Archive for category: Useful informations

WARNINGS ON THE USE AND MAINTENANCE OF CONTACT LENSES

Caution! Due to the high number of viruses circulating (such as Covid-19), we recommend washing your hands with disinfectant and rinsing thoroughly before putting them in contact with your eyes!

1. Always wash and dry your hands thoroughly before using or removing contact lenses.

2. Insert contact lenses one hour after waking up to allow for corneal reoxygenation. You can remove them mid-day for one to two hours. Remove them at least one hour before going to sleep. Ideally, wear lenses for no more than 8-12 hours a day, following the recommendations above.

3. Do not wear contact lenses if they have breaks in the center or along the edge.

4. Do not use contact lenses for longer than recommended by the manufacturer to avoid serious eye damage (corneal transplant): this is the date the blister pack is opened.

5. Always respect the shelf life of contact lens care products. These products must never be expired. The shelf life depends on the date the package was opened, regardless of actual use. The single-use solution should not be used for more than 3 months from the date of opening.

6. Remember to change the lens case approximately every 3 to 6 months.

7. Never touch the bottle nozzle with your hands and always close the cap after using contact lens solution.

8. Always discard the solution contained in the lens case after use by rinsing it with the solution itself or under running water and allowing it to air dry. Following good hygiene practices is essential to avoid contracting potentially dangerous infectious agents such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acanthamoeba (which destroys the cornea within 12-24 hours). To avoid Acanthamoeba, never come into contact with running water, whether from a pool or the sea, and always dry your hands thoroughly before applying contact lenses. If you need to wear lenses in the pool (prescription swimming goggles are best), it’s best to use daily disposable lenses, discarding them immediately after use, as even swimming goggles worn over the lenses do not guarantee a perfect seal.

9. Do not wear contact lenses on irritated or red eyes.

10. Apply makeup after inserting the contact lens and remove it after removing it.

11. Wear contact lenses for two hours initially, increasing the duration by one hour per day. If you haven’t worn contact lenses for several days, it’s not recommended to wear them for a full day.

12. It’s not recommended to wear contact lenses while traveling by plane.

13. Don’t doze or sleep with contact lenses that aren’t suitable for this purpose.

14. Avoid sharing contact lenses with other people.

15. Each time you insert your contact lenses, check their condition and that of the blister pack containing them. Make sure the contact lens is immersed in the solution.

 

MINISTERIAL DECREE PUBLISHED IN THE G.U. N. 64 OF 18/03/03, ART. 1 PARAGRAPH 3

 

Contact lenses should only be fitted and worn when the patient’s anatomical and functional conditions allow. There are, in fact, certain risk factors, detectable by a specialist, that may lead to complications or the onset of intolerance.

. The specialist and the optician fitting the lenses are aware of these problems and can only recommend contact lenses after a thorough examination of the patient.

. To use contact lenses safely, it is necessary to carefully follow the instructions for proper application, removal, cleaning, and maintenance.

. To avoid eye damage, it is important to check with your ophthalmologist for any contraindications and undergo periodic check-ups.

. Use sterile contact lenses for no longer than the recommended period.

. At the end of the recommended period of use (daily, biweekly, monthly, etc.), the lenses should be replaced with a new pair.

Remove your lenses and consult your doctor if you experience redness, burning, a foreign body sensation, excessive tearing, blurred vision, or other visual disturbances.

. Diuretics, antihistamines, decongestants, and tranquilizers can cause dry eyes; if so, consult your eye doctor.

. If a chemical comes into contact with your eyes, rinse immediately and seek medical attention immediately.

. Avoid exposure to harmful vapors or hairspray.

. Always use contact lens solution, checking the expiration date (see package insert) each time you store your lenses. Never use tap water to rinse them.

. Never put your lenses in your mouth to moisten them.

. Consult your doctor for instructions on how to use them during sports.

. Avoid wearing contact lenses when swimming in the sea, swimming pools, or showering in public places.

. Avoid using soaps containing creams, lotions, or cosmetic oils before using contact lenses.

. Failure to follow the instructions for proper use of contact lenses can cause serious eye damage.

. Rarely, corneal ulcers may occur, resulting in vision loss.

. The risk of ulcerative keratitis increases if hygiene and contact lens wear are not followed properly.

