Fraternity-Testvériség, 1964 (42. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1964-10-01 / 10. szám
FRATERNITY 9 AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION: THE TRUTH ABOUT CONTACT LENSES Americans spend a startling $500 million annually on eye care. Of this grand total, up to $90 million is devoted to the purchase of contact lenses and their accompanying professional services. Although the contact lens story began with Leonardo da Vinci, four and a half centuries ago, no attempt at practical application was made until 1887, and it was not until 1948 that they were generally accepted by qualified specialists. Now, nearly six million Americans wear contact lenses, and an additional 600,000 are fitted each year. By the early sixties, contact lenses had passed the crucial stage of development and acceptance by the vast majority of Americans. Further modifications and research into the refinements of contact lens making and fitting are expected in the years ahead. There’s no doubt that contact lenses have now achieved broad public appeal — an appeal that’s based largely on the fact that, unlike spectacles, they are virtually invisible. Cosmetic value is the primary reason given by both men and women for their wearing of contact lenses. Better vision, improved post-operative vision and occupational advantages do, however, weigh almost as strongly in their decision to use contact lenses. Although the majority of wearers use contact lenses at least in part for cosmetic reasons, most of them talk freely about them. — Surveys show that nearly 78 per cent of wearers are happy to talk freely about their lenses. Only 17 per cent keep them secret. And, contrary to the once unshakeable belief that contact lenses were unsuitable for adolescents, 32 per cent of contact lens wearers are teens and pre-teens, and 47 per cent are under 25 years of age. Only eight per cent are over 40 years of age. Studies reported in the Journal of the American Optometrie Association reveal striking improvement in teen-age school marks and psychological uplift as by-products of contact-lens wearing. From a sample of 1,622 youngsters, all of whom had previously worn spectacles, more than 60 per cent reported higher grades. Contact lenses increased sports activity as well. More importantly, perhaps, they have helped make athletics a safer acitvity for those who have to wear some form of optical correction. The chief problem remaining on the contact-lens field today is the wide variety of people engaged in correcting visual defects. — Optometrists are the only specialists who have trained in all phases of contact-lens procedure and who possess specific legal authorization to fit contact lenses. Unlike spectacle fitting, contact-lens fitting cannot be safely divided between several practitioners. All fitting steps are best performed when they are in the hands of a single practitioner. Poor fitting can cause serious irritations on the cornea, and, at best, a bad fitting job causes
