The Evolution of Eye-Wear

The gradual development of eye wear is apparent, from monocles in the past to a variety of contact lenses seen now. The future of eyewear is progressing at lightning speeds, opening new doors by merging feasibility and fashion with science. Today we will be exploring some of the latest innovations within the realm of eyewear.

Colored Contact Lenses - Contact lenses are typically known to be prescribed to patients as a treatment to correct their far sighted-ness or near sighted-ness. However, as the use of contacts increases today, customizable lenses are also seen to be appearing commonly. For example, colored or patterned lenses are gaining popularity, used for aesthetic purposes such as changing the appearance of the eye color or aiding in creative expression, such as cosplays. 

Blue Light Glasses - As screen time increases to new heights, especially for students, eye health is impacted now more than ever. Continuous staring at the screen promotes dry eyes and this strain can lead to headaches and development of myopia or nearsightedness (when farther things are blurrier than nearer things). The latest solution combating this problem is blue light glasses. These glasses are designed to filter out the blue light emitted from our devices and reduce the digital eye strain, increasing comfort while using devices. An increased benefit in blocking out the blue light includes better sleep since blue light negatively affects our circadian rhythm. 

Hard Contact Lenses - Though soft contact lenses are a lot more popular now, hard contact lenses are also an option for vision correction, especially when it comes to addressing astigmatism and corneal irregularities. These rigid gas permeable lenses are designed to be worn overnight, allowing the lenses to gently reshape the cornea in order to correct refractive errors. This temporary corneal fix lasts throughout the day, but the hard lenses need to be put back in during the night to get lasting, accurate effects.

Despite the hard structure to these contact lenses compared to the traditional soft ones, oxygen permeability is still ensured in these hard lenses. All eye health care professionals, when designing a product, ensure that the eyes receive adequate oxygenation levels—a lack of oxygen leads to optical neovascularization, where the eye grows new, unhealthy blood vessels in a poor, unsuccessful attempt to deliver more oxygen to the eye.

As seen above, eyewear has come a long way from its humble monocle beginnings. The field of eye care is constantly evolving from hard contact lenses to adapting to the technological developments we face as a society with blue light glasses. The future of eyewear appears to be very promising, especially with new technologies such as smart glasses appearing in the market and more.