There are many different types of soft contact lenses to suit your individual needs. It is true that there is no one contact lens that suits everyone, but there three main types of popular contact lenses, plus other specialty contact lenses to consider.

 

 

Daily disposable contact lenses such as Johnson and Johnson 1 Day Acuvue Moist or Ciba Focus Dailies are very popular because you throw them away every day. This means the Dailies are built for comfort, safety and convenience. When you take a fresh daily disposable contact lens out of the sachet, you know it is sterile and this reduces any risk of eye infections. Daily disposable contact lenses are manufactured with a thin edge profile for improved comfort. Johnson and Johnson 1 Acuvue Day Moist contact lenses have a wetting agent in the sachet which reduces any dry eye problems that you may experience. Ciba Focus Dailies Aqua Comfort Plus has 3 different wetting agents, both in the sachet and in the contact lens material. This eye moisturising agent actually seeps out the Ciba Focus Dailies Aqua Comfort Plus material during the day, and provides longer, or all day comfort. Other popular brands of daily disposable contact lenses include Bausch and Lomb Soflens Daily, Cooper Vision Proclear One Day, Cooper Vision Biomedics one day. All these one day contact lenses are built for comfort, safety and convenience. All contact lenses still have risks associated with wearing a piece of plastic on your eye. It is essential that you are fitted, taught how to use contact lenses and checked regularly, by a qualified Optometrist or Medical Practitioner.

 

 

Silicon Hydrogel contact lenses evolved initially to allow you to sleep in your contact lenses for up to 30 days without removing them. The front surface of your eye, which is called the cornea, actually breathes oxygen from the air. Extended wear contact lenses such as Bausch and Lomb Purevision contact lenses, Ciba Night and Day contact lenses, Cooper Vision Biofinity contact lenses allow so much oxygen through the contact lens material, that your eye will not suffer from reduced oxygen. Extended wear of contact lenses such as B&L Purevision contact lenses, Ciba Night and Day contact lenses, Cooper Vision Biofinity contact lenses is all about Convenience with a capital C. All you need to do is check your eyes in the mirror every day and replace the lenses with new ones every month. Unfortunately oxygen is only part of the solution to the perfect contact lens. Studies have now shown that sleeping in contact lenses significantly increases the risk of eye infections and allergic eye conditions. So it is safer to remove your lenses each night before going to sleep. As with all contact lens wear, it is essential to keep every thing clean and hygienic, and that you are fitted, taught how to use contact lenses and checked regularly, by a qualified Optometrist or Medical Practitioner.

 

The latest silicon hydrogel contact lenses, such as Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Oasys contact lenses, Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Advance contact lenses, Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism contact lenses, Ciba Air Optix contact lenses, Ciba Air Optix for Astigmatism contact lenses Cooper Vision Avaira contact lenses are designed more for healthy every day use and long hours of contact lens wear. These lenses are recommended for no more than 7 nights of extended wear use. And remember just because some people can sleep in these contact lenses, it does not mean you have to sleep in them. Your Optometrist may prescribe these lenses, and advise you to take them out every night.

 

Hydrogel soft contact lenses have been available for more than 30 years. Conventional contact lenses were manufactured individually on a lathe and were built for strength and durability. It was Johnson and Johnson who realised that a thinner lens, that you replace regularly, is actually healthier for your eye, because it allows more oxygen to your cornea.  There is less mechanical interaction on your eyelid blink, and replacing the lens regularly eliminates most of the protein and other deposits that build up on the contact lens surface.

 

Johnson and Johnson released the first ever disposable contact lens. It was called Johnson and Johnson Acuvue and needed to be replaced every two weeks. They soon released a thicker disposable lens called Johnson and Johnson Surevue. Both these lenses have been replaced by Johnson and Johnson Acuvue 2. Johnson and Johnson Acuvue 2 contact lenses are the same hydrogel material as Johnson and Johnson Acuvue and Johnson and Johnson Sureview, but Johnson and Johnson Acuvue 2 contact lenses have both a comfortable thin edge profile, and are easy to handle. Johnson and Johnson Acuvue 2 contact lenses are still available, but they are losing market share to the newer silicon hydrogel materials, such as Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Advance and Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Oasys. Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Advance and Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Oasys contact lenses have a similar design to the older Johnson and Johnson Acuvue 2 contact lenses but are made with a newer material that lets more oxygen through to the cornea. Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Advance and Johnson and Johnson Acuvue Oasys contact lenses have a similar design to each other, but the Johnson and Johnson Oasys contact lenses have a more slippery surface and are generally considered more comfortable to wear.

 

Other hydrogel disposable contact lenses are:

 

Bausch and Lomb Soflens One Day contact lenses,

Bausch and Lomb Soflens Comfort contact lenses,

Baush and Lomb Soflens 66 contact lenses,

Bausch and Lomb Sequence contact lenses,

Bausch and Lomb Soflens 38 contact lenses

Bausch and Lomb Soflens Multifocal contact lenses,

Ciba Focus Dailies contact lenses,

Ciba Focus Aqua Comfort Plus Dailie contact lenses,

Ciba Focus Progressive contact lenses,

Ciba Focus two weekly contact lenses, Ciba Focus Monthly contact lenses

Ciba Focus Monthly Toric contact lenses

Ciba Precision UV contact lenses,

Ciba Freshlook contact lenses,

Ciba Freshlook Toric contact lenses,

Cooper Vision Hydron Proclear contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Biomedics Evolution contact lenses,

Cooper Vision Hydron Frequency 55 Aspheric contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Frequency 55 contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Frequency 38 contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Hydrogenics contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Actifresh 400 contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Frequency 55 UV contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Biomedics 1 Day contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Actitoric contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Frequency Xcel Toric contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Proclear Toric contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Biomedics Toric contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Proclear Multifocal contact lenses

Cooper Vision Hydron Rhythmic UV Multifocal contact lenses.

 

As you can see there are many products available, and as the technology keeps improving, some products are discontinued. Most Optometrists today are prescribing the Silicon Hydrogel contact lenses for improved oxygen, however the hydrogel contact lenses are generally softer materials, and are sometimes more comfortable to wear.

 

There is no one lens that suits everyone, and as with all contact lens wear, it is essential to keep every thing clean and hygienic, and that you are fitted, taught how to use contact lenses and checked regularly, by a qualified Optometrist or Medical Practitioner.