Gas Perm Lens Solutions : New Rules for Lens CareWritten by James Perez
Now that rigid gas permeable contact lenses (RGP) have been in existence for many years, a lot of people have gotten accustomed to viewing selection of contact lens solution as a mundane task. At store, they just grab same old bottle of "no-rub" solution and keep going. But, not so fast! Did you know that rules are changing? Newer contact lenses have begun to use new technologies, to provide materials that are even safer, more comfortable, and more convenient than before. Those new technologies mean that same old contact lens solution may not be correct choice anymore. Before you choose a bottle of contact lens solution for your gas perm lenses next time, make sure you understand some of recent developments, and how they may determine which lens solution is best for you.The New "No-Rub" Solutions - Not All Good The trend in recent history has been toward use of "no- rub" solutions. In early days of contact lenses, care was extremely complicated. Often, a contact lens wearer had to use three different solutions (separate solutions for disinfecting, cleaning and resisting deposits), and had to follow a care regimen which usually included a lot of rubbing every time you took your contacts out. The problem was that, with contact lens care being such a hassle, doctors found that a lot of patients just skipped care routine and took their chances. That's why new solutions were developed which did everything in one solution, and were called "no-rub". Although these "no- rub" solutions are favored these days, it's actually bad news for some new lenses. This is due to fact that many new lenses are made of a revolutionary material called "silicone hydrogel", which greatly improves oxygen supply to eye. A downside of silicone hydrogel is that lipid deposits on silicone hydrogel lenses tend to be greater and, since these deposits are oily and greasy, rubbing is best way to get them off. Keep this in mind if you buy some of new silicone hydrogel lenses. Check with your doctor and you may find that you need to stay away from "no- rub" solutions, despite their convenience. Rubbing may actually be good, even if it involves a little more work.
| | Your Choice: Aging Boomer or Ageless BloomerWritten by Barbara Morris
The American way of aging, steeped in stultifying tradition and flawed conventional wisdom of a bygone era, is slowly changing. But for now, tradition and custom still dominate. You know routine: Around age 50 an accelerating number of sound bites, events and dire warnings about inescapable problems and pitfalls of aging are relentless reminders life is winding down. You are deemed lazy or irresponsible if you have not prepared to acquire that contagious, debilitating disease called retirement – a political absurdity of Depression Era that short-circuits life and potential of many capable people and, burdens society in too many ways to count. Bombarded by countless predictions of impending disability and death, you start looking for signs of your own decline. A momentary memory lapse, which everyone experiences, regardless of age, results in a panicky “I’m having a senior moment.” I have never heard a teenager experiencing a memory lapse (and they have plenty of them) berate him or herself with “I’m having a junior moment.” You drop something and immediately declare, “I must be getting old.” Young people drop things all time and don’t imagine they are getting old. They just bend over and pick it up. Youth doesn’t sweat small stuff – why should you? The advent of age 60 can really accelerate “old age” wrecking ball. Tradition says it’s time to leave real world. It’s time to travel and play golf rest of your life. Social and family pressure convinces you home you’ve lived in all your life is now “too much” for you. So you move to a retirement community where you not only enjoy comfort and camaraderie of peers, but you are also vulnerable to reality of Grim Reaper who manifests himself in an abnormal concentration of sickness, depression, and death. You adopt attitudes and behaviors that instruct your subconscious to help you let go of life. You kid yourself that you are just taking time to smell roses but before you know it, roses are on your coffin and you are pushing up daises.
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