History of contact lenses. All about contact lenses When did contact lenses appear

The optical lens was invented only at the very end of the 13th or at the beginning of the 14th century. and was used as glasses, which immediately received wide practical application. There is no shortage of attempts to identify the inventor of the glasses, but they have all been unsuccessful. The only thing that can be said for sure is that glasses were invented in Italy - in Venice or Padua - the centers of the glass industry of that time. These glasses were long-focal lenses used for farsightedness. Concave glasses to eliminate myopia appeared only in the 16th century.

There is an opinion that Nero (I century AD) used a “point” from a piece of green emerald. However, this version is untenable for a number of reasons. Nero, having poor eyesight, apparently simply weakened the power of light with plane-parallel smoky glasses.

At the same time, it is interesting to note that the lens of the eye was already known in the 1st century BC. n. e., when it was described by Claudius Galen (c. 130 - c. 200) and (especially in detail) by Rufus of Ephesus, who owns the term "crystal" itself. However, nothing was known about its function at that time. The famous Arab scientist Alhasen (965-1038) believed that the lens turns light irritation into a visual sensation. This view held until the end of the Renaissance, when the Swiss physician Felix Platter (1583) showed that the lens is a body that refracts rays.

The demand for spectacles especially increased in the 15th century, and this led to the fact that many professionals of this business appeared. The material for polishing glasses was primarily glass, but the glass of that time was of poor quality, and (at best) it was a greenish tint. Therefore, rock crystal and a semi-precious transparent stone - beryl (hence the German name for glasses - Brillen) were also used.

The first scientific studies in which lenses (loupes) were used belong to the entomologists Thomas Mouffet and Georg Hufnagel (1589-1590). The first of them studied small mites (0.2-0.4 mm), in particular, he clearly established the differences between scabies and cheese mites. In the same period, such difficult-to-observe processes as the movement of the hemolymph in lice were described.

Magnifiers, or (as they were later called) "simple microscopes", were also used by the founder of microscopic biology Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723).

It is interesting to point out that the idea of ​​an optical instrument, which makes it possible to clearly see individual, very small objects, was expressed as early as the 13th century. scientist and philosopher Roger Bacon (c. 1214-1294), and in the XV-XVI centuries. it has already been repeated many times by a number of prominent scientists and thinkers: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Jerome Fracastoro (1478-1553), Diggs, Born and many others. In the same period, the idea was expressed with complete clarity about the existence of a world of creatures that are not visible to the naked eye - the causative agents of infectious diseases (Fracastoro and others). This idea was, therefore, expressed 125 years before the works of Leeuwenhoek, but it was partially substantiated theoretically and was based on essentially fantastic.

Already in the XVI century. the idea of ​​creating an optical device consisting of two rather than one lens was put forward. Among mathematicians and physicists, it was even quite widespread, although it remained practically unrealized, apparently due to technical difficulties. Only at the beginning of the XVII century. the famous Galileo first designed a telescope, and then (in 1609) a microscope.

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They don't get dirty or sweat like glasses. Their structure is soft, so the lenses are not felt on the mucous membrane of the eyes.

With their help, a person can see the surrounding objects in the same way as people with good eyesight. Not everyone knows that the history of contact lenses began 500 years ago. Only by the middle of the last century, people were able to make such a model, which it is at the present time.

Background of creation

The first mention of contact lenses was in 1508. Leonardo da Vinci, in his writings, put forward the theory that a sphere filled with liquid can correct the vision of people who have poor vision of surrounding objects.. In fact, he did not consider this invention as contact lenses, he was the first to pay attention to the possibility of refraction of light that passes through the human eye.

Rene Descartes decided to continue his work. In 1632, he first placed a container filled with water in his eyes. In the first few minutes, a person could really see the surrounding objects. But such a structure of the lens quickly fogged up, it was uncomfortable and painful for a person. At the same time, there was no possibility of blinking, the cornea of ​​the eyes dried out, therefore, acute pain was formed.

The most acceptable model was created by John Herschel. It was this scientist who described in his writings a contact lens that should repeat the shape of the eye.. The current generation understands this, but scientists in those days did not have the opportunity to consider this issue correctly.

