Although not strictly a contact lens as it ‘floats’ on the eye’s lens it is made of a collagen based material similar to a soft contact lens and is biocompatible, meaning the body will not reject it or cause any side effects. The ICL is designed to remain permanently in place and is anchored at its edges to the patients existing natural lens.

Why Use Implantable Contact Lenses?

Those with high myopia (short sight) or high hyperopia (long sight) may not be suitable for the more widely used Laser options which reshape the cornea. ICL or complete lens replacement surgery then become the most widely used options to correct visual impairment.

A significant advantage that ICL has over Laser eye surgery is that it is reversible or the ICL can be replaced with an ICL of different power. This is an important consideration as most people suffer from a deterioration in vision over a period of time as they age. Laser surgery is also governed by the shape of the eyeball. This is not a problem with implantable lenses.

What Is The Surgical Procedure for ICLs?

• Operations are carried out under general or local anaesthetics in an operating theater.
  
• The ICL is contained in a plastic injector then inserted through a small surgical incision in the cornea where it is aligned and anchored in front of your existing lens.
  
• The complete procedure is usually completed within thirty minutes.
  
• You can opt for having both eyes treated at the same time or allow an interval of two or three weeks between each procedure.
• After a short rest period to allow the effects of the anaesthetic to wear off you should be ready to be driven home. You should not drive yourself.

Is it Painful and What Are the After Effects?

It takes a little time for the brain to adapt to the new 20/20 vision that you will experience and in some cases bright lights may cause some discomfort but should only last a few days.

Wear sun glasses if necessary. Avoid heavy exercising and lifting for a week at least and most importantly you should not rub or put any pressure on your eyes until healing has completed usually about three weeks after the operation. You should find your vision will stabilise within a few days as the cornea heals.

What Are The Complications, If Any?

All invasive surgical procedures carry the risk of complications although in ICL surgery this is rare. Infections, glaucoma and the formation of cataracts are potential sight threatening complication but occurrences are rare and can be effectively treated.

It is important to have a regular eye check yearly after any eye surgery as the most common problem is the onset of glaucoma. Sufferers from glaucoma are unaware of any discomfort, which is why it is by far the most common condition leading to loss of eyesight but it is easily controllable with painless laser surgery and regular eye drops if caught in time.

Occasionally the results of the procedure are not quite as expected with some degree of short or long sight remaining. This can be corrected by laser treatment normally after around ten weeks later when the effects of the ICL surgery have settled down.

Is ICL Right For You?

After a complete examination by your eye specialist you should discuss all the options open to you for remedying your visual impairment. Laser or Lazik treatment has been around for years giving excellent results with very few problems reported, it is also much less expensive than the ICL procedure.

However if you are considered unsuitable for laser treatment then ICL is a viable option. The first ICL procedures were launched in 1996, at that time any long term consequences were not known, with the passage of time and the improvements in technique and materials it seems safe to say that no long term will be experienced.

Summary
That so many sufferers from severe visual impairment can now have the option of experiencing perfect, or near perfect, eyesight without the likelihood of any detrimental after effects is a major advance.

If you have been considered unsuitable for laser do not be put off by the cost With an ever increasing number of eye specialists offering the Implantable Contact Lens procedure many practitioners are now offering deferred payment plans.

The Intac implants can be replaced to correct the changes in vision that occurs normally with age, or they can be removed altogether.

Micro-thin synthetic intercorneal rings are surgically implanted into the cornea to change its´ curvature resulting in a correction or reduction in the myopia.

The procedure is also used in the treatment of Keratoconus, a degenerative condition where the cornea becomes thin and more conical resulting in distorted and multiple vision.

Vision will improve within a few days of the surgery but while the healing process takes place vision may fluctuate for up to three months before settling down.

The results of Intac implants have shown excellent improvement in vision, cannot be felt, require no maintenance and are less visible than contact lenses.

To date, of the few that have had the Intac implants removed, there has been no indication of problems occurring when alternative corrective eye surgery has taken place. If contemplating this procedure you should check with your eye consultant that no problem cases have yet come to light.

If you have an eye problem that has been getting in your way and you want to play sports, then you should keep in mind that there is something that will help you out.

Contact lenses will provide you with clear vision so that you can play the sport of your choice.

What Contact Lenses Can do For You

• With the contact lenses you will be having that freedom you could never have because of those glasses.
  
• With contact lenses you can now play sports such as football, basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey.

Believe it or not, contacts give you better peripheral vision that the eyeglasses do. Another advantage you will be getting is that you will not be injuring your eyes. When individuals play games and wear glasses at the same time, they have a high chance of something happening, their glasses breaking and their eyes getting hurt.

Diagnose Your Eyes

In order to get a complete diagnosis done on your eyes and get your contact lenses, you should visit an eye care specialist. The eye care specialist will be able to tell you if contact lenses are suitable for you.

The key to good performance when it comes to playing sports all revolves around the ability to see well. You will need to see the ball, see when to swing and much more, with contact lenses it will all be possible. When you have contact lenses, you will find that a number of different things are better.

Why Contact Lens Are Better For Sport

* You will have better perception and depth
* Better peripheral vision
* No fogging because of rain or steam
* Contacts are great for vigorous sports
* You will have better judgment of the speed and distance

As you have read, you will be a lot safer when wearing contact lenses instead of glasses. Another great thing about the contact lenses is the fact that you can wear protective goggles while you are playing sports.

When you are wearing eye glasses, it is hard and nearly impossible for you to wear protective goggles. In some sports, protective goggles are an absolute must. When you have glasses, you could have shattered spectacles, broken frames and many more injuries done to your glasses.

