Contact lenses, both prescription and cosmetic, can be bought from any store, without proper knowledge on usage and maintenance. Dr. Nwosu Chidiebere, an optometrist specialised in prescription glasses and contact lenses, said wrong use of contact lenses could lead to blindness.
What are prescription contact lenses?
PRESCRIPTION contact lenses are strictly contact lenses worn directly on the eyeballs, unlike spectacles or glasses that are held in place by a frame. It rests on the cornea and correct refractory errors or eye defects.
There are many cosmetic stores selling prescription contact lenses now…
Prescription contact lenses should never be sold outside the eye clinic. However, I know some departmental stores might be able to sell cosmetic contact lenses. That can be sold because it just enhances the colour of your eyes and look.
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But generally, contact lens prescription is more than just selling the contact lens. You should be able to tell the patient the dos and don’ts for the specific kind of contacts they are going for. Some are called daily disposables. They are usually 30 in a pack for every day you wear them. At the end of each day, you dispose to wear another one the next day.
Daily wear contacts are the ones you take out at the end of each day and soak in a solution to clean them.
Then we have extended wear that you can decide to wear for as long as 30 days before removing it from your eyes. They are gas/oxygen permeable contact lenses, so you can sleep with them comfortably. The eyes need a lot of oxygen to function properly. So, because the extended wear is oxygen permeable unlike the others, it is safe to stay on for a long period.
But most people are wearing these contact lenses wrongly. We have people trying to sleep with the daily wear or wearing the daily wear for an extended period, which leads to serious eye complications. This is why contact lenses are not just about buying and selling.