When were contact lenses first introduced?

The first contact lenses appeared in 1888. Made by glassblower Friedrich Müller. He had a friend who lost an eyelid. Because of this, he complained of acute pain and constant dryness in his eyes. The glassblower decided to help him, he made contact lenses out of glass. They were white at the edges, and transparent in the center, so that the ability to see surrounding objects was preserved. A friend put on contact lenses, his vision improved. This was due to the fact that the glass model completely repeated the surface relief of the eye.

In this regard, Müller began mass production of glass contact lenses. But still, the model was not entirely convenient for humans. Only a limited number of people wore it.

Mass production of contact lenses was later taken up by Carl Zeiss and Otto Schot. The Carl Zeiss company was engaged in the production of microscopes. He decided that a glass contact lens should be suitable for many people, so he developed models with different surfaces.. Together with Otto Schott, they developed several surfaces that were at least slightly different from each other, so they could fit different categories people with reduced vision.

The appearance of lenses as we see them now

Istvan Györfi was the latest development of contact lenses. He was a chemist, made plastics. He thought that this material could be used instead of glass.. Many people who wore glass contact lenses complained of acute pain, discomfort, and rapid drying of the eyes while wearing the model. The scientist developed the first plastic lenses, which were called Plexiglas. They were more suitable for people's eyes, they were a little more comfortable in relation. But still, the optical model did not quite match the soft structure of the superficial region of the eyes.

Invention of soft contact lenses

In the fifties of the last century, the scientist Otto Wichterle was engaged in the manufacture of polyamide and plastics. He was one of the first inventors of silicone. This material was soft and repeated the shape of the object to which it was applied. The scientist was interested in organic chemistry and decided to investigate silicone. He needed this to create softer contact lenses that would not dry his eyes. He succeeded in deriving the formula for the hydrogel. This is the best basis for the production of contact lenses, as water accumulates in its internal structures.

The model is completely transparent, does not interfere with the eyes, repeats the shape and structure, moisturizes. Therefore, Otto Wichterle received a patent for the production of soft contact lenses. This was a breakthrough in the invention and production of these models.

Invention of rigid lenses

Rigid contact lenses were produced alongside soft models. They are necessary to correct certain visual defects: keratoconus, high degrees of astigmatism. They are not made from hydrogel, but from silicone mixed with the first. This model passes oxygen well to the eye, but has a reduced amount of water.

The advantage of the model is the preservation of the shape of the eye, the correction of deviations. Rigid contact lenses provide sharper vision, which is drastically reduced in certain medical conditions.

Popularization of lenses and appearance on the optics market

The basic structure and shape for lenses has been preserved over the years. The following changes have appeared:

• toric form;
• gas-tight models;
• lenses that can be worn for a long time without removing;
• color contact models designed to change the shade of the eyes.

New materials are currently being used to reduce eye sensitivity to lens penetration. The most appropriate means for the care of the eye structure and optical model are selected. Contact lenses are produced that can be worn for a long time, they do not dry out, they are not felt in the eyes.

Colored contact lenses were invented in 1981. They are intended to correct the shade, while they can have diopters or be used only for cosmetic purposes. There are various shades: blue, green, red, purple, yellow, gray, black.

Produce contact lenses with different patterns, covering the entire area of ​​the sclera. A person can choose a model that is most suitable for him.

The production of contact lenses has a long history. At the moment, they are comfortable to wear, well correct not only the decrease in visual acuity, but also various diseases. Introduced not only new contact lenses, but also means to care for them. Various storage liquids, cleaning tablets, containers have been developed. A person can choose a model that will be acceptable to him in terms of use and cost.

Useful video

Despite the fact that contact lenses are the most modern means of vision correction, they trace their history back to very ancient times.

1508 : In one of his works, Leonardo da Vinci put forward the idea of ​​using glass balls filled with water to correct vision. You would have to hold them in front of your eyes with your hands.

1632 : Rene Descartes proposed to use a small tube for vision correction, at one end of which a lens was inserted. Water was poured inside, which was supposed to become a medium between the lens and the cornea.

