The Types Of Contact Lenses

Although they are great for your eyes, all contact lenses aren’t equal. Although your doctor will help you select the best contact lenses pair for your eyes, you should always know a little bit regarding the contact lenses that are available to choose from. All contact lenses can be separated based on their wearing schedule, purpose, material, and over all transparency.

Designs of Contact Lenses

The designs for contacts are divided into three areas

Toric Contact Lenses - For Those who have Astigmatism

Spherical Contact Lensese - For Short Sightedness, and correction of longsightedness

Multi-Focal Contact Lenses - For Correction of Presbyopia

All three designs have their distinct purpose, and you should always ask your optician before you rush out and buy one.

Various Purposes Contact Lenses

As you may already know, contact lenses serve different purposes as well. They can be optical, therapeutic, cosmetic, or decorative. Optical contact lenses are the most widespread, as they are for the vision correction and anomalies you have may have. Therapeutic contact lenses are normally soft contact lenses that serve to protect your cornea. They are also used as a reservoir for certain medicines that are used to treat various cornea diseases and breakdowns.

Decorative contact lenses are basically color contacts lenses that produce various effects, such as rainbow colors, cat’s eyes, and so on. Cosmetic on the other hand, are meant to change the overall look of your eyes. Most types of cosmetic contact lenses are designed to improve your overall eye color.

Materials for Contact Lenses

Contact lenses can be divided or best determined by their material. Contact lenses are divided into two main groups - soft contact lenses and rigid (hard) contact lenses. Soft lenses are gas permeable to a certain extent, being further categorized by the amount of water they contain. Soft contact lenses can have either a low, which is less than 50 percent moisture, or high moisture content, which is more than 50 percent.

Rigid or hard contact lenses in contrast, are much harder in material and are considered to be gas permeable.

Duration for wearing Contact Lenses

Hard contact lenses can last for months, possibly even years before they need to be replaced. Soft contact lenses on the other hand, have duration for replacement. Some may need to be removed every 2 weeks, monthly, or even daily. The more advanced contact lenses, such as Night and Day contact lenses, will allow you to wear them all day and all night. Just like other contact lenses though, you will still need to clean them on a regular basis to ensure that the protein is removed.

The Kind You Like

With there being several different types of contact lenses available on the market, you should discuss with your optician to discover what the suitable are for you. If you don’t have astigmatism, you certainly wouldn’t want to get toric contact lenses. If you don’t know anything about contact lenses, you may end up doing your eyes more harm than good. Contact lenses are designed for your vision correction and often times protect your eyes, which is why you want to choose them carefully.

If you pick your contact lenses carefully, you’ll get the best type for your eyes. Your optician will give you his suggestions during your fitting exam, and go over how you should look after your new contact lenses. This way, even if you are new to the world of contact lenses, you’ll know what you should and shouldn’t do. With the right type of contact lenses for your eyes - you’ll find vision to be a new and exciting world.