How are the lenses selected? Advice of specialists

It has long been known that contact lenses can greatly improve life for people with poor eyesight. Their main advantage is comfort and comfort in comparison with glasses. The disadvantage is that contact lenses need to be carefully selected. And this is due not only to a large number of options. We suggest you to understand how to select lenses on your own and with the help of an ophthalmologist.

General information about contact lenses

How are the lenses selected? Their choice should be based on your vision, preferences and lifestyle.

Their advantages:

• Aesthetic appearance (a good alternative to points);
• Better vision correction;
• Provide a high level of peripheral vision;
• Do not get fogged;
• Allow you to engage in active recreation and sports.

Their shortcomings:

• It is necessary to get used to the fact that there is a foreign object on the eye;
• A constant purification from biological deposits is required;
• Not all people are suitable.

If you still decide to wear contact lenses, then, regardless of their type, you will need to acquire and special items, such as:

• tweezers;
• container;
• solution.

In some cases, moisturizing eye drops are still needed.

Rules for the care and wearing of contact lenses

How to care for lenses:

• They must be properly cleaned and disinfected. It is necessary to kill germs and prevent infections.
• The container must be rinsed after each cleaning procedure, and after their scheduled replacement it is necessary to buy a new one.
• Before you place contact lenses in a container, you need to pour in a new solution.
• Do not moisten the lens with saliva.
• Never use self-contained detergent solutions, as they can cause serious eye infections.
• Not all eye drops and solutions are suitable for any type of lens. Before buying, carefully study the product description.

Proper wearing of contact lenses provides the following points:

• Washing hands with soap before each beginning of work with contact lenses.
• You can not give someone your lenses, nor should you wear someone else's.
• You can not wear them for more than a certain period (each type has its own).
• It is not recommended to buy lenses in other places, except in certified optics.

Basic parameters when selecting

There are 6 main categories that you should pay attention to before choosing eye contact lenses:

• The material from which they are made;
• Type of lens;
• Texture of the lens (hard or soft);
• Duration of wearing (one-day or prolonged wearing);
• Purpose (simple, for treatment);
• Color (transparent or colored).

But the most important parameters that you need to know when buying lenses are the characteristics of the eyesight and the cornea:

• Curvature of the cornea;
• The dioptric value;
• intraocular pressure;
• Peripheral vision;
• The work of the eye muscles.

Therefore, before you pick up contact lenses for the eyes, it is recommended to visit the ophthalmologist and check your eyesight. Also, you should listen to his advice on the types of lenses. After that, you can already independently study the market.

It is necessary to seek the advice of an ophthalmologist who has special training in contact vision correction to discuss with him the possibility of using contact lenses taking into account the type and degree of visual impairment, age, health and personal wishes.

In some diseases, this method of vision correction can not be used at all. These include:

• Inflammatory processes in the eyes,
• glaucoma,
• Diseases of the lacrimal apparatus,
• strabismus,
• Subluxation of the lens,
• allergy.

How are the lenses selected based on the material of their manufacture?

Modern contact lenses are made of silicone hydrogel or hydrogel.

Lenses from the hydrogel let the air in through the eye through the water, so the more fraction it takes in the composition, the higher the oxygen permeability. The recommended time for wearing these lenses is eight to twelve hours. To sleep in them is strictly prohibited.

Silicon-hydrogel lenses pass air through the silicone, so the higher its proportion in the total composition, the higher the oxygen permeability. You can wear them continuously for the entire period (two weeks, a month, a quarter, etc.). Although from time to time, experts recommend removing them and putting them in a solution for disinfection.

The hydrogel is responsible for the moisture content and mobility of the contact lens on the retina.

Hard or soft?

All the first contact lenses were rigid. But modern technology has allowed to create a new type - soft.

Features of rigid contact lenses:

• More durable.
• Not suitable for people with sensitive retina.
• They keep well in front of their eyes and do not move during blinking.
• Used to treat diseases such as astigmatism (an irregular form of the retina) or keratoconus (deformation and dystrophic changes in the cornea).
• They have great resistance to protein deposits.
• The diameter of the hard contact lenses is slightly less than soft, and this allows the extreme part of the cornea to receive oxygen.
• The structure of hard lenses does not include water, so they do not dry out and there is no need to additionally use eye drops.
• Feel the eyes.
• A long period of getting used to them.
• A long period of choice, since it is impossible to select lenses by themselves and it is necessary to visit your doctor-ophthalmologist.
• Modern hard contact lenses are made of a material that very well passes oxygen. By this criterion they are not inferior to soft ones.

