Wearing contact lenses gives patients the flexibility and freedom to live life to the fullest, without some of the difficulties presented by wearing glasses. Many people who choose contact lenses do so because they don’t like the way that glasses look or feel, or because wearing glasses compromises their ability to perform certain sports, jobs, or activities.

DISPOSABLE LENSES

These contact lenses are worn during waking hours and replaced regularly: most commonly daily, but other 2-week or monthly lenses are available. Daily disposable contact lenses should be discarded at the end of each day rather than re-worn. Daily disposable lenses do tend to be a little more expensive than some repeat-wear varieties, but the benefits outweigh the cost.

Some of the advantages of choosing daily disposable contact lenses include:

• You don’t have to clean them, which saves you a great deal of time and hassle. It also helps save money in terms of the ongoing cost of cleaning and storage solutions.

• Daily disposable lenses are also great for people with eye allergies. This is because, with ordinary soft lenses, there’s an opportunity for deposits and microorganisms to build up. With daily disposables, allergens have less chance to attach themselves to the lenses and cause irritation and other allergy symptoms.

• You don’t need to remember when to replace your lenses on a schedule, which makes wearing contact lenses easier.

• Daily disposable contact lenses are particularly good for people who have busy lives and are likely to cut corners when it comes to caring for their eyes or contacts since there is no cleaning or maintenance required.

• Daily disposable contact lenses are available in a wide range of prescriptions, including those for patients with nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. There are even multifocal lenses to provide a range of focus points if you are a bifocal or progressive lens wearer. Your doctor will be able to advise you if you are a candidate for disposable contact lenses.

TORIC LENSES

Toric soft contact lenses are recommended for patients who have a refractive eye problem called astigmatism. Patients with astigmatism have a prescription that is different between the vertical and horizontal planes, causing blurred vision and difficulty seeing fine details. These lenses are shaped in a particular way that creates the different focusing powers needed in each part of the lens to correct your vision. For this reason, it’s essential that toric soft contact lenses are placed into the eyes in the correct position. Fortunately, manufacturers design these lenses with features that help them to stay in place, including:

• Thin/thick zones

• Creating areas of the lens that are thicker or heavier which help the lens to sit in the right position
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To keep them stable, toric soft contact lenses are a little larger than conventional soft lenses. You might find that they feel a little bit different than your usual lenses, but the superior vision they give you outweighs this. Your eye doctor will be able to advise you if toric soft contact lenses will help give you better, more precise vision.

RIGID GAS-PERMEABLE (RGP) LENSES

Also known as RGP lenses, these are made from a special material that allows oxygen to pass through them and reach the surface of the eyes. This helps to keep the eyes hydrated and comfortable, making these lenses easier to wear, especially for patients who suffer from dry eyes. RGP lenses are more rigid than soft lenses, and this helps them to keep their shape on your eyes for sharper vision. They also help the cornea to maintain its shape, which helps to minimize the effects of some corneal abnormalities. Unlike soft lenses, RGP lenses require some getting used to, but because they are made to a custom fit, these lenses can correct for unique prescriptions that might not be readily available in a soft contact lens.

HYBRID CONTACT LENSES

Hybrid contact lenses are a combination of both soft and gas-permeable contact lenses, giving patients the opportunity to enjoy the best parts of both designs. The middle part of hybrid lenses is made from gas-permeable material that lets oxygen pass through to the eyes. However, the gas-permeable part of the lens is more rigid, and this firmer center gives the lens greater stability and the patient enhanced clarity. The RGP portion of the lens also helps to trap a tear film between the cornea and the lens so that the eye remains hydrated. Meanwhile, the outer edge of hybrid lenses is a soft lens skirt. This means that patients don’t have to deal with the hard edges associated with RGP lenses that may be uncomfortable. Instead, the comfort levels that patients experience are more like wearing fully soft lenses.