Each person that is looking to use contact lenses to correct vision problems has different requirements when it comes to what they need to achieve correct vision. One person’s vision requirements may not be anything like the next person. Another important variable in people who are looking for contact lenses is the person’s lifestyle. Keeping that in mind, several contact lens types have been developed and are available on the market today. Deciding on which type of contact lens that is right for you is important and can make the whole experience more comfortable overall.
Contact Lens Comfort and Material
The most commonly used contact lenses by many people are soft contact lenses. These contacts can be made of various forms of soft plastic and gently drape over the cornea and allow oxygen to pass. Over the years, soft contact lenses have evolved to soft lenses that have a silicone gel incorporated into them to allow your cornea more oxygen flow. Hard contact lenses are much different and are known as Rigid Gas Permeable RGP lenses. Patients with higher astigmatism benefit from hard contact lenses Rigid Gas Permeable RGP as they provide excellent vision correction. However, because the specifications of the Rigid Gas Permeable lenses has to be extremely precise for them to be effective, hard contact lenses require a fitting process that is pretty detailed and can be more challenging to adapt to. Since all types of contact lenses are considered medical devices, lenses must be prescribed by a doctor.
When To Replace Contact Lenses
When it comes to soft contact lenses, there is a variety of options depending on the person’s lifestyle and vision correction needs. Soft contact lenses require regular maintenance so choosing which soft contact type that is best for you is very important. One day or daily wear lenses can be worn all day but must be removed for cleaning each night. For some people, this can be a task that feels like more of an inconvenience and those people prefer extended wear contacts over daily wear. These soft lenses contacts can be worn overnight and for extended periods depending on the brand. Some extended wear lenses can be worn for two weeks and up to 30 days so be sure to follow your eye doctors’ replacement schedule instructions.
Soft contact lenses are daily disposable lenses whether they are daily wearing contacts or extended wear contact, eventually, they will need to be replaced. Depending on what your eye doctor or eye care professional thinks is appropriate in terms of scheduling when your contact lenses should be replaced, many lenses are available to choose from for replacements as well. As previously mentioned, monthly replacement soft lens contacts can be worn for up to 30 days and some can even be worn overnight. Weekly or bi-weekly soft contact lens replacements are disposed of once per week or once every other week depending on what is right and comfortable for you. However, these lenses still need to be removed each night for disinfection and proper eye care. Then there are daily contacts which are found to be the most healthy option for your eyes. if you wear contacts, you just can’t do better than a fresh lens every day. They eliminate the worry of cleaning solutions and deposits of debris from reusing lenses.
Prescription Options for Contact Lenses
Spherical lenses are the most common and are designed to correct nearsightedness as well as farsightedness. Toric lenses are used to correct astigmatism as they change power going around the lens. Multifocal lenses are used to correct everyone’s inevitable presbyopia which is when a person’s natural lens in our eyes begins to stiffen with age. Multifocal lenses provide extra magnification. Colored lenses can be worn for vision correction purposes or purely cosmetic reasons.
Lenses come in many different forms and options. To make sure to determine the best contact lens to correct your vision, a Ewing Optical eye care professional can help you make the most optimal choice for you, your vision and eye health.
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