Keeping an eye on contact lenses. This article originally appeared in the March-April 1998 FDA Consumer and was revised in August 1998. In most states, they also can prescribe medicine.
Opticians grind and dispense eyeglasses and in some states dispense contact lenses.
Imagine wearing your contact lenses for a few hours and then, after you pop them out, still seeing clearly for a portion of the day. For certain individuals with nearsightedness, that image can be reality, thanks to a new lens the Food and Drug Administration recently cleared for marketing. The OK rigid gas-permeable contact lens, made by ConTEX, Sherman Oaks, Calif., is the first lens designed to correct nearsightedness by temporarily reshaping the transparent tissue known as the cornea that covers the iris and pupil. It is just one of many choices for the 28 million Americans who wear contact lenses. The idea behind the OK lens is not new.