1730 : De Lamour in his dissertation theoretically substantiated the possibility of using contact lenses for vision correction.

1801 : Thomas Young brought the idea of ​​Rene Descartes to life. The prototype lenses, which were called hydroscopes, were not widely used.

1887 : The German glassblower from Wiesbaden, F. Muller, made the first glass lenses for a person suffering from incomplete closure of the eyelids. The lenses prevented drying and damage to the cornea.

1888 : Independently, the Swiss doctor Eugen Fick and the French optician Edouard Kalt published articles on the successful use of contact lenses to correct refractive error. The lenses used were 1-2 mm thick and 20-30 mm in diameter. When worn, a saline solution was used, which was poured between the lens and the eye. It took a long time to restore the cornea after wearing such lenses.

1929 : Joseph Dallos, a Hungarian doctor, came up with a method for taking casts from the eyes. It became possible to create lenses having a surface that completely coincides with the surface of the cornea.

1936 : William Feinbloom, an optometrist who worked in New York, suggested using plastic to make lenses.

1937 : The first contact lenses appear in the Soviet Union. Research Institute of Eye Diseases. Helmholtz research on contact vision correction.

1948 : Kevin Tuohy made the first rigid contact lenses out of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer. The lenses differed in that they did not cover the entire front surface of the eye, but only the cornea. Therefore, they were called corneal CLs. The lens allowed the tear to wash over the surface of the eye. It was not until 1979 that such lenses went on sale to the general public.

1959-1961 : Czech scientists Otto Wichterle and D. Lim created the first soft CLs from hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) hydrogel. This polymer contains water and is permeable to oxygen.

1976 : Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 195 "On measures to provide the population with contact lenses for vision correction" was issued. The resolution provided for a significant expansion of the network of specialized laboratories and offices, equipping them with modern equipment for the manufacture and selection of contact lenses.

1981 : In the USA and Western Europe lenses for long-term wear.

1987 : For the first time there are contact lenses that allow you to change the color of your eyes.

1987 : Johnson & Johnson pioneered the concept of elective replacement lenses and created the first frequently scheduled (2-week) replacement lens, Acuvue.

1995 : Johnson & Johnson's first disposable 1-Day Acuvue CLs are created

1996 : For the first time, lenses with a filter that protects the eyes from ultraviolet radiation appear on sale.

2000 : The appearance of the first CLs made of silicone hydrogels with high gas permeability, designed for long-term continuous (up to 1 month without removing at night) wearing.

In school physics lessons, we remember that light rays propagate in a straight line. Any object in their path partially absorbs light, partially reflects at the same angle at which it falls. The only exception is when light passes through a transparent object. At the boundary of two transparent media with different densities (for example, air and water or glass), the rays of light are refracted to a greater or lesser extent, and amazing optical effects arise, depending on the physical characteristics of the object through which the light passes.

This property of light allows you to control the course of rays, changing their direction or turning a divergent beam of rays into a convergent one, and vice versa. In practice, this can be achieved using specially processed devices made of optically transparent homogeneous material, which are called lenses (from Latin lens "lentil"). Looking at an object through lenses with different physical and chemical characteristics, we will see it upright or inverted, enlarged or reduced, clear or distorted.

The simplest lens is a carefully ground and polished piece of highly transparent substance (glass, plastic, mineral), bounded by two refractive surfaces, two spherical or flat and spherical (although there are lenses with more complex aspherical surfaces). Lenses in which the middle is thicker than the edges are called converging (positive), scattering (negative) lenses are called lenses in which the edges are thicker than the middle. A positive lens has the ability to collect rays incident on it at one point located on the other side of it, in focus. A negative lens, on the contrary, deflects the rays passing through it towards the edges.

The simplest lens made of rock crystal.

Although the scope of the use of lenses in science and technology is very large, their main functions are reduced to a few basic ones. This is the accumulation of thermal energy of light rays, visual approximation and magnification of small or distant objects, as well as vision correction, because the lens of the eye by its nature is a lens with variable surface curvature. People began to use some properties of lenses earlier, others later, however, these optical devices have been known to them since ancient times.

