Eyesight is one of the most cherished human senses -- it's also one of the hardest to repair. That's why most inventions in the retinal implant field deal with restoring people's ability to see. But what if you could enhance your vision like a robot?

That's exactly what has been developed: a contact overlaid with computer circuitry to give people bionic eyesight. This could provide you with a "heads-up" display to be used for piloting or even video games. It is actually powered by radio frequencies, but they've still got to test it out on a real person.

You may be asking yourself if the contact is flexible enough to fit comfortably in an eye. By using a technique that assembles itself with scaled-down components, it's much like normal contacts! This would be the coolest eye accessory to come along ever -- I'm going to be holding out for this to hit the consumer market in the future.

Source

Americans know that eye health is important, but many don't make taking care of their eyes a priority. That's according to the American Eye-Q survey, which found that when it comes to knowledge of contact lens hygiene and eye diseases, Americans are lacking. For instance, 79% of respondents reported wearing daily contacts overnight, and more than 1/2 of those who participated didn't know that an eye exam can screen for many different diseases.

Want to improve your own "eye-Q?" Check out the Vision Learning Center at Prevent Blindness America.

Source

Sight is one of those most precious abilities we have, yet sadly it's one of things many people know the least about. Almost half of people surveyed said they worry more about losing their vision as they age than they do their memory or their ability to walk or hear. But at the same time only 30% of adults get their eyes checked every two years as recommended, and a whopping 79% of contact lens wearers admitted to bad habits like wearing their contacts to bed and/or wearing them longer than recommended.

What's wrong with this picture? Do you think it's because people don't know what they need to do to take care of their eyes, or just that they aren't taking it seriously?

Source

For any parent out there who has seen any of those To Catch a Predator shows about adults posing as teenagers online in order to make friends and more with unsuspecting kids, this news may be a bit unsettling. Apparently, teens contacted online by total strangers aren't overly concerned about the people attempting to chat with them, and don't question their motives.

According to the report, 44% of teenagers who have posted a profile or pictures of themselves online at social networking sites like facebook and myspace have been contacted by someone they don't know, compared with only 6% of those who do not have profiles. Furthermore, most of those kids aren't worried about why they're being contacted.

I know that when I was a teenager there was no way I would have been allowed to post any information about myself online, and I also think that I would have been freaked out if a total stranger stopped by to say hello. I suppose times do change though and now that these networking sites are the norm, kids are probably more used to making contacts with strangers online. Hopefully, they're being savy about it as well.

What do you parents out there think about your kids making 'friends' with strangers online?

Source

Wearing contacts used to be a really big deal -- remember the hard lenses that were supposed to last a year or more but would pop out at random and leave people searching the floor in the middle of a crowd or, worse yet, the bottom of a pool? Thankfully I never had to deal with hard contacts, but I have been wearing regular soft lenses since high school and after awhile it's hard not to feel like you know everything. But do you? Here's a list of 5 things every contact lens wearer should know:

• Wash your hands!
  
• Try not to wear your contacts during periods of seasonal allergies, or if you must then dispose of them more often.
• Keep eye drops handy to help prevent dry eyes and potential eye injury from dry lenses
• Don't keep/wear lenses for longer than they were intended
• Give your eyes a rest from contacts whenever you can, if even just for a few hours a day.

Source

While I love the look of glasses on kids (and adults), most kids can't wait until they're old enough to replace their dreaded spectacles with contacts.

Lucky for them: They may be able to trade their glasses in sooner than previously thought.

Many optometrists won't prescribe contact lenses for kids until they reach their teens, but a recent study from Ohio State University showed that tweens can handle their contacts too. Over a three-month period, kids ages 8 to 12 were able to wear contacts just as long -- and use them just as easily -- as teens ages 13 to 17. Both groups also preferred the look of lenses over glasses, and said contacts helped them see better while playing sports (that I can understand.)

Talk to your child's eye doctor to see if they agree.

Source

When I read about Nike Maxsight contacts today I thought it was especially interesting since I had just read this article on sunglasses versus UV contacts a few days ago. UV contacts are made to filter UV rays, but Nike Maxsight lenses take it one step further and throw a sunglasses-like tint into the lenses so you get all the benefits of wearing polarized shades but without the inconvenience of glasses that can fall off or get in the way during sports or athletic activities.

Available in two colors (grey/green for golf, running, training and amber for sports like tennis, baseball, football, and rugby), Fitsugar has some good pictures of what they look like compared to regular contacts if you're curious. And Nike is offering a free trial so you can see how big of a difference they make before committing -- I for one can't wait to try them!

Source

I wear glasses and contacts, and I remember years ago thinking it was so awesome when I got my new box of contacts and noticed the little "UV blocking" logo on the corner. So do they work just as well as UV blocking sunglasses when it comes to protecting your eyes from harmful rays? The answer is NO, contact lenses don't provide enough protection to completely substitute them for sunglasses. In studies contacts were 10% less effective than sunglasses at blocking UV rays, and even that level of protection varied greatly from contact to contact. But contact lenses do have one thing that sunglasses don't: they cover your entire pupil and protect your eyes from light from all angles, including the sides.

Bottom line: Your best bet is to wear both -- combine UV blocking contact lenses with UV blocking sunglasses for the best protection.

Source

If you have paid attention to the voluntary recall of contact lens solution, what have you been doing to ensure those contacts are properly lubricated?

Advanced Medical Optics said yesterday that improper handling of contact lenses was actually the cause of many eye infections that resulted in its products being pulled from store shelves recently.

The contact lens solution was connected last week with Acanthamoeba keratitis, which is a painful eye infection that can lead to blindness. Advanced Medical Optics stated that improper handling can cause the infection rather than the issue being caused solely by a manufacturing or related contamination issue.

Source

Contact lens wearers, heads up: the CDC has issued a warning about AMO Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution, which is used for cleaning and storing soft contact lenses. Apparently the solution has been linked with the painful and potentially blinding eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis.The makers of the lens cleaner, Advanced Medical Optics Inc., has issued a voluntary recall and is recommending that people throw the product away along with the storage case and their current contact lenses (lets hope they're disposable and you haven't just busted out a new 30 day pair!).

It's not immediately clear right now how and why this product is connected to the spike in eye infection cases, but the FDA will be looking into it.

Source