There are many different types of contact lenses out there, and your specific eyes and eye conditions will likely determine the contact lenses you wear. There are soft contact lenses and hard contact lenses, but there are also some important differences between daily wear contact lenses and daily disposable contact lenses.
Some people who are new to contact lenses might have a lot of questions about daily disposable contact lenses. What’s the difference in price? Is it worth it? Are the daily disposable contacts safer, or less safe, than daily-wear contact lenses? What’s the difference between soft contact lenses and hard contact lenses?
You may also have questions about expiration dates, and what is the most common question when it comes to contact lenses. What contact lenses are best for those who aren’t used to contact lenses? Here, we examine the answers to questions about both daily wear contact lenses and daily disposable contact lenses.
Soft Lenses and Hard Lenses
One of the first choices you will have to make with your daily contact lenses is to figure out whether you prefer soft contact lenses or hard contact lenses. You may already be used to one kind of contact lens, but daily disposable contacts are available in both types.
Most people end up choosing soft lenses, which become easier to insert and remove over time. Hard lenses are used by fewer contact wearers, but they also allow for greater oxygen flow to the eyes. Hard contact lenses may be required for some individuals that suffer from unique eye conditions, or when deposits may affect overall eye health.
If you have never worn contact lenses before, you may want to consider starting with soft lenses. It could take between one to two weeks to get used to inserting and removing contact lenses.
What Does “Daily” Mean?
If you wear daily wear contacts, it means that you will be wearing the same contacts every day. However, this is not the same as daily disposable contacts, which means that you should dispose of the contacts after wearing them every day. You might wear daily contacts every day, but you won’t be discarding them every night. In some cases, you may even wear those daily contacts for weeks, or even months.
Read more: Can I Reuse Daily Disposable Contact Lenses?
However, it should be noted that you should never wear daily contacts overnight. Your eyes require oxygen to fight infections, and daily contacts also have to be removed and disinfected on a nightly basis. Your eyes are more vulnerable to corneal infections while wearing contacts of any kind.
Daily disposable contacts are often used by individuals with allergies or conditions where protein deposits have to be avoided. Daily disposable contacts are almost always more expensive than daily wear contacts, as well. Most optometrists recommend daily contacts instead of daily disposable contacts, but it depends on the individual and their preferences and conditions.
Daily contact lenses are reusable disposable contact lenses that need daily cleaning & disinfection. They last from 2 weeks to up to a month. Daily contact lenses and daily disposable contact lenses are used interchangeably but this is where patients go wrong. Daily contact lenses are meant to be worn during day and must be taken off at night. Unlike Air Optix Night & Day Aqua they are not approved for extended wear hence you cannot sleep wearing them. On the other hand, daily disposable contact lenses are meant for single day use and must be discarded once you take them off.
Daily disposable contact lenses are available in a pack of 15 pairs where you pop open a fresh pair every day. On the other hand, daily contact lenses come in a pack of 3 pairs (Bi-weekly) and 1 pair (Monthly). Talk to your eye doctor if you are stuck in making the right choice between daily disposable contact lenses and daily contact lenses.
Read more: Can I Wear Daily Disposable Contact Lenses Straight from the Package?
What About Safety of Daily Disposable Contact Lenses?
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to disposable contact lenses, daily contact lenses, or contact lenses of any other kind. There are somewhere around 1 million eye infections in the United States annually. Most of these infections happen thanks to contact lenses, so you will want to follow the manufacturer’s instructions as much as possible.
It would help if you didn’t try to push contact lenses in terms of their expiration, as it could end up affecting your eye health. You should discard daily disposable contact lenses daily, and the truth is that they aren’t created the same way as other contact lenses. Daily disposable contact lenses are thinner, which is one of the reasons why they are prone to the most damage. This is also why they are more comfortable than other contact lenses. Either way, you should be discarding these disposable contact lenses daily.
Daily disposable contact lenses cannot withstand scrubbing the way daily wear contact lenses can, which should be considered when using them. You should prepare to discard these daily disposable contact lenses as soon as you take them off – even if you only wore them for a couple of hours. The truth is that daily disposable contact lenses are never meant to go back in your eye. This is one of the reasons that daily disposable contact lenses are convenient for those who don’t like cleaning or storing contact lenses, or who want to avoid a higher risk of contamination.
With daily contact lenses, you can wear them for 8 hours a day or more, and you can typically wear them from 2 weeks to 1 month. The material that these contact lenses are made out of can actually deal with product buildup, bacterial accumulation, and more. Suppose you are still trying to make the most informed decision regarding choosing daily wear contacts or daily disposable contact lenses. In that case, you should consult an eye doctor as soon as possible. You are supposed to clean your daily wear contact lenses with solution every night, as well.
There are other options besides daily wear contact lenses and daily disposable contact lenses. Try extended wear contact lenses. They are aimed at people needing strong vision correction. The lenses help them waking up every day with improved visual acuity where they no longer need to twiddle their table every morning in an attempt to finding their bulky glasses.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to consider when choosing the right contact lens, and an eye doctor should be able to guide you through all available and healthy options. You should take the time to get used to inserting and removing contact lenses before purchasing a bulk order of contact lenses, and recognize that it’s essential to follow all of your eye doctor’s instructions regarding cleaning the contact lenses.
Some might have a specific lifestyle where they prefer daily disposable contact lenses, but it’s important to note that these contact lenses are usually more expensive. Many individuals turn to daily wear contact lenses, but it still takes time and energy to ensure that you are using them properly.
One of the most important aspects of owning contact lenses is to make sure that you are consistently cleaning your contact lenses if you end up using daily wear contact lenses.
Read more: Are Daily Contact Lenses better than Monthly Eye Contacts?