Did you know that when a person has 20/20 vision, that means they have normal visual acuity measured at a distance of 20 feet? They can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at a distance of 20 feet. Most people are relatively familiar with this method of representing visual clarity or sharpness but don’t fully understand how to read a glasses prescription. If you’ve always wondered what those numbers and abbreviations on your prescription represent, scroll down for a quick guide.
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Can You Put Contacts in Water?
If you’re a wearer of contact lenses, chances are you’ve been in at least one situation where you needed to store or clean your contacts but you didn’t have access to contact lens solution, and you considered water as an alternative. You’ve probably also been tempted to open your eyes underwater while swimming or bathing. Water seems harmless, after all. You drink water, clean yourself in water, and a large portion of your body is composed of water! But can you put contacts in water?
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Daily vs. Monthly Contacts
When you decide to begin using contacts, your optometrist may ask if you would like daily or monthly contacts. Your answer will depend on your eye health and personal preferences, as there are several differences between the two types. Today we’re reviewing the pros and cons of daily vs. monthly contacts so that you can decide which option best fits your needs.
Swimming with Contacts: Bad Idea?
Remember those childhood summers spent at the pool? Entire days could pass while you were diving in search of submerged pool toys – often with the help of those goofy full-face goggles. Once you got a little older, you may have spent time training yourself to swim with your eyes open. Splashing around and gazing underwater with open eyes can be fun when you’re a kid – but what about when you’re an adult wearing contact lenses? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially recommends that contact lenses should not be exposed to any kind of water. However, that can be hard to do when you’re on the go in the summertime. So is swimming with contacts really a bad idea?
How to Clean Your Glasses
Most people who wear glasses are all too familiar with the annoyance of oil and dirt buildup on their trusty pair. Although glasses have been around for centuries, inventors have yet to create a smudge-proof pair. If your idea of cleaning your glasses is using the end of your shirt and whatever liquid you have around, you’ve got it wrong. Dirty lenses are easy-to-fix nuisances, but there is certainly a right way and a wrong way to wipe off your glasses. Learning how to clean your glasses can keep your lenses crystal clear and in the best shape possible.
Tips for Putting in Contacts
There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to putting in contact lenses. If you have an intense blink reflex or an aversion to putting your hands near your eyes, you might find it especially hard. So before you begin, check out our tips for putting in contacts. Even if you’ve been wearing contacts for years, you might find it helpful to review these tips to refresh your memory.
Pros and Cons of Transition Lenses
Most of the time, glasses are amazingly convenient. Unlike contacts, you don’t have to worry about a lens falling out or scratching your eye. Glasses are easy to put on during a rushed morning, and they can add style to an otherwise simple ensemble. However, we can’t ignore one area in which traditional glasses lenses fall short: bright sunlight.
When the sun is shining in your eyes, you can’t wear sunglasses on top of prescription eyeglasses. You can only reach for a pair of prescription sunglasses or a clip-on sun visor to attach to your frames. It can be hard to keep track of an expensive pair of prescription sunglasses, and not everyone loves the look of a clip-on sun visor, but it’s dangerous to expose your eyes to harmful UV rays for the sake of convenience, cost, or good looks. Enter transition lenses. This type of eyeglass lens darkens when exposed to sunlight. Learn the pros and cons of transition lenses, so you can decide if they’re a worthwhile purchase for you and your eyes.
Types of Bifocal Lenses
What do lightning rods, swimming fins, and bifocals all have in common? Ben Franklin invented all three! When Franklin’s eyesight deteriorated with age, he became both nearsighted and farsighted. He didn’t like the trouble of switching between two different pairs of eyeglasses, so he came up with an invention that he called double spectacles. He simply took the lenses from both of his glasses, sliced them horizontally, and combined them on a single pair of frames. When he wanted to see up close to read, he looked down. When he wanted to see far away, he looked up. Since then, other inventors have enhanced Franklin’s work. Now there are different types of bifocal lenses to choose from.
Pros and Cons of Gas-Permeable Contact Lenses
Gone are the days when the only choices to correct vision impairments were glasses or contacts. Thanks to advancements in technology, we now have several different options for types of contacts. Daily wear or extended wear? Spherical or toric? Soft or gas-permeable? Whether or not you choose daily wear or extended wear depends on how often you use contacts, your lifestyle, and personal preference. Your optometrist will help you determine whether or not you need toric lenses to correct astigmatism or spherical lenses to correct myopia or hyperopia. However, the choice of whether or not you should choose gas-permeable contact lenses isn’t as clear-cut as the other options. Keep reading to learn more about the pros and cons of gas-permeable contact lenses to help make your decision a bit easier.
Remember that this article is just a starting point. You should consult with your optometrist before making a final choice.
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How Do Glasses Work?
Were you a curious child who never seemed to run out of questions for your parents? Why is the sky blue? What happened to dinosaurs? How do glasses work? Although we aren’t scientists or paleontologists, we can help with the question about glasses. So keep reading to entertain your inner first-grader and learn exactly how these small pieces of glass and meticulously crafted frames improve many people’s quality of life.
