The Different Types of Contact Lenses

Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a liberating way of correcting your vision! They are great for sports, great in the summer when you wish to wear designer sunglasses, or great if you just fancy a change of image. Contact lens availability is constantly changing, and more and more people with many different visual needs are now able to wear contact lenses effectively, so talk to your Optometrist if you want to know more.

Contact lenses are also constantly evolving, becoming better and better at correcting vision and becoming healthier for the eyes too as more breathable materials are developed. Older designs prevented oxygen getting through to the eyes and this lead to problems, but with modern materials this is much less likely to occur.

We fit all kinds of contact lenses here at R. J. Holmes Opticians; we are not limited to certain brands of lenses so have all sorts of materials and lens designs available to us. As such we are able to suit most prescriptions, lifestyles and budgets!

Regular aftercare is essential for contact lens wearers to maintain good vision and healthy eyes, and we will advise you how often you should come for an examination based on your individual requirements.

What Age Groups are Suitable for Contact Lens Wear?

There are no age restrictions on contact lens wear. You are never too old to wear contact lenses—problems may arise in which we would recommend stopping contact lens wear, for example dexterity problems or eye health problems, but we will never advise you stop wearing contact lenses based on age alone.

Equally, there is no minimum age for starting to use contact lenses. Wearing contact lenses is much more about maturity level than about age—your child needs to be responsible for looking after the lenses and taking them in and out of their eyes themselves, as well as keeping their hands clean etc. As such, the recommended age for contact lens wear is different for each individual child.

Types of contact lenses

Many of the contact lenses we fit are soft contact lenses. They are comfortable on the eyes very quickly and as most of them are disposable, they are convenient and hygienic.  Daily disposable contact lenses are the ultimate in convenience – wear them once and throw them away! There is no hassle of cleaning or disinfecting the lenses as a fresh pair is worn each time. These are suitable for most people but are particularly useful for people who are part time wearers – those who wear lenses socially or for sports for example. A box of daily disposable contact lenses has a very long shelf life so you can work your way through them at your own pace!

Daily disposables are available in a range of powers to suit most prescriptions, including toric prescriptions (ie. to correct astigmatism). They are also available in silicon hydrogel materials. These are the most breathable soft materials, meaning you can wear daily disposables every day without compromising eye health.

For those who wear their lenses full time and maybe find that daily disposables are working out a little expensive, monthly/bi-monthly contact lenses can be the best option. These are worn daily and replaced either once or twice a month depending on the lens type, ensuring that lenses remain fresh and in good condition. These lenses need to be removed and cleaned after every wear.

As with daily disposable contact lenses, monthly/bi-monthly contact lenses are available in a range of powers.  Quite often there is a more extensive range of powers available to us than in daily disposables, so if your prescription is a little complicated your vision may be clearer in a monthly/bi-monthly lens. There is also the option of varifocal contact lenses which can correct both distance and near vision in presbyopia.

The latest contact lens materials are made from silicon hydrogel which is a highly breathable material, allowing optimum oxygen transmission to the cornea of the eye. This means that contact lenses can be worn full time without compromising the health of the cornea. Because these lenses are so breathable, some of them are licensed as extended wear contact lenses, meaning they can be worn overnight. This is particularly good if your job or lifestyle means that removing contact lenses every night is not always easy.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP)

These are the modern equivalent of the old ‘hard’ contact lenses; they are generally easier to get used to and are much healthier than hard lenses as the materials allow oxygen to pass through them.

Often they are not the first choice of contact lenses any more as soft contact lenses have improved so much since they were first introduced.  There are occasions though when RGP lenses are still the best option, and as they are a bespoke lens (soft lenses are generally more off-the-shelf) it is possible to make almost any prescription to fit almost any eye!

RGP lenses are used particularly in ortho k and keratoconus, and in situations where the prescription is more complicated!  They take a little longer for your eyes to get used to but last up to, or even beyond, a year.  They need to be cleaned and stored carefully after each wear.

Coloured Contact Lenses

Often a bit of fun, these lenses are a fashion accessory that either enhance your natural colour or completely change it to something else! These lenses can also be used to disguise scarring from eye injuries. They range from subtle tints, to bright ‘fun’ lenses, to bespoke hand painted lenses that match your existing colour.

Presbyopia

If you require different prescriptions for distance and near, contact lenses are still an available option. There are usually three ways to correct this:

• Wear your distance correction in contact lenses, and use reading glasses over the top as and when you need to.
• Monovision correction, where 1 eye has your distance prescription in the contact lens and the other eye has your reading prescription.
• Varifocal contact lenses which have both distance and reading prescriptions worked into the lens.