There are different opinions about when people learned to make fire with the help of sunlight and polished pieces of transparent stone or glass with a convex surface. It can be said for sure that this method was known in Ancient Greece in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., as it is described in the play "Clouds" by Aristophanes. However, lenses made of rock crystal, quartz, precious and semi-precious stones found during excavations are much older. One of the most ancient lenses, the so-called god with glasses, was discovered during the excavations of Uruk, an ancient city-state in Mesopotamia. The age of this lens is about 6 thousand years, and the purpose remains a mystery.

In Egypt during the IV-XIII dynasties (III-II millennium BC), crystal lenses were used for ... eye models for statues. Optometric studies have shown that the models are very close to the real shape and optical qualities of the eye, and sometimes even show visual impairments, such as astigmatism.

Alabaster "idols with eyes". Tel Brak site, Syria. IV millennium BC. e.

Unfortunately, over time, the secret of making such lenses was lost; the false eyes of the statues began to be made of stone or faience. The technique of "glass eyes", although with less perfection, was also mastered by the ancient Greeks. For example, bronze statues of the 5th century BC were equipped with lenses. BC e., found in the sea off the coast of Calabria. But before the "official" discovery of the optical properties of the eye, there were still many centuries!

During excavations in the territory of Mesopotamia, Greece and Etruria, a considerable number of crystal lenses were found dating back to about the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. A study of their finish showed that the lenses were used both for visual magnification and as decorations. In fact, these were real magnifiers with a short focal length, increasing the angle of view. In addition, miniature gems were found in Greece, connected by a frame with convex lenses; these gems could not have been made without an optical increase in the working field. All this indicates that loupes were used long before the magnifying effect of lenses was recorded in scientific sources.

When exactly the lenses began to be used for vision correction has not yet been established. There is an opinion, however, not supported by anything, that it was for this purpose that the lenses discovered during the excavations of ancient Troy were used. In the writings of the Roman historian of the 1st century. Pliny the Elder mentions that the emperor Nero, who suffered from myopia, watched gladiator fights through a concave lens carved from emerald, this was a kind of prototype of glasses. Some historians, based on ancient engravings, believe that glasses were invented in China in the 7th-9th centuries, but whether they were optical or sunscreen is not known for sure.

The study of the eye as an optical system was first taken seriously by an Arab scientist of the 9th century. Abu Ali al-Hasan, known in Europe as Al-khazen. In his fundamental work, The Book of Optics, he relied on the research of a Roman physician of the 2nd century BC. Galena. Al-Hassan described in detail how an image of an object is created on the retina of the eye with the help of a lens. However, the essence of myopia, farsightedness and other visual defects, in which the focus of the lens shifts relative to the retina, was finally clarified only in the 19th century, and before that, glasses were selected virtually at random until the desired effect was achieved.

Mysterious optics

On the Swedish island of Gotland, in a hoard buried about a thousand years ago by the Vikings, lenses of a complex aspherical shape made of rock crystal were found. A similar form of lenses was theoretically calculated only in the 17th century. Rene Descartes. In his work, he indicated that these lenses would give excellent images, but for a long time no optician could make them. It remains a mystery who and for what purpose could grind the lenses from the Viking hoard.

Glasses seller. Engraving after a painting by Giovanni Stradano. 16th century

It is believed that glasses were invented in Italy at the end of the 13th century, their invention is attributed to the monk Alessandro Spina or another monk Salvino D "Armata. The first documentary evidence of the existence of glasses dates back to 1289, and their first image was found in the Treviso church on fresco, painted in 1352 by the monk Tommaso da Modena.Until the 16th century, glasses were used only for farsightedness, then glasses with concave lenses for nearsightedness appeared.Over time, the shape of the glasses appeared frame, temples.In the 19th century, Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals. Lenses that are at the top for distance and at the bottom for near work.

J. B. Chardin. Self-portrait with glasses. 1775

Jan van Eyck. Madonna and Child with Canon Joris van der Pale. Fragment. 1436

Photochromic lenses (“chameleons”) were created in 1964 by Corning specialists. These were glass lenses, the photochromic properties of which were imparted by silver and copper salts. Polymer lenses with photochromic properties appeared in the early 1980s, but due to significant shortcomings, the low rate of darkening and lightening, as well as extraneous color shades, were not widely used. In 1990, Transition optical introduced more advanced plastic photochromic lenses, which gained immense popularity.