Features of soft contact lenses:

• More comfortable sit on the eye than hard contact lenses.
• Less durable and easy to damage during putting on or taking off.
• Practically not felt on the eyes.
• There are fingerprints left on them, if you put it sloppy.
• The diameter of the lens is such that it covers the entire cornea. Therefore, they provide a complete vision area.
• Wide choice on different criteria (duration of wearing, color palette and so on).
• Beginners find it difficult to wear them.
• Some types sometimes have to be washed several times.
• If the soft contact lens has fallen or dropped out, it often becomes impossible to find it. It is almost invisible.

Special contact lenses

They are designed to treat various eye diseases, and not just for vision correction. There are following types of special contact lenses:

• Bifocal;
• Therapeutic contact lenses;
• For an artificial pupil and iris.

The principle of bifocal contact lenses is the same as that of glasses - they consist of two zones and a special surface designed for different viewing angles:

• Reading zone at the bottom of the lens;
• Zone gave the center of the lens;
• Surfaces, allowing to form an image of near and far objects.

Often the zones are divided into two eyes. For example, on the right eye - a lens with a reading zone, and on the left - with a zone given.

The purpose of contact lenses for artificial iris and the pupil is to cover up the defect. And if the eye can still see a little, they will help and prevent getting a lot of light on it.

Medical lenses are not constantly, but only at certain moments:

• With dry eyes;
• Correction of a curved cornea;
• With burns and other damage to the retina and the cornea.

This includes the following types:

• Toric;
• Multifocal contact lenses.

How to choose toric lenses? To do this, you need to consult a specialist, since even the material and period of wearing should be chosen based on the medical history. But this is not the main thing. The whole problem is that toric lenses serve to treat astigmatism. Therefore, using computer analysis, it is necessary to calculate the radius of deflection of the cornea.

How to choose multifocal lenses? Their goal - correction of hyperopia, which manifested itself with age (presbyopia). According to the principle of their work, they are similar to bifocals.

What to choose - usual or multifocal contact lenses? How to choose the right option and get a good vision? Sometimes it is difficult to get used to multifocal, some people may even have headaches. If you are unprincipled to see with the same sharpness near and far, experts recommend using simple lenses throughout the day, and use glasses for reading.

Colored contact lenses

How to choose colored lenses for the eyes? Most often they are chosen as an accessory and to change the shade of the eyes to suit or mood.

In rare cases, colored lenses help with such problems:

• A thorn in the eye, that is, the absence of the pupil (the lens masks this defect);
• Irregular color of the iris (the lens aligns the color);
• Intolerance to sunlight (the lens helps better than sunglasses);
• A sick eye, for which it is necessary to block the access of light.

Color lenses differ in the way they paint:

• Paint is applied from above with a thin layer;
• The paint is included in the basic composition.

How to choose color lenses for the eyes, depending on the color? There are two types:

• Color (Color), which can radically change the color of the cornea (for example, the brown will turn blue);
• - Enhancers, which give a sparkle to the eyes and a rich color to the natural shade of the cornea;
• Creative or carnival (Crazy), with which you can simulate absolutely different effects (for example, the eyes of an animal or a monster).

Famous brands of color contact lenses:

• "Maxim";
• "Baych Plus Lomb";
• "Alkon Shiba Vizhn";
• "Aymed Technologies";
• "Jelfex";
• "Beskon".

Carnival lenses produce Okey Vision, Dzhelflex, various Chinese and Korean companies. Walking in them for more than a few hours is not recommended.

Lens wear time

There are such types of contact lenses depending on the period of their wearing:

• One-day;
• Weekly or biweekly;
• Monthly;
• Quarterly;
• Semiannual;
• Year;
• Night.

Night lenses are worn only at the time of sleep. During this time, they correct the shape of the cornea, after which the vision improves slightly and the person is not required to wear glasses or lenses. This effect is sufficient only for a day.

