Way back in time most people were fitted with the old fashion hard lenses.This type of contact lensers were not comfortable but you saw clearly. Gas permeable lenses then came out to replace the hard lenses but it was still not comfortable. The only advantage of this type of contacts was that you always saw better than your glasses, especially if you had lots of astigmatism. Just like the hard lenses anything that got underneath the contacts made your eyes water and can even make a grown man cry in tears. Then

the invention of soft contact lenses changed the world of contacts. More people enjoyed wearing them due to their comfort.

We will discuss the soft lenses mainly since most doctors fit more soft lenses than the gas permeable lenses.

The most common Soft Contact Lenses are the 1-2 Week Disposable. Wear them continuously for up to one to two week and then throw them away. Or you can just wear them on a daily basis and then throw them away in 1-2 weeks. Just store in a multipurpose cleaning system and you are ready to go the next day.

People with allergies or just don't want to mess with contact lens solutions prefer Daily Disposables...At the end of the night just toss them to the trash. Very convenient. No Fuss! The cost is coming down and more people are

going in this direction. No more contact lens solutions to worry about. There is now a colored disposable lens you just wear once

and toss them out at night. Quite affordable.

Many people prefer to change Eye Color with Colored and Tinted Contact lenses. The major player for color contacts are Freshlook. They have over 12 different colors and about 3 enhancers or tinted contacts. The only problem

I have noticed is that alot of people complain of their dryness after a few hours of wear. I think it is the color matrix on the back of the contacts that causes the dry feeling. Most of these color lenses come in a one size fits all so every so often it looks like you have a crossed eye because of the movement of the lens. Even with these problems people still will want to change their eye color.

Some people prefer not to take out their lenses for a month so Ciba Vision has there Focus Night and Day which has been approved for 30 Consecutive Days of wear. Of course there are other lenses you can wear for a prolonged time.

Please remember that not everybody can wear lenses for that long without taking them out.

For those that have Astigmatism there is a help for you besides the old fashion Gas Permeable contacts. There are Toric lenses now that correct for astigmatism. For those that have alot of astigmatism there is now

hope for you. Yes you pay more but it is worth it.

And for those that are 40 Years and older! Yes there is hope for us as well. Bifocal contacts are getting better and it may just be for you. The doctor

can fit you with a bifocal contact lenses which tends to work well but my preference is to fit monovision. This is wear one eye is fitted with distant

prescription and the non dominant eye with the reading prescription. Yes you do lose some depth perception but it does work.

With any of these types of contact lens modality, contact lenses must be cleaned with a multipurpose solution. This solutions rinses, stores, and disinfects your contact lenses. Over the years in practice It amuses me that people still tend to re-use there contact lens solution. The contact lens solution must be changed on a daily basis to prevent eye infections. The solution is normally good for about 8 hours and then becomes useless. Contact

lens solutions are so cheap now that it is now worth loosing your eyesight to save money on solution.

Important Note: Please ask your Eye Care Professional if you are a candidate to wear contact lenses overnight for any length of time. Just remember that even if it is labeled extended wear or overnight wear, NOT EVERYBODY can wear lenses overnight.