. The risk of ulcerative keratitis increases significantly in smokers.

. Contact lenses with UV protection are not a substitute for sunglasses because they do not completely cover the entire anterior segment. Therefore, contact lens wearers should continue to wear sunglasses when exposed to UV rays.

Over the years, our eyes’ capabilities change. Typically, after 45 years old, we realize that we cannot focus correctly when reading a newspaper. We get tired of reading a few pages of a book and we are not quite able to focus on the very small words at close range. Unfortunately this means we are growing old and we can not do anything about it. It is time to wear reading glasses!

Fortunately  wearing glasses today has a social impact significantly different than a few years ago, so it is no longer to be considered a defect.

Not everyone has the same needs, though. Someone with a distance visual disease might be very disappointed when a second pair of eyeglasses is needed.

Why not progressive lenses instead of two pair of eyeglasses (sometimes three), that have to be used almost at the same time?

First of all you need to understand what are the progressive lenses. To make it simple, they are the lenses that will give the wearer the opportunity to focus an object at any distance located between 5m/infinite and 33cm.

There is sometimes a lot of confusion regarding progressive lenses. Some have excessive expectations and others, being perhaps become aware of various problems experienced by relatives or friends, start already prejudiced towards this type of optical correction.

We must first be specific on what advantages and disadvantages they offer.

1) Progressive lenses are not the panacea for all visual diseases. It’s not possible to go back in time and recover the perfect vision one had when 20 years old. Having said that, today progressive lenses are, in most cases, the best compromise between the aesthetic, functional and practicality of use.

2) It should be clear that progressive lenses, due to imperative requirements related to the construction of the lens, need the wearer to target the eye in areas dedicated to each distance: the upper part for distant vision, lower part (center) for the near, etc .. Therefore an opposition attitude (“I do not accept to lower the head on the stairs, or turn it to see the side mirror of the car, etc. “) will surely lead to failure.

3) We must also dispel the myth that progressive lenses are “universal lenses”, that work well in all conditions. Actually it would be more correct to consider them as “generalist” lenses,  giving an average good vision in many conditions, but there are special situations in which other solutions can give better results.  The office and/or prolonged use at the computer, for example, are the situations in which most progressive show their weakness. It then becomes a task  for the optician to advise the most appropriate correction solution for those specific conditions of use (in this case, for example, a downward glass near-intermediate). At first it may seem absurd, after spending 600 Euros for progressive eyeglasses, having to spend another 300 for a pair of glasses to be left in the office, but I assure you that the benefits in terms of quality of vision are so great that all the rest is not so important. Are you using the same pair of shoes for all circumstances? Or maybe you have winter and summer shoes, elegant, walking, trekking etc …? The same should be done with glasses, not just one pair of glasses for all but more specific glasses for different activities.

Then we must say that for the success of a pair of glasses with progressive lenses, 3 things are needed, equally important:

1) A prescription as accurate as possible. I do not want to open a useless controversy on who is best between opticians and ophthalmologists, I only say that we are all human beings and therefore also the most credited luminary sometimes can give the wrong prescription that may nullify any effort to set up the best eyewear.

2) The quality of the lens. On this point we must be clear. You cannot buy a cheap car and then expect it to run like a Ferrari, is way off. As in all things, even here the rule is that “the more you spend, the more you buy”, so before saying that your optician is a thief, please try to know the product he is using. If you want to go to savings,  do not demand performance like Ferrari, but settle for those of a cheap car (what you pay for)!!!

3) The accuracy and professionalism in the detection of the parameters and the subsequent assembly of the lenses on the frame. Errors here could negate the advantages of the most expensive lenses, therefore, always seek advice from an optician that you fully trust (even better if optometrist) and try to have with him a comparison report and constructive. Avoid, if possible, “discounts” or chain stores because, as I said, nobody gives anything for nothing.

One last thing, if your progressive does not work do not bring it to the eye-doctor. The ophthalmologist is the medical specialist who deals with eye health, in most cases does not know much about progressive lenses (if he knows something is just for his personal interest and not for his studies), does not know the various types of lenses on the market, is not able to determine the centering and especially does not own any tool to tell the quality of the lens and the work done by the optician, so your questions about these topics can only lead to a circumstantial answers. If you have problems with your progressives, go back to the optician, and if you are not satisfied with him, then change optician!!!