More and more sportspeople use coloured contact lenses reducing glare and improving contrast to see better in bright light. In consequence, several researchers, FC Horn, GB Erickson, B. Karben and B. Moore, have recently decided to examine if such lenses are really effective. For that purpose, they compared the performance of Maxsight Amber contact lenses and regular contact lenses with and without Eye Black grease (used by a number of athletes to reduce glare).

The study included seventeen subjects, who were fitted with two types of contact lenses (clear and Maxsight ones) and wore them with or without Eye Black grease. Then the researchers evaluated visual acuity in low contrast conditions, after which the subjects answered questions concerning the performance of each type of contact lenses.

The tests showed that visual acuity was significantly better when Maxsight contact lenses were used; Black Eye grease slightly improved the performance of clear contact lenses, but did not improve the performance of Maxsight lenses. The subjects expressed a clear preference for Maxsight contact lenses, which proves their effectiveness: athletes can benefit from wearing them during various kinds of outdoor competitions.

An article in the latest Contact Lenses Today raises the issue of recognising whether a contact lens is inside out or not. The problem, according to the author of the text, Susan J. Gromacki, OD, MS, FAAO, is associated with the new materials and designs used to manufacture contact lenses.

Gromacki believes that the traditional method, which consists in looking at the edge of a lens on a person’s finger, is still effective in most cases. However, there are new ways of finding out if a contact lens is everted, as manufacturers put special indicators on the outside of the lens (numbers, symbols and/or letters). Those indicators can be read properly when viewed from underneath the lens, showing that the lens is not everted. In addition, the indicators help ophthalmologists check if the appropriate side of the lens touches the cornea, but that requires a biomicroscope.

The appearance of the indicator placed on Air Optix Night and Day (CIBA Vision) lenses (“OK”), according to Gromacki, requires additional explanation,  as it can only be read correctly when it is at the 12 o’clock position. If the OK mark appears at the6 o’clock position, the lens is inside out.

The popularity of continuous wear contact lenses, such as CIBA Vision’s Air Optix Night & Day, is growing and practically everybody could now purchase lenses that can be worn for up to 30 days, but optometrists and ophthalmologists still encounter many patients with complications resulting from wearing daily lenses for longer periods than are recommended by manufacturers.

In an article published in JayplayMagazine, Troy Maydew, an optometrist, warns against such practices. In his opinion, the deposits that appear on the surface of contact lenses (mucin and protein from tears) give them a sandpaper quality, leading to tiny abrasions, which create a high risk of infection.

Maydew strongly recommends using continuous wear lenses if a person needs (or wants) to wear them overnight. Their increased gas permeability makes them quite safe. However, Maydew insists, sleeping with contact lenses always increases the risk of complications, so everyone should consider if they value the convenience enough to take the risk.

A biographical film, based on the life of the author of the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling, is being developed in the US. The writer will be played by an Australian actress, Poppy Montgomery. The film’s title is Strange Magic, and it will be shown on the Lifetime channel this year. The screenplay focuses on the early part of Rowling’s career, when she struggled to have her first novel published and was forced to live on government benefits.

In order to portray Rowling, Montgomery has been practising her accent. Moreover, as her natural eye colour is hazel, she has to wear blue coloured contact lenses on the set of the film to make the character more believable. With the lenses on, the actress bears a striking resemblance to the writer.

So far, Montgomery has been known for her role on the American TV show, Without a Trace. However, her breakout role was in a mini-series entitled Blonde, in which she played Marilyn Monroe.

In spite of the fact that intensive research into myopia has been carried out for decades, scientists are still struggling to find effective methods of preventing or stopping it. Statistics show that as many as 2.3 billion people worldwide may be affected by the condition.

However, a recent study might change the situation dramatically. Scientists from the Department of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Auckland, Dr John Phillips and Dr Nicola Anstice, have been working on a way to slow down the progression of myopia with the use of dual-focus contact lenses, especially in children (in whom the progression of myopia is the most visible).

The lenses used by Dr Phillips and Dr Anstice are designed so that their centre corrects the refractive error while the peripheral part provides retinal defocus, decreasing the speed at which the eye elongates, this way affecting the progression of myopia. During the study, positive effects (myopia slowing down by at least 30%) were observed in 70 percent of the subjects; the lenses did not change visual acuity.