Blog

Contact Lenses

February, 2012     |     James Ruch, O.D.

Contact lens designs, materials, and fitting continue to evolve from the initial hard plastic contact lenses first popularized in the 1960’s and 1970’s.    Today hard (now called gas permeable) lenses are still used but very infrequently and usually for very specific and complicated diagnosis.

Primarily because of comfort, soft contact lenses have become the standard.   Historically the biggest difference between the two designs was that hard lenses were typically not comfortable but people could see well with them and soft was quite comfortable but patients couldn’t always see as clearly.   Today that isn’t usually an issue.   Soft lenses are available in 2 designs – daily wear (to be removed daily) and extended wear (can be left on the eye overnight).  

Replacement options also vary from single use lenses to be discarded daily, 2 week replacement, and monthly replacement are the most common, with a few designs to be replaced every 2-3 months.    Lenses for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and even multifocal (bifocal) contact lens designs are available.    If any of these designs wouldn’t work, there are custom designed made to order options available.  

With all of these different options available, patients can be fit into whatever option is going to work the best for them.   Problems with contact lens wear are infrequent and when encountered are usually due to poor compliance by the patient.    Wearing lenses not designed for overnight wear and not disposing of contact lenses as directed are the most common reasons for problems.    Although problems are infrequent, they can be very serious.   

One of the fastest growing areas of contact lens use is part time wear.    People often think in an all or none fashion.    Either you wear contact lenses all the time or not at all.   But today more and more people are wearing eyewear part of the time and contact lenses part of the time.    From a sports standpoint, contact lenses can be considered another piece of sports equipment as patients might wear eyewear for all their usual activities but contact lenses for their sports activities.    Examples being snowmobiling, golfing, running, biking, hunting, etc.  

So whether full time or part time, daily wear or extended wear, single use or multiple use, multifocal or not, there is probably a contact lens option for everyone.