The application of disposable contact lenses in the Navy

With the recent advent of disposable contact lenses, many of the problems which have been hindering the military application of contact lenses have been overcome. Fifty-five myopic naval personnel with no previous contact lens experience were put through a three-week study using these contact lenses. The aim was to test the feasibility of supplying bespectacled myopic seamen with contact lenses at the outset of operational missions. Seven developed conjunctival injection which caused them to discontinue contact lens wear. Of the remaining 48, however, a vast majority showed preference for contact lenses when compared to spectacles in the work environments that they were exposed to. With contact lenses, 95.8% had comparable or better vision during the day and 85.4% during the night. No serious ocular complications were noted and only minor findings were detected in the 96 eyes at the end of three weeks of contact lens wear.