[Use of contact lenses in progressive myopia]

Effects of contact lenses on clinical refraction and vision function were examined in patients with progressive myopia. A total of 535 patients were examined; contact lens correction was employed in 385 of these, 150 ones wearing spectacles have made up the reference group; the follow-up period was up to 5 years. Refraction remained unchanged by the end of the follow-up in 73.2 percent of patients using contact lenses, whereas in the reference group this value has made up 10.8 percent. The stabilizing action of contact lenses is explained mainly by improved function of the accommodation system of the eye, weakened in progressive myopia, and by improved quality of the retinal image.