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What is Contact Lens?
It is a corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic lens
made up of medical grade plastic materials usually
placed on the cornea of the eye, used mainly for
correction of refractive error.
What are its advantages?
Contact lenses makes you spectacle-free and thus
offer a more active life, greater cosmetic acceptability,
better & clearer images, lack of misting, good field
of view, etc.
What are indications of contact lenses apart from refractive errors?
Contact lens can be used in cornea cases like Keratoconus,
to provide support to thin corneas, or to provide
regularity to irregular corneas and to hide corneal
opacities, etc. Contact lenses are also used for
cosmetic reasons where the lenses are without any
refractive power but different colors. In certain
conditions where outer layer of cornea is absent,
due to pathological reasons or iatrogenically, bandage
contact lenses provide relief.
In what cases spectacles are preferred?
Care of contact lens is slight cumbersome hence individuals who cannot be trained well for its
use like in case of school going children, neurotic patients, people with poor manual dexterity, etc.
spectacles may be recommended over contact lenses. Patients with high cylindrical power, severe allergic
disorders, or any external eye disorder are also not ideal ones for contact lens prescription.
How many types of CL's are available?
Two main types of contact lenses are available for
refractive correction: Rigid Gas Permeable (Semi-soft)
and Soft. Specially designed contact lenses such
as Rose-K lenses, sclera and semi sclera lenses,
piggy back lenses etc are used in patients with
ectatic corneal disorders such as keratoconus.
How long can one wear contact lens?
Wearing duration of a contact lens is decided by
lens’ oxygen transmissibility. Higher the oxygen
transmissibility the longer the lens can be worn.
Generally lenses can be safely worn during all waking
hour of the day. One should not sleep with contact
lenses on.
What are the differences between rigid and soft contact lenses?
Rigid lenses are hard lenses. They are smaller than
the diameter of the cornea hence initially they
feel quite uncomfortable but they are easy to maintain
and are relatively safe in terms of complications.
Soft lenses are a lot more comfortable but require
greater care and have slightly more risk of causing
allergies and infections.
What are daily and extended wear lenses?
Daily wear lenses are worn for only 10-12 hours
a day and are removed at night. While extended wear
lenses can be worn continuously for a week or so.
What are disposable contact lenses?
These contact lenses are worn on a daily wear basis
and then regularly replaced by a fresh pair every
day (Daily disposable) or fortnightly (Bi-weekly
disposable). Replacement with a fresh pair reduces
the risk of allergies and infections.
What complications can occur if CL's are worn for long?
Over-wear Syndrome can occur due to deprivation
of oxygen to the cornea. The symptoms are eye redness,
pain, watering, swelling of lids etc.
What is Enzyme treatment of contact lenses?
After some period of use, soft contact lenses develop protein deposition on them from the eye
secretions. These deposits can give rise to allergies in the eye. These can be removed by subjecting the
contact lenses to Enzyme Treatment with enzyme tablets every fortnight.
What are cosmetic lenses?
Contact lenses of different shades and pattern are
available, which impart the eyes of the wearer a
look of a different color.
What is a contact lens trial?
Contact lens has to be customized for every patient
based on corneal curvature, corneal diameter and
refractive error. Such a lens is fit on to the patient's
eye and the fit assessed after giving it about 20
minutes to settle in the eye. A perfect fit is important
to ensure good eye health and clear vision.
Contact lens services
At our centre we provide contact lens trial with
fitting and dispensing of lenses for cases ranging
from simple refractive errors to complex corneal
surfaces such as post-transplant eyes and patients
with keratoconus. We have facility of providing
all sort of therapeutic or cosmetic lenses.
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