What are the technological advancements in contact lenses from when they were first introduced?
Since the first commercial contact lenses were introduced to the general public in the 1950’s, researchers have been constantly trying to find ways to make contact lenses more comfortable and effective for the people that choose to wear them. Over the last several decades, there have been many advancements made in the world of optometry with none as dramatic as the changes that have been made to the typical contact lens. These advancements have prompted many people to switch from traditional eyeglasses to contact lenses as contact lenses are now able to correct many more types of vision problems than before.
One of the most important advancements in contact lens technology is the movement away from glass as the material that contact lenses are created from. These original hard glass contact lenses were stiff and inflexible, causing significant discomfort to many of the people that chose to wear them. Over time, glass gave way to softer, plastic lenses which were more comfortable to wear and could be worn for longer periods of time without causing irritation to the eyes. The newest material used for the manufacture of contact lenses is a gas permeable material that allows air to flow through the contact lenses to the eyes, making them even more comfortable for the thousands that choose to wear them.
Another advancement in contact lenses is the ability to create contact lenses that a person can wear for an extended period of time without having to remove them. In the beginning, the contact lenses had to be removed after a couple of hours to avoid eye irritation and even the newer types of contact lenses needed to be removed each night to prevent damage to the eyes while sleeping. The most recent versions of contact lenses can be worn constantly for a week or more, reducing the number of times that the person has to remove the contact lenses from their eyes, which for many people is the most uncomfortable part of wearing contact lenses.
At one time, the only types of vision correction that could be accomplished with contact lenses were the correction of near-sightedness (myopia) and far-sightedness (hyperopia). In recent years, contact lenses that can be used to correct astigmatism and even bifocal contact lenses have been introduced to the commercial market. This has allowed a larger number of people to take advantage of the benefits of wearing contact lenses and has resulted in a significant increase in the sales of contact lenses year after year.
Contact lenses have become so popular in recent years that many people now choose to wear them for purely cosmetic reasons. There are a number of different brands of contacts lenses that are created not to correct a vision issue but to change the color of the eye. Some of these eye changing contact lenses create subtle changes, such as making the color of a blue eye more dramatic or changing the color of a brown eye to hazel. Others are much more dramatic, changing the eye to a color never seen in nature or adding decorations such as flames or elongated pupils to the appearance of the eye. There have been many advances in contact lenses over the years and each improvement has convinced more people that contact lenses may be the right option for them.