Contact lenses are considered a relatively young invention, but Leonardo da Vinci worked on their device. Many scientists thought about how to put the lens directly on the eyeball, but only in 1888 the Swiss ophthalmologist Adolf Fick described the device of the contact lens and began to experiment. Mass production of contact lenses was started in Germany by the famous optical company Carl Zeiss. The first samples were completely glass, quite large and heavy. In 1937, polymethyl methacrylate lenses appeared. In 1960, Czechoslovak scientists Otto Wichterle and Dragoslav Lim synthesized a new polymer material HEMA, developed a method of rotational polymerization and produced soft contact lenses. At the same time, hydrogel lenses were developed in the USA.

With regard to the magnifying power of single lenses, it soon became clear that it was limited, since an increase in the convexity of the lens leads to distortion of the image. But if you place two lenses (eyepiece and objective) between the eye and the object in series, the magnification will be much greater. With the help of a lens at the focal point, a real image of the observed object is created, which is then enlarged by an eyepiece that acts as a magnifying glass. The invention of the microscope (from the Greek mikros "small" and skopeo "look") is associated with the names of the Dutch John Lippershey and father and son Jansen (late 16th century). In 1624, Galileo Galilei created his compound microscope. The first microscopes gave a magnification of up to 500 times, while modern optical microscopes can achieve a magnification of 2000 times.

Simultaneously with the first microscopes, telescopes (or spyglasses) appeared (their invention is attributed to the Dutchmen Zacharias Jansen and Jakob Metius, although Leonardo da Vinci made the first attempts to look at stars with lenses). Galileo was the first to point a spotting scope at the sky, turning it into a telescope (from the Greek tele “far away”). The principle of operation of an optical telescope is the same as that of a microscope, the only difference is that the microscope lens gives an image of a close small body, and a large distant telescope. However, since the end of the 17th century, telescopes have used a concave mirror as an objective.

Otto Wichterle in the laboratory.

Among other things, lenses are used in the field of photography, film, television and video filming, as well as for the projection of finished images. The lens of a camera and similar equipment is an optical system of several lenses, sometimes in combination with mirrors, which is designed to project an image onto a flat surface. The curvature of the objective lenses is calculated so that possible aberrations (distortions) are mutually compensated. Joseph Niépce, who created one of the first cameras in 1816, borrowed a lens for it from a microscope.

Since the second half of the last century, along with optical systems, electronics with a higher resolution have been used to observe various micro- and macro-objects. However, lenses are still used so widely that it would be rather difficult to list all their applications.

Camera of Joseph Niépce.

Telescope refractor at the Lick Observatory. California, USA.

28-08-2013, 19:13

Description

The following dates are important in the history of contact lenses. In 1801 T. Jung used in the experiment a short tube filled with water with a biconvex lens, which, when attached to the eye, compensated for the shortcomings of the refraction of the eye.

In 1845 an English physicist J. Herschel published theoretical studies substantiating the correction of corneal astigmatism using an optical system in contact with the eye. In 1888 a Swiss ophthalmologist A. Fick published article "Contact glasses", where he described a contact lens: “A glass cornea with a radius of curvature of 8 mm sits with a basis of 7 mm on a glass sclera, the latter has a width of 3 mm and corresponds to a ball with a radius of curvature of 15 mm. The glass cornea with parallel walls is ground and polished inside and out; the free edge of the glass sclera was polished and polished in the same way. The weight of one contact glasses is 0.5 g. After experimenting on animals, Fick ventured to the human eye. First, he made plaster castings, on which he blew his first trial lenses.

The first contact lenses were scleral, of large diameter (from 21 to 16 mm), consisted of a haptic part based on the sclera and a central optical part that refracted the rays. The sub-lens space was filled with liquid with glucose or saline. The first production of contact lenses was carried out by a famous glass blower Müller from Wiesbaden(Germany). The lenses were ordinary eye prostheses. The scleral part was made of white glass. In place of the pupil, the lens had a transparent part. Later (1914-1924) the mass production of contact lenses was undertaken in Germany by a well-known optical company "Carl Zeiss", which released their sets. With the help of sets containing lenses of different parameters, the optimal shape for a given eye was selected and an individual lens was made from it.

