Contact lenses: Care and benefits

Comfortable and aesthetic. These are two of the benefits of contact lenses, which logically require a series of specific care. The lenses, transparent and graduated for each case, are placed on the cornea, in the anterior part of the eye, to correct vision defects in cases such as hypermetropia, myopia and astigmatism. What types of lenses are there? At what age can they be used? What care do they require? Can children use contact lenses? These are some of the questions we are going to try to answer.

The contact lenses for convenience or aesthetic have become an increasingly used alternative to glasses. The lenses help to correct refractive defects of the eye, especially myopia and farsightedness and, to a lesser extent, astigmatism. The lenses not only exert a protective function of the eye, also corrective.

There are two types of lenses, hard and soft. The first are rigid, small and help to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism (up to three diopter). They are placed and removed easily, although their adaptation is longer and their tolerance is lower.

For its part, soft contact lenses with hydrophilic, larger than the hard and better tolerated. They correct myopia, farsightedness and mild astigmatism. Because of its comfort and few complications, soft contact lenses are the most used today. The contact lenses are graded and are placed in front of the cornea (located in the front of the eye, protected by the eyelids and tears).

Care of contact lenses

Depending on the type, the contact lenses require a series of specific care. Thus, the hard ones have to be cleaned daily and disinfected periodically. The soft ones, on the other hand, must always be kept moist to avoid the accumulation of organic residues and microorganisms.

Among the tips to follow:

• Always wash hands before handling.
• Use recommended fluids to clean the lenses and renew them when advised by the ophthalmologist.
• Daily use lenses should be removed from the eye at bedtime or sleep.
• Never leave the lenses to dry and store them in the correct solution.

Both in the period of adaptation and in the daily use of the contact lenses there can appear some problems or contraindications, such as infections or corneal inflammations, dry eye, hypersensitivity intolerance or conjunctivitis, among others. In some cases, tearing, hypersensitivity to light or physical discomfort may make it difficult to use lenses. It is important to go to the ophthalmologist’s office periodically, to check the condition of the cornea and the lenses, avoiding possible risks.

Contact lenses: At what age can it be used?

Nowadays, thanks to the new designs and advances in contact lenses, it can be used since infancy, especially for the treatment of myopia and hyperopia that appear at school age. In both cases, in addition, the use of corrective glasses may be more uncomfortable for the child, while at the same time remaining peripheral vision.