Corneal Scarring Treatment With Laser Eye Surgery - OCL Vision

A lot of people who need to wear glasses to correct their vision often opt for contact lenses, if not all of the time, at least frequently.

There are many reasons to opt for contact lenses over glasses, for example some people don’t like the way they look in glasses or others may play sports or have a job that isn’t easy or practical to do whilst wearing glasses.

There are two main types of contact lenses, hard lenses and soft lenses.

Hard lenses, also known as gas permeable contact lenses, have been on the market longer than soft lenses and are often a lot more durable than soft lenses. They can be worn for long periods of time and are ideal for people who have an astigmatism or a condition which causes their eye to be an irregular shape.

Soft lenses are a more popular choice of contact lens. They are made from the latest optical materials so are found to be more comfortable than hard lenses. They are more flexible and breathable than hard lenses too, they are great to wear sporadically so suitable for people who frequently want to switch between lenses and glasses.

There are, however, issues and risks that come along with contact lens wear. These can include infections, soreness and intolerance.

Infections can develop by a number of mechanisms. One way is transfer from your fingers because you have to touch the contact lenses with your finger to put it in your eye. The bacteria from your finger can then get into the eye and cause an infection to develop given the right circumstances. You can avoid this by washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water before putting your contacts in and taking them out. Also, ensuring you regularly change the contact solution you keep them in overnight can minimise the risk of infection.

Contact lens intolerance (CLI) is when you are no longer able to tolerate contact lenses for prolonged periods of time or in some cases for any length of time without irritation or soreness. This can be due to dry eye or the eyes becoming allergic to the lenses or the solutions used to cleanse them.

Wearing contact lenses gives you much more freedom compared to wearing glasses, however they do still have their limitations. For example, you shouldn’t swim or shower with contact lenses in as this encourages infiltration of your eyes with the bugs that thrive in tap water and swimming pool water. Furthermore, it’s best not to sleep with lenses in – sleeping with contact lenses in can cause your eyes to become dry and irritated and increase the risk of an eye infection.

Travelling is also a massive inconvenience. It’s easy to forget your solution or, if you wear reusable contact lenses, to lose or damage one.

If you’re tired of the whole routine and rigmarole of contact lenses or worried about the risks then maybe it’s time to consider ditching them altogether!

There are now many surgical options available to remove the need for glasses and contact lenses. There are the options of laser eye surgery, refractive lens exchange (RLE) or implantable contact lens (ICL) surgery.

Call us on 0203 993 6179 to book yourself an initial consultation to discuss the best surgery pathway for you and eliminate the issues contact lenses pose.