The cornea is the primary light-bending surface of the eye, and the amount of light-bending is a function of the curvature of the front surface of the cornea.  So, placing a lens there can have a profound effect on the focus of the eye.  And that is why contact lenses work.

Most of the contacts used now are soft contacts.  Essentially, they are high-tech sponges.  I tell people all the time, “I don’t sit in the back room carving contacts out of plastic in my spare time.  Since I don’t sit in the back room carving contacts out of plastic in my spare time, I really don’t have a lot of emotional attachment to them.  So, our way of doing things is to get some contacts on the fronts of your eyes (your corneas), teach you to put them on and take them off, care and feeding, then see you in two weeks with the contacts on.  At that time, your job is to tell us what’s good, bad and indifferent.  Then we can adjust the power, move to different lenses, whatever.”

Notice, I said soft contacts are high-tech sponges.  That also means there is some softness to the focus.  Does a telescope have sponges for lenses?  No.  Glass.  And/or glass mirrors.

You have to be able to open your eyes to wear contacts.  You can’t put them on through closed eyelids.
Thinking about trying contact lenses for the first time? Here are two exercises to figure out when you are ready:
1. Put a drop of water on your finger and practice touching your finger to your eye.

2. Practice opening up your eye crazy wide, the best way is to hold onto both top and bottom lids right at the base of the lashes.

When these exercises don’t freak you out anymore, now you are ready to call our office and schedule an appointment for contact lenses.

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