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page 2
friday, October 6, 1978
daily nebraskan
Prices, innovations make contacts popular
4
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By Martha Murdock
New methods in making and caring for
contact lenses and no major price increases
in the past few years have allowed more
people to wear contact lenses today,
according to a Lincoln optometrist.
Dr. Richard Powell of International
Contact Lens, 3201 0 St., said, "Patients
used to have to struggle and be determined
to wear contact lenses. The break-in period
could be weeks long. Today lens design has
improved a lot. A patient can put on soft
contacts for the first time and be comforta
ble right off the bat or in a few hours. Hard
lenses can be adjusted to in three or four
davs."
The most recent innovation is a contact
lens which has the rigidity of hard lenses
yet, like soft lenses, breathes, Powell said.
Soft lenses now come in eight to ten diff
erent types.
"Plus contacts"
Soft lenses known as "plus contacts"
are for those who cannot see into the dis
tance. At first, these were very strong and
only for patients who had gone through
cataract surgery, he said.
Aqualenses are fairly new and many
companies manufacture them. Powell said
they are for people with dry eyes who can
not wear regular lenses. The plastic sub
stance the lenses are made of needs less
moisture to keep the lens in the eve.
Dr. G. A. Gunderson of Duling Optical,
1324 O St., says that soft lenses for people
with astigmatism are not on the market
and are still in the experimental stage.
New Method
A new technique for soft lens care is
the cold treatment, according to a Pearle
Vision Center employee. No electrical out
let or distilled water is needed as a solution
is used to sterilize the lenses.
Powell has been fitting lenses for 10
years and said he has seen very little change
in prices.
He said, "it is different with our tech
nology today. We can fit a patient's eye
more accurately the first time. This way
prices have remained fairly constant."
Brandeis and Duling Optical said their
prices have recently gone down.
Cindy Hugelman, an optician at Brand
eis, said she tells customers the pros and
cons of contact lenses and lets them decide
themselves if they want contacts.
A Pearle Vision Center employee said,
"We recommend them to young people
whose eyes need correction badly. Hard
lenses can improve the problem with
time."
Powell said he recommends lenses to his
patients whose eyes are best suited for con
tacts. Gunderson said, "some patients demand
that I give them contacts. I have to tell
them that their eyes aren't bad enough,
that they're throwing away money. Con
tacts are for patients with severe vision
problems.
Demand decline
People usually want contact lenses to
improve their appearance, to get away
from bulky eyeglass frames and thick
lenses. However, with the popularity of de
signer fashion frames "fewer people come
in asking for contact lenses," Hugelman
said.
Powell and Gunderson agree that most
patients have both glasses and contacts.
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
calendar
1 p.m .-Muslim Student
Association, room 202.
2 p.m.-Task Force on
Nebraska Unions, room
216.
7 p. m. -Muslim Student
Association, room 337.
8 pjm .-Clancy pre
nuptual dinner, rooms 242-243.
short stuff
The UNL chemistry
department is sponsoring a
lecture by Collis Geren, pro
fessor at the University of
Arkansas, on "Molecular
Basis of Venom Toxicity
at 3 p jn. today in Hamilton
Hall.
Tune in to "Flipside"
presented on KZUM, 89.5
at 3 p.m. today.
IMMIGRATION
LAWYER
Stanley A. Krieger
1004
City Nat'l Bank Bldg.
Omaha, Ne
68102
(402) 342-8015
Member, Assn. of
Immigration and
Nationality Lawyers
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