People use disposable contact lenses for a variety of reasons. Although a fairly recent innovation when compared to standard contact lenses they have still been around for nearly twenty years. Although not every condition is suitable they are now available for nearly as many conditions and variables as standard contact lenses.
Disposable lenses generally refer to contact that are replaced every day. Although this can also be extended to include contact lenses that are replaced every week or every two weeks. The main reason being that they are still disposable and are not reused as with traditional contact lenses.
Most users like the practical nature of disposable contact lenses. At the end of the day you just take them off and throw them in the bin. No washing in sterilized water or cleaning and replacing. And if you lose them you certainly will not have to go looking around for hours on end to find your valuable lenses. Just pop in another one and off you go.
It is the daily chore of washing and cleaning conventional contact lenses that puts many wearers of glasses of buying contact lenses. But with disposable lenses you have all the convenience of glasses with no maintenance and with all the style of contact lenses. Possibly even more so as there is no chance of sitting on them when trying to read a book!
Of course it does work out to be a little more expensive to use disposables as opposed to traditional contact lenses. But the difference between the two is narrowing all the time as production techniques for disposables and the economy of scale due to the increasing popularity of these lenses keeps lowering the prices. There are also other costs to be added to the equation when comparing the prices of disposable and traditional lenses.
Buying traditional contact lenses may seem a much cheaper alterative but you, of course, must add on the extra cost of cleaning materials and insurance. It may not matter if you lose disposable contact lenses worth a dollar or so but if you lose one of your traditional lenses then its a whole different ball game and a very different priced range. A pair of standard contact lenses can cost up to and well in excess of a hundred dollars.
Another good reason for wearing disposable rather than traditional contact lenses is that it is very good for the eye to have fresh lenses and if you are not very careful about cleaning normal lenses it is possible to get residue build ups that can affect the eyes and lead to discomfort. That said if they are regularly cleaned with the correct materials there is unlikely to be a problem.
Disposable contact lenses are available for most prescriptions now and can also be bough in a wide variety of colors. Disposables are obtainable for bifocal and some of the more usual variations such as astigmatism but they are not as yet available for all. It is worth asking around if you have a difficult to fill prescription but it may be that not all conditions can as yet be catered for.
It is a matter of choice as to whether you choose to buy standard or disposable contact lenses, they both have their advantages and disadvantages and as with all things related contact lenses the best person to ask for advice is your local optometrist. |
