Contact Lens: 50 Shades of the same Eye

Did you know that lenses only help to transmit light in one way or the other and that’s all? That is basically what they do. Science has been able to harness this property to solve visual challenges either as refractive errors (inability to focus light on the retina) or Presbyopia (age-related difficulty in reading small prints)

These lenses are therefore placed in front of the eyes as spectacles to coordinate the light before it enters the eye. Also, know that it is not the whole surface of the eyes that transmits light for you to see. If you have thought about it like those before us, you would observe that the spectacle lenses we wear cover more than just the eye. Meanwhile, the area of the eye that actually needs the lens is about one-fifth the size of the entire lens (depending on the size of the lens). This is what makes the idea of Contact Lens interesting.

The Contact Lens (CL), as its name goes, is a lens that actually makes contact with your eyes. It is made in such a way that it sits on the very area of the eye that deals with light transmission on the surface (the Cornea). There are Contact lenses that cover up to the Sclera though (the white part of the eyes, (Sclera Lens)), but its main point of action is on the cornea which also supports the lens to stay in place.

This idea of something sitting on the eye scares some people but they probably see people every day on TV, or in a movie that has CL on and doesn’t even know that it’s CL. People who wear CL barely recall that they have something in their eyes (when CL is properly fitted) until when they want to take them off or when they look in the mirror. Some CL can actually appear almost invisible to anyone.

You see those actors in a movie with Vampire eyes, Eyes like Cat, zombie’s eyes etc… Those are Contact Lenses. That’s where CL is used as a costume.

A Cat-eye Pattern Contact Lens

Black Sclera Contact lens

Cosmetically, you could alter the appearance of your eye to match with your clothes, bag, and shoes with Contact Lenses. It makes your fashion blend with your nature. So you could actually have as many shades and pattern as you want of your eye. You could see a person with spectacles today, tomorrow no spectacles but still seeing well, and another day the person’s eye has a new colour entirely and soonest, another colour. Those appearances (Cat eye, Vampire eye etc.) are colour additions and patterns incorporated into the CL during making. You make your choice.

Blending Eye colour to match makeup and dressing

Different colours of Contact Lenses

Different patterns of Contact lens

In the midst of all these fashion and costuming, two factors must not be compromised. These are:

– Your ability to see well or see better through the CL.
– Your comfort with CL. That is compatibility.

We will discuss these two items subsequently.

What makes CL popular?

– It takes the spectacle off your face and keeps your face free. This is heart-warming for women who have makeups on and don’t want it covered by their spectacles.
– It gives relief from the weight of the spectacle which sometimes leaves mark on the nose and ear where the weight rests on. Some high-powered lenses actual come with a significant weight that could be inconveniencing. The CL is almost weightless and still performs the function the spectacle would do.
– The convenience of changing your eye colour fashion-wise.
– Some special CL can be used for therapy like in the case of Orthokeratology where the CL helps to reshape the cornea thereby bringing correction to refractive error.
– It is most suitable for patients with Keratoconus (a condition that results in unusual bulging of the cornea).
– It’s also used as a bandage for the cornea where bandaging is necessary or prolonged drug delivery needed.

Are there disadvantages?

Sure!
We would look at those in the next post.
In our next post, we’ll also discuss how the CL makes you see well and how it stays comfortable on you.
Are you eligible for CL? We’ll find out.

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