For many people, contact lenses are the preferred method of vision correction. People all throughout the world see these cushy tiny plastic discs as nothing short of a miracle. If you’re interested in trying them on, schedule an appointment with your optometrist for a fitting.
Let’s talk about how much you truly know about contacts now that you’re thinking about them. This list of fascinating facts was created by our optometrists in Lewis Center, Westerville, and Johnstown:
- Leonardo da Vinci invented the first contact lens in 1508. His plan to wear a water-filled glass hemisphere over his eye, however, was clearly unworkable. Rene Descartes, a French philosopher, elaborated on the concept in 1636, proposing a glass tube that would be worn directly on the eye. This “contact lens” was never produced because it prevented the eye from blinking. It took until 1888 for Adolf Fick, a German ophthalmologist, to create the first fitting contact lens (made of blown glass) that was tolerated.
- In 1949, the first widely used corneal contact lens was created. It had grown in popularity by the 1960s.
- Contact lenses are worn by around 125 million individuals globally, with soft lenses being the most popular.
- Females account for two-thirds of contact lens wearers, with a global average age of 31 years.
According to the US National Library of Medicine, from 40 percent to 90 percent of all contact lens wearers do not follow their optometrist’s advice.
- Contact lenses are so safe that only 1 in 500 people acquire a serious eye infection while wearing them!
- Your eye anatomy prevents contacts from rolling behind your eyeball and being caught there.
- Contact lens wearers, especially teenagers, have more self-confidence than individuals who wear glasses for vision correction.
- There are many different varieties of contact lenses, ranging from daily to stiff gas permeable to soft coloured cosmetic contacts.
Modern contacts will not fall out of your eye. That’s an antique design from the days when contacts could come loose. As a result, contact lenses are an excellent choice for active people and athletes.
