Contact lenses have come a long way since they were first available. The original contact lenses that were available on the market were called hard contact lenses. These lenses were manufactured to be as durable as glasses and were usually reserved for patients who were in need of serious vision correction and otherwise required thick corrective lenses. Nowadays, contact lenses predominately come in soft varieties and are designed for limited use. These disposable soft contact lenses are sanitary and safe to use under normal conditions.
Research shows that the longer that you wear contact lenses, the greater the risks for suffering eye infections and other complications. This is why many contact lenses are designed to be worn for as little as one day to a month at the most. After this point, the contact lenses will start to build up protein deposits and can begin to harbor bacteria if not properly cleaned. This is why extended wear contact lenses often become cloudy and can become more irritating the longer people wear them.
The technology used to manufacture and develop contact lenses is constantly improving. Let’s consider the features and benefits of a few brands below.
Air Optix
The Air Optix brand is manufactured by Alcon. These silicone hydrogel soft contact lenses can be worn for as long as 30 days before requiring replacement. Although they need to be cleaned daily with a sterilizing soft contact lens solution, users should find that this brand develops less of those irritating protein deposits. This is because they are gas permeable and allow more oxygen to pass through the material and sooth any eye irritation.
Lack of oxygen is scientifically proven to increase the risks of irritation and corneal swelling. This is one key reason why many have been turned away from contact lenses in the past. Their eyes would get dry, red, and irritated as the lenses started to stick to their corneas and reduce the availability of natural tears to moisten and protect them. This is why it is strongly recommended by professionals to never sleep in contact lenses. However, users should find that Air Optix brands do not create the same discomfort even if they do fall asleep with them.
Pricing starts around $25.00 a box.
Acuvue
This brand is developed by medical care giant Johnson & Johnson. Acuvue is a pioneer in the contact lens industry, having developed Hydraclear technology to keep lenses moist, gas permeable, and comfortable for extended wear periods. They also developed many astigmatism-friendly, one-day disposable lenses, and other styles for a variety of lifestyles. They are one of, if not the, most recognized brand name for contacts and have even developed multifocal lenses that change the prescription according to the pupil size.
Pricing starts around $28.00 a box.
Dailies
A lot of people have trouble maintaining their contact lenses for a month or even a week. In these situations, it is important for the wearers to have disposable lenses that can be worn one day and replaced the next. These disposable lenses are of no lesser quality than extended wear contact lenses, although they may be thinner.
One of the chief enemies of soft contact lenses is water. If users expose their soft contact lenses to the steam when they are cooking spaghetti or even a hot shower, they will cloud up and may become stiff and uncomfortable. This is especially true if people go swimming with them at night.
At this point, if users continue to wear the lenses, they are putting themselves at risk of both physical complications and even a car accident if they can’t see well. Most jobs require clarity of vision and healthy eyes that are able to see 20/20. If people don’t want to compromise they vision or deal with the discomforts of poorly fitting contact lenses, it is critical to switch to a disposable daily brand like Dailies.
Dailies feature moisturizers that help eyes work with natural blinking action to stay moist and comfortable. They also have LightStream technology for maximum clarity that also eliminates edge distortion.
Pricing starts around $28.00 a box.
Toric Lenses
Astigmatism is a disorder that commonly causes blurred vision. It is a result of light refracting imperfectly within the eye because the curvature of the corneal lens is irregularly shaped. For patients with astigmatism, it can be difficult to focus and obtain the right readings during an eye exam.
An optometrist can measure the size of someone’s corneas and write a prescription for the proper brand, size, and strength. They may recommend a type of lens called a toric lens to correct blurred visions in eyes that suffer from astigmatism. A toric lens has two different prescription properties incorporated into one lens. The lenses refract the light in one fashion to reduce blur and magnify it in another direction for long-distance perception.
Final Thoughts
Although LASIK surgery is flooding the market with the supposed benefits and permanent results that eliminate the need for corrective vision, this is not entirely correct. Although LASIK surgery can be used to treat farsightedness and nearsightedness by reshaping the cornea, it will not reduce the need for corrective lenses entirely as aging happens. Furthermore, the corneal flap that is opened up to correct vision can split apart under strenuous activity because scar tissue at the surgical incision is inferior to the original tissue.
Most people can comfortably wear contacts and prefer wearing them over getting invasive surgeries or wearing bulky glasses.
