If you’ve been wearing eyeglasses for a number of years, like me, then you may be wondering if contacts are right for you? There are a number of advantages to wearing contact lenses over eyeglasses and you may find that you like them better. Take a few minutes to read some good information about contact lenses and how to get them for yourself.

Contact Lens History

Early contacts amazingly date back into the 19th century. At that time, they were made of brown glass and were not easy to wear. They were, however, helpful to people that could not wear eyeglasses. Contact lens technology improved in the 1940s and 1950 when they were able to make them from plastic instead. These were made out of a plastic material called polymethyl methacrylte and worked well. The only problem was that they did not allow oxygen to easily pass through them. Since then, the plastic material has improved and is now rigid gas permeable, allowing oxygen to get to your corneas. This is necessary because your corneas get the oxygen they need from the air, not your bloodstream.

We’ve seen in the last few years how technology in contact lenses is still improving. People that have astigmatism can now get toric contact lenses. And people that need bifocal lenses can now get special contact lenses made, too.

Why Do People Wear Contacts?

Beside for cosmetic reasons, people wear contact lenses for a variety of other reasons including:

* The lens moves with your eye and there is no distortion, unlike with eyeglasses.

* The frame of glassescan block your side / peripheral vision.

* Eyeglasses can often steam up when you go from a cold to warm temperature room.

* Sometimes contact lenses are the only solution for people who need vastly different lenses for each eye.

* The protection of contact lenses can often help someone with an injured cornea.

So How Do You Get Contact Lenses?

To find out if you can wear contacts, you should go see your eye doctor and get a consultation. You can’t go and order contacts with just a prescription for glasses. It’s a different kind of prescription. When you get your exam, you’ll find it’s pretty simple and does not take very long. You’ll just do some vision testing including the test for Glaucoma, which is an important test to get. It’s just a tiny puff of air that goes into your eye.