We have all heard of contact lenses, which applied onto the eye can drastically improve a person's vision. However, everybody has another lens inside the eye, or intra-ocular in medical jargon. The eyes lens does not have a fixed shape, it can be varied by the cilial muscles which attach the lens to the inside of the eyeball, this process is controlled almost entirely automatically by the brain. This lens, in conjunction with the cornea focuses light onto the retina and when working properly is an important part of the vision system. However, as people age, the intra-ocular lens will become opaque, or cloudy, due to the natural ageing process. This clouding of the lens is called cataracts. Many older American have their cloudy lens removed and a prosthetic lens placed in their eyes. The eye lens is also susceptible to other conditions such as a deterioration of the muscles which control its shape either through a loss of nervous control or a malfunction within the muscles themselves.

Newer models of intra-ocular contact lens are flexible and can change their shape to allow a person to see objects close-by, and those in the distance. Besides their use for cataract patients, intra-ocular contact lenses can also be used to correct vision in people who are either near sighted or far sighted. The surgery for this type of intra-ocular contact lens is minimally invasive, using a small slit in the eye to remove the eye's lens and replace it with a more properly shaped or fully transparent implant. A person is usually able to recover in a week or less. Because a person's eye still grows up to age 40, this type of surgery is done only in people older than 40 years of age.

Because intra-ocular contact lenses are often detrimental to a person's ability to focus on near and far objects, many people choose to have a LASIK procedure if they are tired of wearing glasses. For patients with severe deformities of the lens, LASIK may not be an option, and they may decide to have their lens replaced with intra-ocular contact lens. You should discuss you options for corrective eye surgery with an ophthalmologist before you decide on any specific procedure.

Tens of thousands of lens replacement operations are performed every year, in the western world where advanced healthcare is usually available to all a patient can be treated and released the same day, assured of perfect vision for years to come. Many charities operate in less developed countries, performing lens replacement operations freely on poor people who otherwise would have experienced their sight slowly fade and eventually disappear because of cataracts.

Buying contact lenses online is for many a more affordable solution than the average high street optician. Lower costs allow online suppliers of contact lenses to offer lower prices than many high street retailers. Visit http://www.lensfinder.co.uk to compare the price of contact lenses from major online UK retailers and find the cheapest price for your contact lenses in the UK.

Tags: health, contact lenses, lens replacement, intra-ocular contact lenses