| There is a contact lens waiting for you. Most people can wear contact
lenses of some sort. They are easy to handle and look after and once you
have tried it, they are not difficult to put in or remove. |
The commonest type of lens fitted today is the SOFT
lens. However there are still people who are best suited by HARD lenses,
often called CORNEAL or GAS PERMEABLE lenses. |
| HARD lenses are small pieces of plastic which float on the tear layer in
the eye. As their name suggests they are rigid and do take some getting
used to. But once adapted to them they are comfortable and can often be worn all day.
They are very good for people with irregular corneas and can give better
vision than soft lenses. |
SOFT lenses are larger and fit over the cornea onto the
white of the eye. They are made of a jelly-like plastic which is almost
immediately comfortable. They take little time to adjust to and can be
worn for long periods- some are capable of being worn continuously for
up to 30 days. |
| All contact lenses are disposable, it is
only the length of time between replacement that changes. |
| Most soft lenses are worn on a MONTHLY
disposal regime. That is removed at night, cleaned and stored in care solution
ready for re-use the next day. |
By using a special developement of the normal lens
material, we have the EXTENDED WEAR lens that is worn continually for up
to 30 days and is then discarded, to be replace the next day by a new
lens. This is a higher risk modality but very useful for many patients. |
| A popular extension of the monthly disposable is the
DAILY disposable where each lens is worn only once and is then thrown
away at the end of wear. This avoids the bother of solutions and is a
very flexible way of using contact lenses for those who do not use them
every day. |
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