A Beginners Guide to Buying Contact Lenses

Whether you’re a newcomer to the contact lens world or a daily lens wearer, it’s important to keep up to date with today’s current brands. Technology is only getting better, and with new up and coming products like Hubble, it can be hard to keep up.

It’s worth investing in your eye health, as unlike eyeglasses, you only have one pair of oculi. Meanwhile, with the immense amount of selection in the contacts industry, the information and variety may seem overwhelming and have you crawling back to your glasses.

However, this guide simplifies the continuously growing number of options. We’ll explore an extensive breakdown of benefits of daily contacts, the importance of proper care, the most affordable brands without sacrificing quality, types of contacts for every refractive difference, hard vs. soft contact, and much much more.

This guide is made to help find the perfect lens for you.

Buying Contact Lenses In-Store or Online

There are a variety of ways to acquire contacts, such as ordering them to your front doorstep or purchasing in-store with a recognized brand. Once you have met with your optometrist, ask your eye doctor which contact lens may be the best lens for you.

Once you have your contact lens prescription, the cards are in your hands. Have a couple brands you’ve heard of but can’t seem to choose? Not to fear. Contact lens companies often offer a “one box free” contact lens trial, so feel free to reach out to a couple of brands before settling with your favorite. Remember, the relationship can only help you if you help yourself first.

Purchasing your lenses at the doctor’s office may offer a convenience if you need your lenses immediately. However, shopping online may allow you to have more freedom in the long term as the contacts will be delivered directly to your home whenever you need with a click of a button. Make sure to stick to sources that are accredited and medically recognized. Cheap contacts aren’t worth your eye’s health.

Unsure about where to buy contacts online? Check our guide to buying contacts online

Daily Vs. Weekly Contacts

Now that you’ve met with the ophthalmologist, it’s time to consider whether you’d like to replace your contacts daily or weekly.

Daily

Daily disposable contacts like Hubble may be a convenient choice for your lifestyle and advantageous in that no cleaning is necessary. Instead of constantly squeezing solution to clean your tiny filament of a lens, a fresh pair can be worn every day. Daily disposable lenses are contacts that are used once and discarded at the end of the day. A fresh pair of lenses are applied each morning, which may be an attractive option for those unwilling to clean their lenses.

Daily disposable contact lenses are fairly popular among contact wearers and favorable to maintaining healthy eyes. Although you may deem throwing out lenses wasteful, there are other things to consider. Protein, lipids, calcium, and bacteria can easily build up on your lenses. Your tears are a natural vessel for these substances and make your eyes disposed to infection. Cleaning is vital; however, some deposits will inevitably remain and build up over time.

Weekly or Monthly

Daily wear is not to be confused with daily disposable. Daily disposable refers to contact lenses that are meant to be used once and discarded daily. Daily wear is worn daily but not suitable for overnight wear and must be cleaned and removed before sleep. Wearing lenses overnight increases the lens wearer’s risk for eye disease. Therefore lenses are often replaced on a weekly or monthly basis.

Proper cleaning and handling of weekly and monthly lenses is critical to keeping eyes healthy. Lens cleaning is not just an option, but a must in the world of weekly or monthly contacts due to the health risks bacterial deposits may present.

Click here for a more in depth comparison of Daily vs. Weekly Contacts.

UV Blocking Contact Lenses

Did you know ultraviolet rays can not only damage skin, but also the eye? UV radiation is prevalent all year round and able to reflect off all surfaces, causing an even higher risk to your eyes. Ultraviolet rays are even present underwater, albeit at 40% the intensity as above the surface.

In any weather condition, UV rays can have negative effects on the eye and therefore must be protected against at anytime. Exposure to UV rays without proper protection can cause eye disease and conditions severe enough to lead to legal blindness. Contacts with UV protection may definitely be an investment you’ll want to consider when choosing the best contact lenses for you.

Click here for a Guide to Best UV-Block Contact Lenses and which brands offer UV protection.

Opaque and Color Contact Lenses

Natural eyes are beautiful, but if you’re looking to spice things up you may want to experiment with Opaque or Color Contact lenses. For prescription and non-prescription contact lens users, color contacts not only give you the ability to change your eye color, but also improve visual performance. Custom-tinted contacts create a natural appearance, disguise eye injuries or defects, and go beyond cosmetic roots. “Sport tint” contacts are often used by professional athletes to reduce glare, heighten depth perception, and enhance contrast sensitivity.

There is a wide availability of prescription contacts that can change your eye color, as well as correct for nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. These contacts also come in 1-day, 2-week, and 30-day replacement intervals.

Click here for a Guide to Best Color Contact Lenses.

Contact Lens Solution

Choosing a contact lens solution is important, as not all solutions are intended for all contact lens material. It is critical that contact lenses are effectively disinfected to maintain not only the quality of the lens, but also your health.

Multipurpose solutions can be used to clean, disinfect, rinse, and store contact lenses. After contact lens use, lenses are rinsed and rubbed before storage. Using the index and thumb, the contact lens is gently rubbed under a stream of solution for 10 seconds on both sides. This prevents any build up of protein or bacteria on the lens and ensures that the lens will be soaked overnight in a clean state.

Hydrogen Peroxide is often a strong choice for lens wearers with allergies or sensitivity to solution. Like multipurpose solution, hydrogen peroxide can be used to rinse and store contact lenses. However, there is a crucial step: neutralization.

Saline solution is typically used with other agents, as its main purpose is to rinse and clean. The simple pH-balanced salt water can be used in your daily cleaning regimen, but never a replacement for a disinfectant.

Click here for a Guide to Best Solution for Contact Lens and which solution may be right for you.