Type of Contact Lens
Contact lenses are perfect for busy people and those who are active in sports. Besides offering freedom from wearing eyeglasses, properly fitted and prescribed contacts can even let you enhance or change your eye colour.
Your Doctor of Optometry will state the right lens material, fitting design and care regime during your contact lens fitting, so that you get contacts that will work for your eye condition and lifestyle.
In general, contact lenses are defined by their wearing period, replacement schedule, correction style or tint. Here are some tips to help you decide what type of contact lens is right for you.
Wearing Period
- Daily wear lenses are to be worn only during waking hours, up to a maximum of 18 hours. They are removed, cleaned and disinfected every night.
- Extended wear lenses can be worn overnight for up to seven consecutive days (six nights). Only wear these on the advice of your eye doctor. Extended wear lenses generally have a higher water content or thinner center thickness to allow more oxygen to reach the eye but their use has been linked to a higher frequency of eye problems. Extended wear lenses need to be cleaned and disinfected at regular intervals and discarded at the predetermined time.
- Contact lenses are often prescribed according to a planned replacement schedule that meets your exact needs and the design of the lenses.
- Unplanned replacement lenses or conventional lenses are typically used for as long as they remain undamaged but should be replaced every year.
Replacement lenses may need to be replaced:
- Quarterly
- Monthly
- Every 1-2 weeks or
- Daily
With the exception of daily disposables, lenses need to be cleaned and disinfected after each period of wear unless discarded after being removed. Lenses need to be replaced frequently because they attract deposits of proteins and lipids and accumulated deposits erode the performance of your contact lenses and may lead to eye problems, even with proper cleaning.
Tint or Colour
Tinted contact lenses are used to make lenses more noticeable during handling or for therapeutic or cosmetic reasons. A tint can also enhance your eye colour or change eye colour altogether.
There are three categories of tinted contacts available.
Cosmetic enhancement tints are transparent and are designed to enhance natural eye colour. These lenses work best for light-coloured eyes (blues, greens, light hazel or gray).
Opaque or cosmetic tints are designed to change the colour of your eyes whether they are dark or light. The coloured pattern on the lens overlies the coloured part of your eye, resulting in a natural look.
Visibility tints are often a very pale blue or green that usually has no effect on eye colour. The lenses are tinted just enough to make them easier to see while handling.
