I saw a framed advertisement for a contact lens, dated 1959.  A portion of the caption underneath partially read:

This lens is a symbol of new vision for patients of young and old…of the near blind who have been almost miraculously helped…of old psychological barriers removed…

Psychological barriers? I guess some people just don’t like glasses, but I’m a little bit surprised that the phrase made its way on a billboard.

I believe that the concept of contact lenses dated back to Rene Descartes, who wrote about how he touched the bottom of glass vials to his eye and noticed an improvement in vision. I’m sure a dozen other psycho philosopher/mathematician/scholars had done similar deeds in his time.

The breakthrough in contact lenses came around 1959 when soft hydrogel lenses were invented. Prior to that, rigid gas permeable lenses were the only option. Silicone lenses didn’t come around until the late 90′s up until now.

This is amazing technology. Of course, I didn’t go to medical school so that I could fit contact lenses in my practice…

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