What are Conventional Contact Lenses used for?
Daily Wear contact lenses can be worn up to all waking hours. Your eye doctor will determine your maximum safe wearing time. These lenses must be surface cleaned and disinfected every day. You should not sleep in this type of contact lens.
Extended Wear contact lenses can be used all waking hours and, depending upon your eyes, slept in for up to 7 consecutive days at a time. These lenses should be surface cleaned and disinfected every time you take them out. The enzyme schedule may be less frequent than daily wear contacts; please check with your doctor for the schedule that is right for you.
What are Frequent Replacement Contact Lenses?
As their name implies, they are replaced more often than conventional contact lenses. They can be used from one to two months and then discarded, as you begin to use a new pair. They are available in both daily wear and extended wear types.
The advantages are that contact lenses are usually more comfortable when they are new. About the time your contacts begin to irritate your eyes, it’s time to replace them. And finally, for those unfortunate times when you tear or lose a contact lens, you will have a new contact ready to go!
Downsides, if there are any: frequent replacement contact lenses are a little more expensive per year to wear. Some patients will over-wear their contact lenses to save money and risk eye infections or other complications.
What are Disposable Contact Lenses?
These are the most convenient type of contact lens to wear. If you are using them extended wear for seven days at a time, they will be removed for cleaning then worn for another week. If you opt for daily wear use you will still have to clean them, but you can then get to 2 months from a pair. These remain comfortable because there isn’t time to build up protein deposits that can irritate your eyes.
