Acanthamoeba keratitis: What contact lens wearers need to know
What Is Acanthamoeba Keratitis? Acanthamoeba are naturally occurring amoeba (tiny, one-celled animals), commonly found in water sources, such as tap water, well water, swimming pools, hot tubs, and soil and sewage systems. A dirty contact lens case also can be a source of Acanthamoeba infection. If these tiny parasites infect the eye, Acanthamoeba keratitis results. […]
Case Study: Scarred cornea fitted with prosthetic soft lens
I am elated to share the story of how we restored a man’s confidence, who had been living with a very noticeable corneal scar for twenty-two years. Initial consultation and history: 2 JANUARY 2019: When Mr. Oosthuizen walked through my door, the first thing I noticed was his completely opaque left cornea. It was particularly […]
Contact Lens Tips
Never sleep in contacts (unless prescribed), keep all water away from contacts, never share contacts…
Scleral Contact Lenses
Although scleral lenses have been around for a very long time, success was limited, because it was difficult to get oxygen to the cornea. Corneas are avascular and receive oxygen from the atmosphere. In recent years, drastic advances have been made with manufacturing techniques, gas permeable materials and very sophisticated equipment such as Optical Coherent Tomography and Corneal Topography. This has resulted in scleral lenses becoming hugely successful in fitting people with irregular corneas, whom otherwise were destitute and had run out of options to regain good vision.
Which contact lens is right for you?
First, your contacts must address the problem that is prompting you to wear lenses in the first place. Your contact lenses must provide good vision by correcting your myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or some combination of those vision problems. Second, the lens must fit your eye. To do that, lenses come in tens of thousands of […]
Benefits of Vision Correction with Contact Lenses
Being able to see well, for most, is essential to performing the activities of day to day life. Good vision contributes to overall well-being and independence for people of all ages. For those with imperfect but correctable vision, many options can help to improve sight. These options most commonly include glasses, contact lenses, or laser surgery. Deciding which option is best for you depends on your eyes, lifestyle, and budget and should be discussed with an Eye Care Professional.
All about contacts
Contact lenses can offer some distinct advantages over spectacles. In the first instance, while some people enjoy making a fashion statement with glasses, others prefer their appearance without them. Some people just don’t want to be seen in spectacles. However, there are other reasons such as sport, when spectacles can get in the way, especially contact sport when they are obviously not going to work. Rugby and scuba diving are two good examples. In rain or drizzle, wearing spectacles can be a pain, not so with contact lenses. There are some instances when contact lenses just provide better vision than with spectacles. This is particularly true when the cornea is irregular, as is the case with keratoconus.
Scleral Contact Lenses – heaven sent for some
When contact lens fitting was in its infant years, the only material available was polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), a type of thermoplastic which, although it had good optical properties and could be machined easily, did not allow any oxygen to pass through the lens material. A scleral contact lens is a large contact lens which vaults […]
Buying disposable contact lenses over the counter
When an optometrist takes on a patient and fits her with contact lenses, by law, he also assumes responsibility for her corneal health. He will assess her corneal health prior to fitting the contact lenses and will do so every time she comes in for a follow up consultation. If there are any concerns about her corneal well-being, he may request more frequent follow-up visits.