Intra ocular pressure in patients over 40 during the process of adaptation to rigid contact lenses

Abstract

Starting at 40 years old the eye displays, besides the reduction of accommodation amplitude anatomical and physiological changes, which could eventually affect the way the lenses work. Regarding intra ocular pressure it is known that it increases with age. (Dragger 1983). Nowadays, new and innovative contact lenses design , make them an excellent choice to correct presbicia.[this word isn’t in Webster’s unabridged dictionary. It’s not English or Spanish] In order to find out if there are changes in intra ocular pressure during the process of adaptation to contact lenses, a descriptive-comparative study was carried out using 40 eyes (O.D. And O.I) in 20 patients over 40, with an average age of 48,6 years old. The criteria for inclusion in the study was that patients did not use contact lenses and their eyes were healthy. Patients suffering from hypertension and glaucoma were excluded from the study. The intra ocular pressure was measured with a Goldman tonometer at the Institute of Optometric Research in La Salle. The initial intra ocular pressure averaged 12,10 to 12 mm Hg in the left eye. Afterwards a Telefecon contact lens was adapted B ( fluorosilicon Acrylate ) with a DK of 43,5 in the nondominant eye, with the same use schedule for all the patients. On the fifth and fifteenth days the intra ocular pressure was measured in both eyes. In the non-dominant eye, right after the lens was removed, a transitory increase in the intra ocular pressure was observed at the first control. (a difference of 1,85 mm Hg) At the second control the pressures were sensibly equal to those taken at the beginning of the study (a difference of 0,05 mm Hg). <em><strong>Conclusion:</strong></em> statistically and clinically there is no relevance in the variations of the intra ocular pressure.