Risks and Benefits of Wearing Contact Lenses

Regardless of the condition for which they are worn - and the benefits may be therapeutic as well as cosmetic - contact lenses are generally safer than glasses. Because glasses stand off from the face, they are in a hazardous position. But contact lenses rest on the eyes, which are situated in a recess of the skull, and shielded by the brow. Contact lenses are additionally protected by the eyelids, and, in turn, protect the cornea from direct blows.

Eyeglass lenses tend to cloud up in certain combinations of temperature and humidity. Contact lenses do not, because the eyelids perform a wiping function.

But there are certain risks connected with the wearing of contact lenses. There have been reports of wearers suffering eye injuries, even blindness. But it is also true that great numbers of people who do not wear contact lenses lose their sight as the result of injuries, infection, and everyday accidents. There are cases on record wherein glasses frames have contributed to the development of skin cancer. Ill-fitting dentures are often more cited as a factor in cancer of the mouth. In short, the application of any foreign substance to the body implies a risk. But the benefits of wearing contact lenses far outweigh the hazards.

Most contact lens problems are caused by careless handling or poor fitting. Sometimes the cornea is scratched or abraded by the lens, although such injuries can be avoided by expert prescription and fitting, and by careful handling by the wearer. In most cases, when contact lenses do harm, there is evidence of carelessness, or of poor fitting by an unqualified practitioner.

As a rule, five or six visits (even more in some cases) are required for the expert fitting of contact lenses. Usually the visits will cover a period of between one and three weeks. On the first visit there will be considerable blinking, flowing of tears, and slight discomfort. The eye itself does not feel the lens. Actually, the lens rests on a thin film of moisture and does not touch the cornea. But the eyelid must adapt to the sensation of passing over the lens, much as skin must adapt to a wool sweater. Adaptation normally takes about a month, and becomes easier as wearing time is increased. Most practitioners will not fit the final prescription lens until the patient has demonstrated an ability to wear the fitting or tentative contact lens comfortably.

In the past, only the wealthy could afford contact lenses, and they were regarded as a luxurious fad. This is no longer the case. Today, they can spell the difference between success or failure in a job, participation in or exclusion from an activity, vision or blindness after injury. Most people who really want contact lenses can be successfully fitted with them, and usually with more safety than regular glasses.

Sources:

Eyeglass frames cause cancer: www.chicagoeyedoctors.net/Content/faq/eyeglassesfaq.aspx

Risks of contact lenses: kellogg.umich.edu/patientcare/conditions/contact.lenses.html

Benefits of contact lenses: justarticles.net/Art/.../The-Benefits-of-Contact-Lenses.html