Madrid, April 17, 2023.

On April 15, World Contact Lens Day is celebrated for the first time in commemoration of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, the first creator of the concept of vision with contact lenses. It is the launch date of the tool that will help people who need a prescription to know if contact lenses are a good solution for them

Despite the fact that, in Spain, 4.74% of the population between the ages of 15 and 64 wear contact lenses; In other words, there are more than 1.5 million contact lens users, there are certain shared fears and doubts when it comes to taking the plunge and undergoing the first contact lens adaptation. Misinformation, hoaxes and lack of advice are some of the brakes that, in the first place, often prevent the user from taking the step and starting to use contact lenses and, in others, from continuing to use them, resulting in the well-known abandonment. Despite this, Spain is the 5th country in Europe with the largest contact lens market (in value) and its growth is unstoppable (more than 60,000 new users in 2022). This is an increase of 9.5% in value compared to 2021, according to Euromcontact (the European association of contact lens manufacturers). The contact lenses with the highest growth in 2022 are daily or single use, with an increase of 19.4%. Multifocal daily lenses grow 22.3% making their way among presbyopes or people with tired eyesight. Monthly contact lenses, together with conventional lenses, which include soft and RPG (rigid gas permeable lenses) maintain growth above 4%. For their part, maintenance solutions remain in their sales figures. Factors such as good weather, sports, leisure life and aesthetics are key to this growing sector. For this reason, and with the intention of helping spectacle wearers to take their first steps in the world of contactology, the Contactology and Vision and Life Forum launches the first tool that, through a simple test, will allow us to know if someone You are a good candidate for contact lenses and if they suit your visual needs. And they do it right now, coinciding with the commemoration of World Lens Day, the date on which Leonardo da Vinci was born, whose inventions can be considered precursors of current contact lenses. It will be the first time that this date finds a place on the calendar, but professionals in the sector consider it essential: "in a country with such good weather and such an active lifestyle, it is essential that, now that the summer period is approaching, , we know how to combine the comfort of contact lenses with products that are so necessary for our visual health such as sunglasses", explains Salvador Alsina. The evolution of this health product now makes it possible to respond to the main visual problems that a person may face throughout their lives: "from contact lenses to control myopia, the great pandemic of the 21st century to the lenses multifocal contact lenses, for all those presbyopes who want to be able to continue without depending on their glasses. There is a lack of information so that everyone knows which product will suit them best, but it is important that we make it known and thus ensure the visual quality of the citizen", he explains Alsina. So much so that the Contactology Forum is an initiative aimed at training professional optical optometrists that is now 19 years old: informing, teaching to advise, understanding user fears and responding to them, serving as support so that problems do not arise in the use of contact lenses that, although very rare, can occur. "Now, for example, the allergy season begins in summer and it would be ideal for everyone to know that the most comfortable and safest thing to do is to wear daily lenses, since that way you can get a new one every day and avoid all the problems that air, dust, sand or pollen can accumulate in your contact lenses", explains Alsina. In addition, Visión y Vida encourages all users to use it since it will be used to anonymously collect data and create a massive study, the largest in Spain, on trends in use of contact lenses in the country.

Contact Contact name: Elisenda Ibáñez Contact description: Contactology Forum Team Contact telephone number: 630 96 00 13