What are contact lenses?

What are contact lenses?

Contact lenses are thin, curved lenses that are placed on the surface of the eye to help improve your vision. Contacts float on the tear film that covers your cornea. Some contact lenses have UV blocker and blue light protection. 

Contacts can improve vision for people with nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

Types of contacts:

Hard contact lenses: rigid gas permeable lenses that are helpful for people with astigmatism and keratoconus. They allow more oxygen to pass through the lens to the cornea. 

Soft contact lenses: are made out of flexible plastic that is combined with water to allow oxygen to flow through the contact lens to the cornea. This often increases comfort

Types of soft contacts:

• Daily: These can be worn for a day and then can be disposed of everyday. 
• Biweekly: These can be worn for up to two weeks (must be taken off at night and cleaned), and can be disposed of after the two weeks. 
• Monthly: These can be worn for up to a month (must be taken off at night and cleaned), and can then be disposed of at the end of the month. 
• Toric: Help correct vision for people with astigmatism.
• Multifocal: Multiple prescriptions all in one lens. There is often a prescription for up close, distance, and intermediate. 
• Colored: Tinted contact lenses that can vision correct.

Types of hard contacts:

• Scleral
• RGP
• Ortho K