is to protect against UV exposure, then the most important characteristic glasses should have is a UV coating. While the plastic or glass from which the actual sunglass is made will block some of the UV rays, buyers should look for those glasses which block 400nm rays, as this effectively means that they block all rays. Another important consideration is how much coverage the glasses offer. Even if the glasses that you purchase protect up to 400nm, if they are not large enough to effectively block out unfiltered light from reaching your eyes, they are not effective.

While the fashion aspects of sunglasses are certainly important, these concerns should be viewed as secondary to the primary purpose of sunglasses, which is to protect your eyes. In shopping for your pair of sunglasses, be aware that you are purchasing something which will not merely make you ‘look good’, but also help you ‘see good’, for years to come.

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