Raw Materials Used to Make UV Protective Contact Lenses

UV-protective contact lenses help prevent ultraviolet damage to the eyes. According to the American Optometric Association, UV radiation can cause cataracts. Protection from these rays can be found in some contact lenses that absorb UV radiation by reducing the amount of UV reaching the eyes. The raw materials and ingredients that go into UV contact lenses are mainly water and plastic polymers.

Plastic Polymers

• There are two types of plastic polymers used in contact lenses. One type is made from a variant of polymethyl methacrylate. This type of plastic polymer is used in hard-set contact lenses which are no longer recommended by medical professionals and considered obsolete. Soft lenses on the other hand contain a gel-like water polymer known as poly hydroxyethyl methacrylate; this material is used to ensure that the lens can absorb water and still maintain its optical strength. Importantly, the lens polymer is mixed with an ultraviolet blocker to ensure a UV-protective lens. The Eye Care Blog website also adds that "the lens material of the UV blocker contacts is combined with an ultraviolet blocker, which can prevent harmful UV rays to the eyes, thus reducing the likelihood of eye stress, eye damage and cataracts."

Water

• Water is used in the manufacture of softer lenses containing pHEMA. The Medicine Net website says that "these flexible lenses contain a high percentage of water to make them feel more comfortable than rigid lenses. In addition, they allow oxygen to pass through, are less likely to fall out of the eye than other lens types, and are less likely to cause sensitivity to light." Water-based soft lenses, however, require much more attention because they can dry out quicker and more often.

UV Warnings

• Sunglasses also protect the eyes from ultraviolet rays.

  UV-protective contact lenses should not be used as a substitute for any protective UV-absorbing eyewear such as sunglasses and variable-lens glasses. Continue to wear protective UV-absorbing eyewear as directed.. Experts have not yet established whether UV-absorbing lenses are effective in reducing eye problems caused by solar radiation.