How Contact Lenses Work

Contact lenses are corrective, synthetic lenses that are placed over the cornea of the eye. Contact lenses adjust incoming light and focus it correctly on the retina to correct vision deficiencies.

In the process of normal vision, light reflected from objects in the environment passes through the lens of the eye, where it is refracted into a concentrated beam that is projected onto the retina. This projected image is then transferred to the brain through the optic nerve. In people with vision problems, imperfections of the eye cause light passing through lens to improperly focus away from the normal focal point on the retina. The result is blurred vision.

Contact lenses are designed to bend light entering the eye and refocus it on the retina. For patients with myopia, a contact lens can be placed on top of the cornea of the eye to correct nearsightedness.