Contact Lenses Pros and Cons

You probably already know that contact lenses are an alternative to refractive eye surgeries and eyeglasses. But do you really know the basics of these small, ultra thin, round discs? This article gives you a brief summary of contact lenses.

Introduction to Contact Lenses

These small, round, ultra thin discs that we call contact lenses are initially designed to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

Because of their exceptional popularity contact lenses are now even designed in different colors for purely cosmetic purposes too.

Contact lenses can be in the form of hard or soft. Today, most contact lenses are hydrophilic or soft because they are partially made of water. Soft contact lenses are extremely thin and made from materials that allow oxygen to penetrate the lenses to reach the eye surface and keep your eyes from drying out.

Contact lenses can be worn by almost everyone. Even some babies who have eye problems can be fitted with contact lenses. Although the majority starts to wear contacts in their early teens, children as young as 8 years old can learn to wear and take care of contacts by themselves.

Types of contact lenses

There are 4 types of soft contact lenses. Spherical (regular) contact lenses: These contact lenses correct basic, less complicated vision problems like myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness).

Contact lenses for astigmatism: These lenses (toric contact lenses) correct astigmatism by compensating for the irregular surface of the eye. Astigmatism is a condition in which your cornea’s curve is irregular. This condition can be detected in those whose cornea is shaped like an egg or football. Because of that, light penetrating the retina is focused at two points (instead of one) and results in blurred vision, double vision, distorted vision, and eyestrain.

Contact lenses for Presbyopia: Also known as bifocal contact lenses, these are used to correct presbyopia, a condition wherein the lens of the eye loses its ability to bend and flex. It can therefore no longer focus sharply on nearby objects. This condition affects almost everyone beyond the age of 40, to some degree.

Color (cosmetic) contact lenses: Colored contact lenses are regular spherical contacts that have a color layer safely embedded within the lenses. This color layer allows the color to blend with your natural eye color without touching the eyes. This is quite popular as it allows you to change or enhance your eye color whether you have light eyes, dark eyes, or of course even 20/20 vision as they can be prescribed for strictly cosmetic purposes if you wish.

Contact Lens Wear schedules

There are 3 contact lens wear schedules for soft contact lenses.

Daily wear: This simply means you wear your contacts during the day then remove them from your eyes at night for cleaning, disinfecting, and rinsing purposes. After they are clean, these contact lenses can be worn again the next day.

Extended wear (continuous wear): You can wear these contact lenses all day and all night, even while sleeping.

Daily Disposable: If you don’t like the idea of having to clean your soft contact lenses, these are the soft contact lenses you should choose. You wear these soft lenses for one day and then discard and replace them the very next day.

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Contact Lenses Pros and Cons