Teens may prefer to wear contact lenses over glasses for many reasons. Many teens are self-conscious, and may feel more attractive without glasses. Contact lenses may help them feel greater self-esteem and be more at ease around others. If they play sports, standard glasses are not recommended, thus requiring a pair of sports glasses, or contact lenses which is a popular alternative.

How old do you have to be to wear contact lenses?

While there is no age requirement for wearing contact lenses, we generally recommend parents wait until their child is between the ages of 11 and 14. The primarily concern regarding age is to make sure the child is old enough to responsibly take proper care of their contact lenses.

The best way to prevent glaucoma, a common cause of blindness, is to have a regular eye exam. During a comprehensive eye exam, your optometrist will check the intraocular pressure (IOP) of your eyes, as having high intraocular pressure can lead to damage to your optic nerve and can eventually lead to blindness. What if there was a way to improve the accuracy of checking eye press by monitoring our eyes on a more frequent basis?

The London Eye Hospital has developed a new contact lens, titled Triggerfish, which when worn will monitor eye pressure over a 24-hour period, which they hope will improve detection and allow earlier treatment. When worn the Triggerfish sensor is able to create and store a detailed graph, showing how the patient’s IOP has been fluctuating over a 24-hour period, which can supply doctors with the data that they need to diagnose whether the patient has glaucoma with much greater accuracy after the lens is removed and analyzed.

More good news for contact lens wearers who have an astigmatism in one or both eyes. On March 1st, Acuvue (of the Vistakon Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first disposable soft contact lens, by launching a brand new contact lens. The newly designed lenses, called 1-Day Acuvue Moist Brand Contact Lenses for Astigmatism, are a daily disposable soft toric contact for those who suffer from an astigmatism, and offer some significant benefits over previous lenses for contact wearers suffering from astigmatism.

Some of the most common benefits you hear contact lens wearers say when asked “why do you wear contacts over glasses?” usually include the increased convenience and ‘no-glasses’ appearance. However, the benefits of wearing contacts do not come without risks, especially when the wearer is lackadaisical with their contact lens care habits.

Sleeping In Your Contact Lenses
Almost everyone has worn their contacts when sleeping at one time or another. Perhaps you were watching a TV or a movie and fell asleep half way through, or perhaps were staying over at a friends and forgot to bring your contact lens solution and case. Wearing contacts when sleeping should be avoided at all times, with the exception of contacts designed for overnight use.

While contacts provide useful benefits to wearers, including the convenience, flexibility and “no-glasses” appearance, improper use can lead to serious vision problems.

More than 30 million Americans currently wear contact lenses. How many do you think are wearing their contact lenses the way they were instructed by their optometrist? A recent study shows that a vast majority of contact lens wearers are not carefully following their eye doctors contact lens wearing instructions, and by doing so are putting themselves at unnecessary risk.

In order to help protect your eyes (and your contact lenses), we’ve put together a list of Contact Lens Care Tips to increase awareness about the risks of incorrectly wearing and handling Contact Lenses.

Although Circle-tinted lenses have been around for some time, interest in these anime-style lenses have recently been popularized by Lady Gaga and her recent video for “Bad Romance”. Contact lenses are considered safe for the correction of vision when appropriately fitted by licensed eye care providers. However circle-tinted lenses are purchased through the internet, without training, fitting or follow-up which could lead to complications for the wearer. In some cases, Severe eye infections have been reported by wearers of these cosmetic lenses.