Before you buy contact lenses from anyone other than your eye care professional, it pays to be a wise consumer. If you've always wanted to change your eye color, color contact lenses can provide baby blues, gorgeous greens, heavenly hazels -- even various patterns and designs. In the U.S. contact lens marketplace, 82 percent wear soft lenses, 16 percent wear rigid gas-permeable and only 2 percent wear hard lenses.

Be careful about buying cheap contact lenses, they may not be the quality you want; discounted quality contact lenses are the most desirable. You'll want to take simple precautions to make any lens purchase safe and effective.

Soft lenses are easier to adjust and are much more comfortable than rigid lenses, because they conform to the eye and absorb and hold water. Newer soft lens materials include silicone-hydrogels to provide more oxygen to your eyes. In some models, each lens corrects for near and distance vision and in others, one lens is for near vision, and the other is for distance.

Disposable lenses don't come with instructions for cleaning and disinfecting, while those labeled specifically for planned replacement do. It's important for your eyes to have a rest, without lenses, for at least one night following each scheduled removal. Extra-thin soft lenses are on the market for very sensitive people.

Rigid lenses generally give you more clear vision. Some doctors prescribe disposables as planned-replacement lenses, which are removed, disinfected, and reused before being discarded. There are two general categories of contact lenses - soft and rigid gas permeable.

Rigid lenses don't absorb chemicals, unlike soft lenses which will soak up residue from your hands like soap or lotion. There are several types of lenses including: soft contact lenses, rigid gas permeable lenses, extended wear lenses and disposables.

Carefully check to make sure the company gives you the exact brand you ordered, the name of the lens, the power, sphere, cylinder, if any, axis, if any, diameter base curve, and peripheral curves, if any. You can buy contact lenses from an eye doctor, on the Internet, from an optical store or a warehouse club. Focus on value, not just the price; most people looking for the best price are really looking for the best value.

There are many good contact lens retailers now on the Internet making their lenses available at a good discount for prescription and non-prescription lenses. Compare prices - get quotes from two or three online and offline suppliers. Buy your contact lenses from a supplier you're familiar with and know is reliable or has name familiarity

Wherever you buy, shop for quality and value and don't forget you want to do what's best for your eye health. Ask about prices at your doctor's office when you have your eye examination, or during a follow-up visit after you get your prescription. If you have an insurance plan, the insurance plan's seller's prices may or may not be better than what you can find elsewhere; this should be just one option when you're shopping for lenses.

Extended-wear rigid lenses can cause unexpected, undesirable, reshaping of the cornea. Always throw away disposable lenses after the recommended wearing period. The use of homemade saline made by using salt tablets mixed in water is one of the biggest contributors to Acanthamoeba keratitis in contact lens wearers: the FDA no longer condones the use of salt tablets.

The risk of corneal ulcers for people who keep extended-wear lenses in overnight is 10 to 15 times greater than for those who use daily-wear lenses only while they are awake. The most serious safety concern with any contact lens is from overnight use. Replace your contacts as recommended by your eye doctor because they wear out as time goes by.

If you prefer the way you look without glasses or find glasses to be cumbersome and awkward, contacts can provide the ease, convenience and comfort you need. Ordering contact lenses online has never been simpler with, and sometimes without, a credit card. If you lead an active lifestyle, contact lenses can provide you with close to natural vision.