In order to protect your eyes when you have contact lenses in, swimmers and surfers can wear goggles that are tight fitting and at the same time they will be maintaining their good vision.

This procedure is known as Clear Lens Replacement (CLR) surgery.

For a century or more, surgeons have had the skills to remove the lens from an eye, mainly to restore some sort of impaired and unfocused vision to cataract sufferers.

A cataract causes the lens to become cloudy, vision blurs and eventual blindness occurs.

With the advent of modern computerized measuring equipment, accurate to one hundredth of a millimeter, not only can cataract sufferers have excellent vision restored but virtually any body suffering from visual impairment such as short or long sight can enjoy the benefits of lens replacement surgery.

What Will The Surgeon Do?

A few days prior the operation, the surgeon will take measurements that will allow the computer to calculate the dimensions of the artificial replacement lens. This procedure is painless.

Before operating a general but light anaesthetic is administered and the surface and eye area is numbed. A very small incision is made through the surface tissue of the eye to enable the natural lens to be removed.

This is done by using an instrument that very gently sucks out the tissue and can take a little time. The surgeon then inserts the prepared soft lens implant into the eye, puts a light dressing over the area and the job is done. The process is in most cases painless.

Normally the surgeon will operate on only one eye and wait around two weeks before operating on the other as a precaution against the rare risk of a complication

Generally speaking patients are in and out of hospital in an hour to an hour and a half and suffer no more than mild discomfort.

Eye Surgery Aftercare

After removing the protective dressing the morning following the operation you will be able to drive and read without any problem – providing you remember to remove the appropriate lens from your eyeglasses!

The wonderful experience of being able to see clearly after a lifetime of wearing glasses is unforgettable and can take some getting used to.

The eye may water or have a slight itch for a while after the operation. Your surgeon will take into account this possibility and prescribe the appropriate medication.

Do not rub your eyes and do not indulge in any active exercise and avoid any heavy lifting for six weeks after the operations. By this time the eyes should have settled down to normality.

Reading and long distance sight will no longer need the aid of contacts or eyeglasses and no problems with discerning colors or night driving should be experienced.

Are There Any Risks to Eye Surgery?

As with any invasive surgical procedure there is always a small risk of infection. Should the eye become infected after the operation in most cases it can be quickly and successively treated although some discomfort is likely to be experienced.

Do have an in depth discussion with your eye specialist with an emphasis on any risks before deciding to undertake CLR surgery.

The Long Term Benefits

The feeling of freedom after being dependent on visual impairment aids takes time to become adjusted. Many will have a greater feeling of self confidence as there will be no more fears of losing or breaking their glasses or the embarrassment of groveling around for a lost contact lens.

There are very real cosmetic benefits. You will never again have to worry about spectacle frames that suit you or your eye make up choice of color. Applying your make up will be so much easier and most importantly you will not have spectacle frames and their lenses obscuring your most important beauty feature – your eyes.

You are never too young and it´s never too late to start a healthy dietary regime to help protect your eyes from risk.

There are many people who have good eyesight into their eighties and beyond. Aging does not automatically mean that your eyesight will diminish but as aging progresses changes can occur that may weaken the ability to see.

This can occur as early as the teen years if not earlier.

Sensible precautions to avoid eye strain by spending too long staring at a computer screen, reading small print in bad light, avoiding smoky ill ventilated atmospheres and so on are obvious.

What is less well known is the importance of diet to protect the eyes.The effects of the right food for your eyes is essential for optimum eye health.

Fish Oil

may help to protect and promote healthy retinal function and has been found to assist in preventing the onset of Macular Degeneration, the leading cause of blindness. Cod Liver Oil or fish oil capsules taken daily as a regular addition to your diet is probably the least likely to be overlooked.

Salmon, Trout, Herrings and any other tasty oily fish can make an occasional and enjoyable meal to supplement the capsules.

Fresh Vegetables and Fruit

are very important in helping to maintain effective vision health. Green leafy vegetables contain carotenoides, principally Beta-carotene and Lutein. Both are antioxidants and are found in spinach, kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, collard greens, and similar. Egg Yolks also contain beneficial carotenoids.

Berries

Dark berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, cranberries and bilberries will have a beneficial effect by strengthening the capillaries that carry nutrients to the eyes.

Avoid the fats found in many processed and baked foods These will include margarines, fried foods, doughnuts, cookies, pastries, french fries, and biscuits. These non beneficial fats, known as Trans Fat should not be confused with Omega-3 fatty acids found in Salmon, Trout, Tuna and other oily fish which can decrease the risk of eye disease.

Age Related Macular Degeneration

Age related macular degeneration(AMD) is a slow but progressive degeneration of central vision for which there is arguably no cure. Risk factors for AMD include genetic inheritance, smoking, high blood pressure or simply advancing age. It is the most common cause of blindness.

Many sufferers of AMD or who are at risk of the disease have no factors that can they can control to mitigate or avoid the onset of the disease with the possible exception of nutrition. Studies have shown that individuals with the highest consumption of dark leaved green vegetables rich in carotenoids, such as raw spinach or kale had a significantly lower chance of developing AMD than those who ate these foods the least.

High levels of antioxidant vitamins and zinc can also be effective in lowering the risk of developing the disease and can also slow its progression.

There is a school of thought that the bilberry or blueberry can prevent or even reverse AMD and sufferers are advised to investigate this as a possible treatment.

These studies clearly show the importance of nutrition in prevention and slowing the development of AMD.Do obtain qualified medical advice before taking high dose nutritional supplements for the control of AMD as there may be other risk factors, not associated with eye care, to take into account. This is particularly important for smokers.