Contact lens
hideA contact lens (also known simply as a contact) is a corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic lens usually placed on the cornea of the eye. Modern soft contact lenses were invented by the Czech chemist Otto Wichterle and his assistant Drahoslav Lím, who also invented the first gel used for their production.
Contact lens usually serve the same corrective purpose as glasses, but are lightweight and virtually invisible—many commercial lenses are tinted a faint blue to make them more visible when immersed in cleaning and storage solutions. Some cosmetic lenses are deliberately colored to alter the appearance of the eye.
It has been estimated that 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide (2%), including 28 to 38 million in the United States and 13 million in Japan. The types of lenses used and prescribed vary markedly between countries, with rigid lenses accounting for over 20% of currently-prescribed lenses in Japan, Netherlands and Germany but less than 5% in Scandinavia.
People choose to wear contact lenses for many reasons, often due to their appearance and practicality. When compared to spectacles, contact lenses are less affected by wet weather, do not steam up, and provide a wider field of vision. They are more suitable for a number of sporting activities. Additionally, ophthalmological conditions such as keratoconus and aniseikonia may not be accurately corrected with glasses.
For more information about Contact lens, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with contact lenses
'Contact lenses' for animals
Jul 16, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Lions, giraffes, tigers, rabbits, bears, rhinos and even owls can go blind from cataracts, but an east German firm has an answer: custom-made "contact lenses".
Optometrists make custom contact lenses for long-underserved patients
May 13, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
While the majority of patients with common vision problems can find glasses or contact lenses fairly easily, others who suffer from diseases of the eye that affect the focus of light have more limited options ...
'Gecko vision': Key to the multifocal contact lens of the future?
May 07, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
0
Nocturnal geckos are among the very few living creatures able to see colors at night, and scientists' discovery of series of distinct concentric zones may lead to insight into better cameras and contact lenses.
Tear research focused on contact lens risks, benefit
May 06, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Contact lenses are great for sight, but do they have an impact on general eye health? Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry are working to answer that question by analyzing tears.
Eye exercises help patients work out vision problems
Mar 31, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (5) |
2
You've probably been there. In a doctor's office, being advised to do what you dread - exercise. You get that feeling in your gut, acknowledging that, indeed, you should exercise but probably won't. Now imagine ...
Biofilms: Even stickier than suspected
Mar 12, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Biofilms are everywhere - in dental plaque and ear canals, on contact lenses and in water pipelines - and the bacteria that make them get more resilient with age, finds a new study in FEMS Mi ...
Kids with contact lenses like their looks better than kids with glasses
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Mar 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Children wearing contact lenses felt better about how they look, their athletic abilities and acceptance by their friends than did children wearing eyeglasses in a recent study.
Contact lenses are home to pathogenic amoebae
Biology /
Oct 20, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
2
Contact lenses increase the risk of infection with pathogenic protozoa that can cause blindness. New research, published in the November issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, shows that a high percentage of contac ...
Self-moisturizing contact lenses, naturally
Jul 08, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
0
Even contact lenses are joining the trend to go green. Chemical engineering researchers at McMaster University have shown that a common fluid found in our bodies can be used as a natural moisturizing agent in contact lenses.
