Contact Lenses

Daily disposable contact lenses are single-use lenses that are removed and discarded at the end of each day, and a fresh pair of lenses is applied to the eyes the next morning. They are gaining in popularity for their health and convenience benefits, because no lens cleaning is required, and they are healthy because there is no day-to-day accumulation of lens deposits, and no overnight wear. Daily disposable lenses are more affordable than many people expect, when you consider that no contact lens care solutions are needed for daily disposable lenses, the cost is comparable to other contacts. Most people can wear Daily disposable lenses, though some types of lenses are not available in a daily disposable format, most types are.

Want to wake up with clear vision instead of searching for your glasses every time your alarm rings? If so, extended wear contact lenses might be the right choice for you.

In general, contact lenses can be categorized into two types, based on how long they are approved to be worn before being removed:

• Daily wear (lenses you remove before sleep)
• Extended wear (lenses you can wear overnight)

Lenses like AIR OPTIX^® NIGHT&DAY™, the first approved silicone hydrogel soft contact lens can be worn 24 hours a day for up to 30 days and nights – even while you sleep.

These revolutionary lenses are so breathable, allowing six times more oxygen through the lens than traditional soft lenses. Up to thirty days of continuous, natural vision means complete day-to-day freedom – no daily insertion and removal, no cleaning and no lens care product expense. They’re so comfortable, you might even forget you’re wearing them. Plus, you’ll see clearly all the time – even when you get up in the middle of the night.

Are you over 40? If so, you may want to consider wearing multifocal contact lenses. Reading glasses used to be the only option available to contact lens wearers who wanted to read a menu or do other tasks that require good near vision. Today, a number of multifocal contact lens options eliminate the need to wear reading glasses over your contact lenses. Some multifocal contact lenses have a bifocal design with two distinct lens powers — one for your distance vision and one for near. Others have a multifocal design with a gradual change in lens power for a natural visual transition from distance to close-up.

Multifocal contacts are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable (RGP or GP) lens materials and are designed for daily wear or extended (overnight) wear. Soft multifocal lenses can be comfortably worn on a part-time basis, so they’re great for weekends and other occasions if you prefer not to wear them all the time.

For the ultimate in convenience, one-day disposable soft multifocal lenses allow you to discard the lenses at the end of a single day of wear, so there’s no lens care either.

Toric soft contact lenses for astigmatism differ from regular (“spherical”) soft contacts that correct only myopia or hyperopia in two important ways:

1. Toric lenses have different powers in different meridians of the lens to correct the varying amount of short sightedness or long sightedness in different meridians of the eye that characterises astigmatism.
2. Toric lenses have a design feature that enables the lens to rotate to the proper orientation on the cornea so the power meridians of the lens align with the appropriate meridians of the eye for clear vision.

Because every eye with astigmatism is unique, it can take more than one pair of soft toric contact lenses to find the brand and design that provides the best fit, comfort and visual acuity. Also, fitting toric contact lenses for astigmatism takes more expertise than fitting regular soft lenses. Because they have a more complex design, the cost of replacement toric contact lenses is higher than the cost of regular (spherical) soft contacts. The difference in cost will depend on the lens design, lens material, and where you purchase them.