You want to always buy your contact lenses from a well-known reputable company. You can buy discount contact lenses without a prescription, but the company would be selling you a prescription device as if it were an over-the-counter device, which is in violation of FTC regulations, in other words, selling contact lenses without having a prescription from you. You'll want to take simple precautions to make any lens purchase safe and effective when you order. There are many kinds of contact lenses on the market including novelty, colored, crazy, Halloween, special effects, theatrical, costume, scary, glow in the dark, wild eyes, mirrored, black, white, and red among others. You can also get astigmatism contact lenses and bifocal contact lenses.

Once you get a contact lens prescription, it's possible to buy from stores, online, over the phone, or by mail. Contact lens sales are regulated by both the FDA (Food And Drug Administration) and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission.)

Soft lenses also come as disposable products, used once and then discarded, or as planned-replacement lenses. And rigid gas-permeable lenses tend to actually be cheaper over the life of the lens, even though they cost more, because they last longer than soft lenses. And bifocal correction is possible with both soft and rigid lenses.

Contact lenses give you excellent peripheral vision for sports, driving, safety, and performing among others. And extra-thin soft lenses are on the market for very sensitive people. Soft lenses aren't as likely as rigid lenses to pop out or get foreign material like dust underneath them.

There are also a few rigid gas-permeable lenses that are designed and approved for wearing overnight. And extended wear contact lenses are used for overnight or continuous wear, thus ranging from one to six nights or up to 30 days. The length of continuous lens wear depends on the type of lens you get and the doctor's evaluation of your tolerance for overnight wear.

With planned-replacement lenses, the eye doctor works out a replacement schedule to meet the needs of each patient. And rigid lenses generally will give you clearer vision.

Beware of attempts to substitute a different brand from the one you want when buying your contacts. Make sure to have a current, valid prescription when you do order contact lenses. There are many good contact lens suppliers now online making their lenses available at a good discount for both prescription and non-prescription lenses.

When you do place your contact lens order, make sure to request the manufacturer's patient information for your type of contact lenses. It'll give you important risk and benefit information as well as specific written instructions for use. And always ask what rebates are available to you. You have many choices today; you can buy contact lenses from an eye doctor, at an eye clinic, on the Internet, from an optical store or a warehouse club.

Whenever you do place your order make sure that your lenses are available and not out of stock, because you'll likely need them as soon as possible. Make sure to focus on the value, not just the price because most people, who are looking for the best price, are really looking for the best value.

Be aware that extended-wear rigid lenses can cause unexpected and undesirable, reshaping of the cornea. Heat disinfection is the only method that's effective against the microorganism Acanthamoeba keratitis, which is a common culprit for contact lens wearers. It also kills organisms in and on the contact lens case. To be sure your eyes remain healthy you shouldn't order lenses with a prescription that has expired or right before the prescription is about to expire. You should get re-checked by your eye doctor.

You don't want to wear lenses any longer than they're prescribed for or when you're sleeping unless you're otherwise directed to. A basic rule is to never swap your contact lenses with anyone else. Soft extended-wear lenses bind down on the eye when it's closed. But they are porous and allow some tears through during sleep and because they have so little form, their binding has very little effect on the shape of the eye.

If your first lens fitting is performed by an eye care practitioner, he or she can also help minimize or eliminate the cause of any eye irritation that is associated with the new lenses. If you're looking for cheap contact lenses, you may find that the cheap materials or other ways of cutting costs will affect the quality you want. And if you're planning to buy contact lenses, you should buy the best quality you can get, even if it's at a higher price because you don't want to skimp on the quality when it comes to your eyes.