Contact Lenses - Type and Care
Most of our stores carry a broad range of contact lenses and related products from all the leading manufacturers to provide you the best available vision quality, comfort and fit. You can be confident that you're getting the most for your money as well, as we match all competitors advertised pricing on contact lenses.
We guarantee complete satisfaction of the fit and comfort of your contact lenses.
Talk to your eye care professional about which lens is right for you. Use our store locator to find the location closest to you that carries contact lenses.
Which Contact Lens is Right for You?
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Contact Lens Types |
Disposable | Color Enhancing | Extended Wear | Rigid Gas Permeable | Toric | Bifocal
If daily care and cleaning doesn't fit your lifestyle, disposable contacts may be for you. Depending on the brand, they're disposable daily or on a planned schedule of one to two weeks. Disposables are now the most common type of contact lens, because of their convenience and health benefits. Disposable lenses are a great fit for contact wearers who suffer from allergies, especially during peak allergy seasons. Clear, colored or corrective for astigmatism: there's a disposable lens for just about everyone.
A thorough evaluation by an eyecare professional can help determine the best wearing schedule and replacement schedule for you.
Change your eye color completely or just enhance it, whether you currently wear contacts or not. Available in a broad range of prescriptions, too, so you can wear them daily or just for those special occasions.
- Visibility or Handling Tint
A visibility or handling tint is usually a light blue or green tint. The sole purpose of the tint is to help you see it better during insertion and removal - or if you drop it. Visibility tinted lenses do not affect eye color. - Enhancement Tint
An enhancement tint is a solid (but translucent) tint that's a bit darker than a visibility tint and does affect eye color. It is meant to enhance the existing color of your eyes, and is usually best used by people who have light colored eyes and want to make their eye color more intense. - Color/Opaque Tints
Colors or opaque tints are deeper tints that can dramatically change your eye color. They are usually made of patterns of solid colors. Color/opaque contacts can dramatically change your eye color, even if you have dark colored eyes. Color contacts come in a wide variety of colors, including hazel, green, blue, violet, amethyst and gray.
Unlike daily wear, or disposable contact lenses, where you must remove the lenses before sleeping, extended wear contact lenses can be worn safely overnight. Extended wear lenses are FDA approved and can be worn from seven to thirty days, without removal. Your eyecare professional will let you know which type of lens is the best to suit your needs.
An option is to use extended wear lenses on a daily wear basis, with occasional overnight wear. This works well for some people. It can help if you don't want to remove your lenses to take a nap, or if you want to sleep in your lenses only occasionally.
If you have very specialized prescription needs, RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses) contacts may be right for you. RGP are made of flexible plastics, which allow oxygen through to your cornea. They provide excellent vision, especially for patients who have a high degree of astigmatism.
RGPs can also provide better visual acuity, durability, and deposit resistance than soft contact lenses. So, they can be easier to clean. In addition, they last longer; therefore they can be less expensive in the long term than soft lenses.
Now people with astigmatism can also enjoy the freedom of contact lenses. Toric contact lenses are designed in a way that compensates for an irregular shaped cornea. They are made from the same materials as regular ("spherical") contact lenses, so they can be either soft or RGP. The difference is in the design of the lens.
Toric lenses are weighted along the bottom to help keep the contact lens relatively stable on the eye when you blink or look around, and to keep vision crisp.
Finally there is an alternative to bifocal glasses. Bifocal contact lenses are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable materials. Today's bifocal contact lenses are even available in a disposable or frequent replacement wear regimen. The latest product is daily disposable bifocal contacts that you discard nightly and replace with a brand-new pair the next morning.
Bifocal contact lenses are used to correct presbyopia, a condition that usually effects people 40 and over, where the eyes lens loses the ability to focus on objects both at adistance and nearby.
Bifocal Contact Lenses work much like bifocal glasses. They have two powers on one lens: one to correct distance vision, if that's needed, and the other to correct near vision.
Some contact lens designs feature two "obvious" prescriptions, with the distance vision on the top of the lens and the near vision at the bottom, similar to a bifocal eyeglass with a line separating the powers. Other designs work more like progressive eyeglass lenses, where the different prescriptive powers are blended on different parts of the lens. Your eye learns to differentiate the proper power for the correct distance.
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Lense Care |
Lens Wear Helpful Hints
- Follow your eye doctor's lens care recommendations!
- Wear sunglasses while you're in the sun.
- Use re-wetting drops to lubricate your lenses for enhanced comfort in dry conditions.
- Don't rub your eyes while you are wearing your contact lenses.
- Itchy or reddened eyes can be symptoms of serious problems. Remove your lenses and call your eye doctor immediately.
- Always keep a pair of eye glasses with your current prescription handy.
Caring for Your Contacts - Wash your hands thoroughly before handling your contact lenses.
- Clean and store your contact lenses as directed.
- Use commercially prepared solutions and care products that are recommended by your eye doctor.
- Store your contact lenses properly and replace your case monthly.
- Call your eye doctor immediately if you experience severe itching, redness or chronic blurry vision.
DON'Ts: - Insert torn or scratched contact lenses into your eyes. It can cause serious damage to your cornea.
- Put contacts in your mouth or moisten them with saliva. Only use approved care products for your lenses and follow your eye doctor's recommended regimen faithfully.
- Allow anyone else to wear your contact lenses or try them on. You can risk accidentally transmitting or acquiring a serious disease.
Proper care of your contacts helps to maximize your comfort while wearing them.
DOs:
- Makeup Tips
If you wear makeup and/or cosmetics along with contacts, you'll want to take note of these tips to help you wear your contacts with safety and comfort.
- Always put your contacts on before applying makeup.
- Choose water-based, hypoallergenic brands of makeup. These can be less irritating to your eyes.
- Discard mascara and eyeliner within three or four months, as these types of cosmetics can build up bacteria more quickly than others.
- Avoid waterproof mascara. This type of mascara cannot be easily removed with water and may stain soft contacts.
- Avoid products that are labeled 'natural' or 'preservative-free,' as they are more prone to bacterial buildup.
- Remove your contacts before you remove your makeup.
