According to leading eyecare industry research firm Jobson Research, 6 in 10
people in the U.S. need vision correction. That means approximately 72% of
adults (age 18 and older) need vision correction. As the Baby Boomer bubble
continues to age, the number of 40-something adults that will creep into
this category will increase due to the inevitable onslaught of presbyopia –
an age-related condition that causes difficulty focusing at close range.
Until recently, wearing glasses was the only non-surgical option for roughly
80%-85% of those needing vision correction, with contact lenses accounting
for only 15%-20% of the vision correction prescribed. In the early days of
contact lenses, wearers had to tolerate rigid, uncomfortable lenses that
were rather expensive and not very conducive to an active lifestyle. Those
days are long gone.
Today, new materials and technologies have made wearing contact lenses a
real possibility for nearly all of the vision corrected population. Today’s
contact lens manufacturers have developed new lenses to correct most vision
disorders, including myopia (nearsightedness – difficulty seeing objects at
a distance), hyperopia (farsightedness – difficulty seeing near objects),
astigmatism (astigmatism means that the cornea is oval like a football
instead of spherical like a basketball – this causes light to focus on more
than one point in the eye, resulting in blurred vision.), and presbyopia.
Contact lenses have historically been able to correct myopia and hyperopia,
but an irregular shaped cornea had made fitting contact lenses either very
expensive or somewhat problematic, until recently. Similar issues arose
when trying to fit contact lenses for a bifocal spectacle wearer
(presbyopia). However, new technologies have made fitting these conditions
commonplace. The fitting process is more involved, and as such, you can
expect the professional fees and the cost of the lenses to be a little
higher than the standard one-size-fits-most spherical lens, but the
trade-offs for most wearers who now can experience the freedom from glasses
is well worth it.
A note of caution here: not all eyecare professionals are equally skilled
when it comes to fitting “specialty” contact lenses. Some of these may even
tell you that you are not a good candidate because they lack the proper
skills to fit you properly. In some cases, there may be a medical reason
why you are not a good candidate, such as chronic dry eye. In such cases,
it is not a bad idea to have your eyecare professional provide you a written
list of contraindications to contact lens wear and then get a second opinion
from a contact lens specialist.
Another development worthy of mention here is the advent of silicone
hydrogel contact lens materials. Contact lenses made from a silicone
hydrogel material allow significantly higher oxygen transmissibility (Dk/t)
through the lens to your eye. This means the wearing experience is
healthier and generally more comfortable than lower Dk/t conventional
hydrogel contact lenses. Additionally, many silicone hydrogel contact
lenses are FDA approved for “continuous wear.” This means it is okay to
sleep in them without the risk of doing damage to your eyes.
There are currently two brands of silicone hydrogel contact lenses approved
for up to 30 days and nights of continuous wear: CIBA Vision’s Night & Day
and Bausch & Lomb’s PureVision contact lenses. Night & Day lenses have the
highest oxygen transmissibility of any lens currently on the market and are
available to correct myopia, hyperopia and mild-to-moderate astigmatism.
PureVision’s lenses have a lower Dk/t, but are available in spheres
(corrects myopia, hyperopia and mild-to-moderate astigmatism), torics (to
correct astigmatism) and multifocals (to correct presbyopia).
If you are new to contact lenses, or even a veteran wearer of conventional
hydrogels, talk to your eye doctor and let them know you are interested in
silicone hydrogel options. Even if you are happy wearing a lower Dk/t lens,
the long-term health benefits to getting more oxygen to your cornea
outweighs the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Transitioning
from a lower Dk/t lens to a high Dk/t silicone hydrogel may take from a few
days to a few weeks until your eyes adjust to the different feel of these
lenses plus the new infusion of oxygen that they have not been used to with
conventional hydrogels.
Silicone hydrogel contact lenses have been touted as the single most
important development in contact lenses in the past 20 years by several
leading medical experts in the field. With so many positive new
technologies and materials available, now is a good time to visit your eye
doctor and see if contact lenses are right for you. Chances are good that
you will be able to say goodbye to glasses and hello to freedom.