What is Contact Lens? How to use?

Eye refractive errors are among the diseases that cause symptoms especially in primary school age. Myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia The first methods used for the treatment of refractive errors such as eyeglasses and contact lenses are the use of glasses. If the person is under the age of 18 when the disease is first detected, the use of glasses is the primary choice for treatment and improving the patient's quality of life, as the eye has not completed its development. If the patient is over 18 years old, the contact lens option can be recommended to the patient.

People with certain refractive errors may not want to wear glasses due to their lifestyle or aesthetic reasons and may choose to use contact lenses. Contact lenses, like glasses, are prescribed after the person's eye numbers are determined as a result of an ophthalmologist examination. The use of these lenses must be carried out under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.

What is Contact Lens?

Contact lenses,are artificial lenses that are attached to the front of the cornea, the outermost part of the eye, and allow people with refractive errors to see clearly. Many people can use these lenses to make their eye color look different, even if they do not have refractive errors.

Contact lenses, which are a kind of prosthesis, are lenses with a very thin structure. Today, there are many different types of these lenses in terms of material, shape and design. However, due to their function, they each consist of a back and front surface. Its outer surfaces contact the cornea, and its front surfaces have a special curve for the patient's eye structure to eliminate refractive error and refraction of light in a healthy way.

How to Choose a Contact Lens Suitable for Your Eye?

Contact lenses are prescribed by the ophthalmologist in accordance with the patient's eye structure. Before recommending contact lenses to the patient, the ophthalmologist performs many different tests to determine the patient's suitability. If the patient has an allergic eye structure or a dry eye problem, these may need to be treated first.

When choosing the most suitable lens for the patient, the ophthalmologist carefully examines the keratometric measurements and corneal map. Then, in the office environment, trial lenses are placed on the patient's eyes and the suitability of the eye for the contact lens is checked.

In order to use contact lenses comfortably and to avoid a feeling of stinging in the eye, the diameter slopes of the front and back surfaces must be equal. In this context, it is important that the slope of the back surface is compatible with the cornea. Another important point is the diameter value, which shows the compatibility of the lens with the outer surface on which it rests on the eye. If the diameter value is more or less than it should be, the lens is either too tight or too loose on the eye surface.

While contact lenses that squeeze the eye surface can cause eye dryness, they also have the risk of scarring on the cornea. Lenses that are loose on the eye surface can cause blurred vision with eyelid movements.

How Do Contact Lenses Stay on the Eye Surface?

Contact lenses remain on the surface of the eye by adhering to the conjunctiva layer and with the help of the pressure of the eyelids from above. The position of the lens on the eye surface should not be too tight. Because the ideal posture for these lenses should be at a tension that allows the tears to moisten the surface under and around the contact lens and to remove debris by moving slightly with the movements of the eyelid.

If the contact lens is too tense in the eye and does not move at all. If not, this may cause eye dryness and irritation on the surface of the eye. If the lens is too loose in the eye, it may move away from the ideal point and cause blurred vision.

How to Use Contact Lenses?

How to use contact lenses is one of the most frequently asked questions by patients to ophthalmologists. When contact lenses are prescribed by an ophthalmologist, patients first go through an adaptation process. Lenses, which are used periodically in the first week, are used in the eyes for a long time in the following weeks.

In addition, hygiene is one of the most important issues in use. The reason for this is that our eyes become vulnerable to infection when wearing or removing the contact lens.

The contact lens must be stored under hygienic conditions. Fingers and hands must be clean when inserting or removing contact lenses. If these conditions are not met, vision loss may occur due to infection. However, contact lenses do not cause allergies or infections when used correctly.

Disposable lenses do not cause problems such as dry eyes. However, they have disadvantages in terms of hygiene compared to long-term used types. Regardless of the type of contact lens, one should always remove it before going to bed.

Features of Contact Lenses

Contact lenses have many advantages over glasses. There is no edge image like in glasses and the field of view is wider than glasses. Situations such as getting wet and fogging when using glasses are not possible with contact lenses.