One-day lenses change every twenty-four hours, and you can sleep in them. They are sold most often in sets of thirty pieces. That is, they will last for two weeks. How to choose one-day lenses? All lenses of this type of wearing are soft and differ only in oxygen permeability.

The most common brands are:

1. Johnson and Johnson:

• "Van Day Akuyev Moist" (1-Day ACUVUE Moist);
• "Van Day Akuyev Truay" (1 DAY ACUVUE TruEye).

2. "Okay Vision":

• "Daysoft" (Daysoft);
• "Van Tach Van Day" (One Touch 1 Day).

3. "Clea Lab": "Clea Van Day" (Clear 1-Day).

4. Cooper Vision:

• "Proclear Day 1";
• "Biomedics Van Day Extra" (Biomedics 1 Day Extra).

5. "Maxima": "Van Day Premium" (1-DAY Premium).

6. "Bauch plus Lomb": " Bio True One Day" (Bio True One Day).

Weekly contact lenses can be worn without taking off for seven days or two weeks. In the second case, they must be at least several times lowered into a container at night. The most popular lenses are "Acueview Oasis" (ACUVUE OASYS) from "Johnson and Johnson".

Monthly depending on their type can be worn without taking off for thirty days or take off at night.

The most popular brands:

1. "Cuba Vision": "Air Optics Aqua" (AirOptix Aqua).
2. "Ok Vision": "Prima Bio" (Prima Bio).
3. Cooper Vision:

• "Avaira" (Avaira);
• Proclear.

How to choose one-day lenses, two-week or monthly? Well think, for what purpose you will wear them. If for office work, then opt for those who have a high level of oxygen permeability of any type of wearing. If you need lenses for permanent socks, then the best option for you will be those that are designed for two weeks, a month or a quarter.

Symbols on packaging

The packaging of each contact lens has the following conventions:

• DIA - lens diameter (the most common value is -14.0);
• BC is the basic curvature;
• D - diopters, that is, the optical power of the lens;
• Dk / t - level of oxygen permeability;
• Image of the sun - the lens provides protection from ultraviolet radiation;
• An image of an hourglass and figures next to it - the expiration date of products that have not yet been printed and put on.

How to choose the right lens for the beginner?

Here is a list of the main problems faced by those who only recently decided to wear lenses:

• Discomfort on the eyes;
• Problem during donning (sometimes the process can take up to twenty to thirty minutes);
• A similar problem with the removal.

It's all about the habit and the skill. Over time, these problems will disappear, but as long as a person has no experience in wearing, you can not only damage the object itself, but also the retina of the eye.

So how do you choose lenses in this case? Beginners are advised to stop their choice on the types that are made of silicone hydrogel. These contact lenses are more difficult to tear than simple hydrogel lenses. They are more elastic, so they are quite easy to put on and take off. Also, if you forget to take them off for the night, nothing will happen to the eyes and there will be no discomfort and irritation next morning.

Comparison as one of the methods of choosing contact lenses

How to choose lenses for the eyes without a doctor? Only a detailed study of the product market and the method of comparison. That is, to begin with, get the product of one type, and then another. Compare different brands and types. So you can find exactly those lenses in which you can feel the highest degree of comfort. For example, first buy two-week silicone-hydrogel, and then try to be like in monthly. You can also use two types of contact lenses at the same time, depending on the situation and purpose.

Even before choosing lenses for the eyes without a doctor, talk with people who have sufficient experience of wearing them. So you can get to know this product more thoroughly.

Remember: if you often have allergic reactions, feel constant dryness in the eyes, you are not able or you can not properly follow the contact lenses, then none of the types suits you. Better choose your points.

If you have at least one of the symptoms listed below, then the selection of contact lenses was not carried out correctly:

• Pain in the eyes;
• Sensitivity to light;
• Redness of the eyes;
• Blurred vision;
• Prickly sensation in the eyes;
• Headaches that arose after you began wearing the product.

On whatever type of contact lens you stop, you still have to experiment with new species over time. After all, progress does not stand still. Experts constantly develop new materials and improve the technology of making contact lenses. Thus, some models are even removed from production. And they are replaced by better contact lenses. Therefore, always keep an eye on the assortment, especially if you have chosen the type of long wearing.