When my sister was in elementary school, she started always sitting in the front row of desks at school. One of her teachers noticed this habit and arranged a meeting with my parents. This caring teacher told my parents that she thought my sister needed glasses. When my sister visited an optometrist, this professional diagnosed her with a severe case of astigmatism. He also informed my parents that she was nearsighted as well. Due to her eye issues, my sister had to start wearing glasses all of the time. Her new glasses helped her tremendously in school. She no longer had to sit in the front of the classroom in order to view the notes placed on the board. On this blog, you will discover the importance of getting your kids’ eyes checked by an optometrist before enrolling them in school.
Pregnancy is a time of great change -- and if this is your first pregnancy, many of these changes can be very unexpected. During the first trimester, you may notice that your normal food smells or tastes odd, or find yourself clumsily tripping on carpet or missing a step while walking down stairs. Your eyesight is not exempt from this sensory onslaught, and you may begin to feel that you can no longer see clearly with corrective contact lenses, or even have a contact randomly pop out while walking. (This generally won't help your new clumsiness problem.) Is there anything you can do to minimize these changes in vision for the next 9 months? Read on to learn more about why pregnancy can make wearing contact lenses more difficult, and what you can do to adapt during this time.
Why does pregnancy affect contact lenses?
While pregnant, your body increases its blood volume by half, and your kidneys may increase in size to cope with the additional fluid processing they must perform. Because your eyes are primarily composed of water and other liquids, this total body increase in fluid can migrate upward as well, causing minor changes in vision and size that make wearing contact lenses physically difficult. Even a slight change in the curvature of the surface of your eye can prevent your contact lenses from fitting properly or remaining in your eye.
If you suffer from pregnancy-induced diabetes or hypertension, these difficulties can become more pronounced. Untreated high blood sugar can damage the rods and cones in your eye, making it more difficult to see from far away; untreated hypertension can increase the pressure on your optic nerve, causing vision problems. If you've been diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension during your pregnancy, work carefully with your doctor to manage your symptoms so that you can minimize any permanent effects on your vision.
What can you do to make wearing contact lenses easier?
Fortunately, every pregnancy has an end date -- and you should be able to regain your normal vision fairly quickly after giving birth. However, there are a few steps you can take to minimize any discomfort and continue to wear contact lenses.
If your difficulty is due to ill-fitting contacts, you may want to visit your optometrist to get a temporary prescription for slightly larger or less-curved lenses. These should fit within your eye better during pregnancy (although they won't fit after you've given birth).
By wearing eyeglasses at night or during times you don't need contacts, you can help rest your eyes and make them more tolerant to contact lenses when you do choose to wear them.
For more information about your eyesight, contact a company like Brooks Eyecare.
Share10 April 2015