Some features of contact lenses are as follows;

• Contact lenses provide a greater field of vision.
• The edges appear clearer because they do not have frames.
• It provides a better sense of depth.
• It makes the appearance more natural.
• Fog that occurs when using glasses, There are no problems such as getting wet.
• Eye color can be changed by using colored contact lenses.
• It is comfortable and safe to use while doing sports.

Contact lenses are on the surface of the eye. It is made to stand still. The contact lens, which is suitable for the eye structure, remains centered on the cornea.

How to Insert Contact Lenses?

It is necessary to see an ophthalmologist before wearing contact lenses. The ophthalmologist will answer all the patient's questions about ideal use clearly and accurately.

First of all, the patient must wash his hands before touching the contact lens. If fingers and hands are not clean, the eye may become infected. This can cause serious eye conditions for some patients. There are many bacteria and microorganisms on the hands and fingers. For this reason, it is necessary to wash and dry hands and fingers thoroughly.

Dryness of hands is one of the important issues. The cotton wool and fibers in the towel should not remain stuck on the hands and fingers. Therefore, it is very important to use a lint-free towel or napkin after washing your hands thoroughly. If these fibers are present in the hand while inserting the lenses, discomfort may occur in the eye after wearing the lens.

After washing and drying the hand, the right lens is inserted into the right eye and the left lens is inserted into the left eye, according to the instructions on the lens box. Lenses come in special packages with lens fluid inside. After carefully unpacking the lens, use the tip of your index finger to take it in a controlled manner. During this time, no contact should be made with nails. Because the nail can scratch the surface of the contact lens and this can negatively affect vision. Again, if the nail is long, it may scratch the corneal layer of the eye while wearing it.

It is important to check whether there is any damage after placing the lens on the tip of the index finger of the right hand. If there are any foreign objects such as tears, scratches, wrinkles or dust on the contact lens, it should be thrown away and a new one should be used.

When using lenses at the beginning, doing it in front of a mirror may make it easier to use contact lenses. Holding the eyelids is very important when wearing contact lenses. While holding the lens with the right index finger, the upper eyelid can be held with the left hand, and the lower eyelid can be held with the middle finger of the right hand. Thus, the eyelids are checked and a lens is placed in the eye.

If the lens touches the eyelashes while wearing the contact lens, it should be washed with lens water and tried again. Although this process takes a long time at first, as you continue this process, it can be attached to both eyes within 1 minute. After placing the contact lens in the eye, it may take a few minutes for vision to become clear. If the contact lens feels like it is not properly fitted when first inserted, it may be beneficial to wait a bit.

How to Remove Contact Lenses?

Removing contact lenses is as important as putting them on. It is necessary to remain calm when removing the contact lens. There may be a sting or infection when removing the lens. Apart from this, the contact lens can go behind the eyelid. But there is nothing to worry about because the lens does not physically go to the back of the eye.

It is very important to wash your hands when removing the contact lens. Drying hands and fingers after washing is a very important step. Hands and fingertips should not remain moist. Because the lens can be grasped much better with dry fingers. If the hands and fingers remain moist, the lens may slip.

To prevent the eyelid from closing reflexively while removing the contact lens, hold the upper eyelid with the middle finger of the left hand and the lower eyelid with the middle finger of the right hand. Thus, the right hand index finger remains free. Using the thumb and index finger of the right hand as tweezers, the contact lens is removed from the eye surface.

Contact lenses can be removed much more easily when the hands and fingers are dry. When removing the contact lens, it can be done in front of a mirror or it can be removed more easily by looking up.

If the contact lens gets stuck under the upper eyelid while inserting or removing the lens, what to do is very simple. Looking down and blinking constantly. Or looking down and pushing the lens from the top of the eyelid towards the middle may also be a method.

It is not recommended to use a tool when inserting and removing contact lenses. Because while performing these procedures, the cornea may be scratched or the eye may become infected.

Contact Lens Prices

Contact lens prices generally vary depending on the type of lens and the material it is made of. Different lenses are applied to different eye diseases. In addition, they are unnumbered and the prices of colored lenses vary.