Q: I am 23 years old and wear spectacles with eye power in the left eye -8.25 and right eye -8.45. I am willing to wear permanent soft lenses. Are any such lenses available in India? How much do they cost? Are they permanent or disposable?

A:There is no such thing as permanent wear contact lenses however some CL (contact lenses), which can be worn for an extended period of time from 2-3 days to about a month. This is only recommended in exceptional cases like very small children (hoping they will grow out of it soon) or very old people with arthritis who are unable to handle it and they wont live long enough for its complications. Any CL reduces the gas exchange from the front clear part (Cornea) of the eye to some extent depending on length of its wear at any given time. It can stand this so called hypoxia to cornea for some time after which it causes oedema and clouding of vision and in the long run can cause corneal vascularisation and/or opacity causing irreversible vision loss. CL is also a reservoir of infection of all sorts, that is why it is essential to clean and maintain it properly. With this much of myopia you can consider LASIK corneal surgery but this also can be expensive, unpredictable and not always free from complications.