The first scleral lenses were made of glass. In 1937 the American ophthalmologist V. Fainblum began to make lenses, in which the scleral part was made of plastic, and the corneal part was made of glass. In the same year I. Gyorfi and T. Obrig made contact lenses entirely from plastic-polymethyl methacrylate. In 1948 K.Tuohy proposed hard corneal contact lenses, which were made of polymethyl methacrylate plastic. Their sizes were much less than scleral ones. Unlike scleral lenses, which were held on the eye for centuries, corneal lenses are held on the cornea by capillary attraction. The small size of corneal lenses, facilitating the access of oxygen to the cornea has significantly improved their tolerability and wearing time (up to 10–12 hours). With the advent of corneal contact lenses, the rapid development of contact vision correction began, the designs and methods for fitting hard corneal contact lenses were improved.

In 1960, Czechoslovak scientists - academician O. Wichterle and engineer D. Lim– synthesized a new polymer material, developed a method of rotational polymerization and carried out the production of soft contact lenses. Soft lenses due to hydrophilicity, elasticity, permeability to oxygen are well tolerated. The indications for the appointment of contact lenses have also expanded: soft lenses are used not only for the optical correction of refractive errors, but also for therapeutic purpose with some eye diseases. In addition, it became possible to produce cosmetic, colored lenses.

Types of contact lenses

All types of contact lenses can be divided into several groups depending on the material from which they are made, the wearing mode, the design of the lenses, their purpose, and the degree of transparency. According to the material, they are divided into hard and soft.

Rigid lenses, in turn, are divided into rigid gas-tight and more modern rigid gas-permeable. Soft lenses are divided into hydrogel And silicone hydrogel. Hydrogel lenses are divided into 4 main groups (FDA groups) depending on the content of moisture and ions in the material. 1st group - low hydrophilic non-ionic material; 2nd group - highly hydrophilic non-ionic material; 3rd group - low hydrophilic ionic material; 4th group - highly hydrophilic ionic material.

According to the mode of wearing contact lenses are divided into:

• traditional (service life of soft lenses - up to a year, hard - several years);
• scheduled replacement (lens replacement once a month or every few months);
• frequent scheduled replacement (service life - one day, week, two weeks);
• extended period of wearing (can be worn without removing up to 30 days in a row).

There is also a flexible wearing regime where the lenses can sometimes be left on for one or two nights.

By design, contact lenses are divided into:

• spherical (lenses are designed to correct nearsightedness and farsightedness);
• toric (correct astigmatism);
• multifocal (used to correct presbyopia).

By appointment, contact lenses are:

• optical - designed to correct refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism); decorative - designed to change the color of the eyes; tint - change the color of light eyes; colored - change the color of dark brown eyes; "Crazy" - lenses with a pattern applied to them, for example, "Red Spiral", "Wolf's Eye"). These lenses are worn for 2-3 hours, they are not intended for daily wear; therapeutic - lenses are used in clinical practice for the treatment of corneal pathologies.

Contact lens care

Since lenses are mostly water, they may be subject to microbial contamination; in addition, deposits may form on the surface of the lenses. Therefore, soft contact lenses should
clean and disinfect thoroughly.

1. Place your lenses in your open palm and apply a few drops of lens cleaning solution. Gently rub the surface of the lenses with your index finger.
2. After cleaning, rinse them with a solution.
3. Place each lens in the corresponding cell of the container. Pour in fresh solution. It should completely cover the lens. Do not use the same solution twice. Close the case lids carefully and leave the lenses in the case for at least 4 hours.

Many solutions allow you to store lenses in it for 30 days without changing the solution. When using contact lenses for more than three months, it is recommended to add an additional enzyme cleaning to the care. There are special protein cleanser tablets that are used once a week.

