It is estimated that over 125 million people from all over the world wear contact lenses. Now this statistic, in reality, could be much higher, as a lot of people who wear normal glasses also have contact lenses that they use occasionally. If you wear glasses, chances are that you, at some point of time, tried out contact lenses, and probably there still is a pair lying around in your dresser at home.

• Contact lenses have a lot of science behind them, and not many people – including those who have been wearing them for years – know most of those facts. Here are some of the most interesting ones from that list.
• German ophthalmologist Adolf Fick is credited with making the world’s first contact lenses in 1887, but they were actually conceptualized by the maverick Leonardo Da Vinci way back in 1508!
• The prescription of rigid lenses in Scandinavia is less than 5% – meaning that most people in those countries prefer contact lenses over normal ones.
• Contrary to popular opinion, contact lenses are not completely colorless. They come with a faint tint of blue – so that they can be seen easily when submerged in cleaning or storage solutions.
• Contact lenses provide a much wider field of vision when compared to rigid ones. This is one key reason experts suggest wearing contact lenses while driving.
• Early contact lenses were quite expensive and prone to breakage, and that led to a separate insurance company being floated to provide insurance for contact lens breakage! With the subsequent reduction in prices of contact lenses, the insurance product got phased out in the early 1990s.
• Soft lenses – which are the predecessor to most advanced contact lenses being worn today – became popular as they allow the passage of oxygen and other gases through it into the cornea of the eye. Earlier, lenses were rigid and led to quite a few complications due to non-passage of air.
• There are some kinds of contact lenses which allow color blind people to distinguish certain colors better. Most of these lenses are tinted red.
• There are modern circle contact lenses available in the market, which are designed in such a way to give the impression of a larger iris! This is specially suited for people with small eyes as it makes them appear larger.
• There are contact lenses under development, which come equipped even to handle external infections and contamination!

It is a proven fact that contact lenses work way better than the rigid ones. If you have not tried them out, it is time to do so – and pick out one of the more advanced ones; you will not even feel it!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 9:56 am and is filed under Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.