The contact lens corrects vision problems in those with less than perfect vision. Contact lenses were originally made from glass, but now most varieties are crafted from plastic materials.http://www.pasadenaeye.com/faq/faq14/faq14_text.html Contacts are preferable over eyeglasses to many individuals because they are difficult to detect on the wearer and may be worn while participating in athletic activities. Some contact lenses come in colors, and can change the hue of the eye.

Types of contact lenses include soft contacts, rigid contacts, extended wear contacts and disposable contacts.http://www.eyetopics.com/articles/18/1/The-History-of-Contact-Lenses.html While contacts are generally safe to wear, some complications can occur with use. These include giant papillary conjunctivitis, corneal staining and giant papillary conjunctivitis.http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1196459-overview

The concept for the contact lens was born in the year 1827 when a man named Sir John Herschel (who was an English astronomer) came up with the idea that eyeglasses could be custom fit to conform to the shape of the eye. 60 years later, a German glassblower named F.A. Muller put this idea into practice by forming the first actual contact lens, made of glass. This type of lens was then used to correct problems such as nearsightedness. Contacts eventually were made to contain some plastic, and then eventually were formed completely out of plastic materials. In the year 1945, soft plastic lenses were invented.http://www.eyetopics.com/articles/18/1/The-History-of-Contact-Lenses.html