1. Rinse both compartments of the lens storage container with the solution.
2. Fill the cells with fresh solution.
3. Dissolve one protein cleanser tablet in each well.
4. Remove, clean and rinse lenses in the usual way, then put them in the cells of the container.
5. Close both lids, shake the container and soak the lenses in the solution for 15 minutes. Heavily soiled lenses can be kept for a longer time, but no more than two hours.
6. Remove the lenses from the container and rinse them with the solution.
7. Discard the used solution. Rinse the container thoroughly and fill it with fresh solution.
8. Place lenses for disinfection and storage. After disinfection, the lenses can be put on the eyes.

Remember! Lubricating Drops is a sterile lubricating and moisturizing solution that provides long-term comfortable contact lens wear. Use drops to eliminate the discomfort that occurs when wearing contact lenses, especially during the adaptation period.

Modern methods of care for contact lenses can be divided into three categories:

1. multipurpose solutions. They combine cleaning and disinfection, some of them remove protein deposits. Such solutions are easy to use and rarely cause complaints from patients. However: disinfection lasts several hours; manual cleaning must be carried out very carefully, it must be learned.
2. Systems consisting of two parts. The cleaner and disinfectant are in separate containers. Such systems provide more thorough cleaning than multifunctional solutions; some of them carry out disinfection in just 20 minutes.
3. Hydrogen peroxide. Does not contain preservatives and is very effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi. Before placing the lens in the eye, the peroxide must be neutralized.

When choosing a care system, the following points should be considered.

1. The period of wearing contact lenses. Short wear lenses do not require special care, so you can get by with a multifunctional solution.
2. Elderly people require easy-to-handle multifunctional solutions.
3. If you rarely use lenses, then the likelihood of protein deposits is small, in this case a multifunctional solution is quite sufficient.
4. Deposit formation. Large deposits require serious, thorough cleaning. It is unlikely that a multifunctional solution will help here.
5. Predisposition to allergic reactions. In such cases, hydrogen peroxide is preferable - it does not cause allergies.
6. Previous cases of herpes or fungal infections. Such people are better off using hydrogen peroxide.
7. Life style and occupation. Here we must keep in mind the following: women who use a lot of cosmetics should clean their contact lenses more thoroughly; work in clinics, swimming pools increases the likelihood of microorganisms entering the eye. And if the above type of activity applies to your client, then it is better for him to use hydrogen peroxide.

How to properly wear contact lenses

Before putting on lenses, wash your hands with soap that does not contain fragrances and emollients. Rinse soap residue thoroughly from hands under running water. Nails should be short and clean (you will have to choose - a luxurious manicure or wearing lenses). Check if the lens is turned inside out, if there are any debris on it, if the edges are damaged.

Before putting on the lens, rinse it with a small amount of solution and do not touch it again with your hands. inner surface. Put on the right lens first. Putting on the right lens, look up and to the left, the left one - up and to the right. Pull the lower eyelid down with the finger of the left hand. With your right hand, place the lens on your eye, lightly press the lens and, without blinking, remove your hand. Release your lower eyelid and slowly close your eyes. Place two fingers on the upper eyelid and lightly massage it to remove the air bubble from under the lens and properly place the lens on the cornea. If the lens has shifted to the corner of the eye, up or down, move it to the cornea with your fingertip or lightly press the upper or lower eyelid to push the lens to the cornea and center it.

Close your eyes for a few seconds so that the surface of the lens is covered with a tear film. If any discomfort is felt after inserting the lens, remove it and check if it is fitted correctly, rinse and reapply. In the first days of wearing lenses, when the adaptation period passes, it is necessary to abandon mascara, the use of artificial eyelashes, and the use of greasy face creams.

Full adaptation to contact lenses occurs after 2-4 weeks, when there is no redness of the eyes, lacrimation, feelings of a foreign body. Put on your lenses before applying makeup and remove them before you wash it off.

How to properly remove contact lenses

When you remove contact lenses, wash your hands with soap and water and stand in front of a mirror. Start removing the first lens that you put on first. Tilt your head forward, look up. Use your index finger to slide the lens down onto the sclera. Gently squeeze the lens between your index finger and thumb and remove it. This method avoids injury to the cornea.

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