Contact lenses have come a long way since the first polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) contacts were introduced to the general public in the late 1940’s. These hard contact lenses had the potential to cause a range of serious eye health problems, thanks to the fact that the impermeable plastic used did not allow any oxygen to pass through to the surface of the eye. While the invention of rigid gas permeable contact lenses in the late 1970’s did something to address this problem, some wearers continued to complain that hard lenses were uncomfortable to insert and wear, leading many to use a combination of both spectacles and lenses, depending on the situation. Soft contact lenses were the breakthrough product which made wearing contact lenses a viable option for millions who had previously only been comfortable in glasses, and today around 85% of Americans who wear contacts use soft lenses – just take a look at the range of contact lenses now supplied by visiondirect.co.uk to get an idea of the popularity of this technology.
Contact lenses have several obvious advantages over spectacles. For the active and sporty, soft contact lenses in particular can be very useful, especially when it comes to taking part in contact and extreme sports. Then there is the simple aesthetic freedom of being able to ditch the frames and open up new possibilities in terms of style and fashion. More pragmatically, once in situ you can’t leave contacts behind in a restaurant or bar, and you can’t inadvertently sit down on them and break the frames!
However, the safe use of contact lenses – and this is really about inserting and removing the lenses – requires access to clean water, soap, and a clean towel to dry your hands (find out about contact lens safety on the NHS website). While this is easy enough during normal life at home, a camping holiday that incorporates action and dirt (like mountain biking) can make keeping up a proper contact lens care regime challenging, especially if access to clean water will be limited. In fact, it is probably worth noting that the clean dry towel is as important as the hand washing, as even treated tap water can contain microorganisms that can be harmful to the eye, and so hands must be both clean and dry before lenses are handled.
Just as the development of new plastics drove forward contact lenses technology, there are now new polymers that have been used to create unbreakable frames and shatter proof lenses. What’s more, many sports glasses can also provide full UV protection, something which is particularly important when taking part in wintersports like skiing and snowboarding.
In summary, both modern contact lenses and sports glasses offer solutions for people who need vision correction, and thanks to progress this choice is now more flexible than ever before.
Image: suanie
