What are the different types of Contact Lenses?

Daily Disposables. These soft contact lenses are only worn for one day and then thrown away. The benefits include not having to clean your contact lenses on a regular basis, convenient replacement schedule, and reduction of dry eye and irritation related to contact solutions. If you are an allergy sufferer, these are the contact lenses for you.

Silicone Extended Wear Disposables. These soft contact lenses are made with a new silicone hydrogel material that can be worn for up to 30 nights and days. The new material also prevents deposit build up and reduces dry eye irritation. However, it is safer to wear contact lenses during the day and remove and give eyes a rest at night.

Colored Soft Contact Lenses. They're hip and they're fun, but colored contact lenses can also be quite practical for some. There are four types of colored contact lenses, each offering a slightly different benefit:

Disposable (Replacement Schedule) Contact Lenses
The majority of soft contact lens wearers are prescribed some type of frequent replacement schedule. "Disposable," as defined by the FDA, means used once and discarded. With a true daily wear disposable schedule, a brand new pair of lenses is used each day. Some soft contact lenses are referred to as "disposable" by contact lens sellers, but actually, they are for frequent/planned replacement. With extended wear lenses, the lenses may be worn continuously for the prescribed wearing period (for example, 7 days to 30 days) and then thrown away. When you remove your lenses, make sure to clean and disinfect them properly before reinserting.

Hybrid Contact Lenses
The hybrid contact lens combines a rigid gas permeable center and a soft lens skirt into one unique "hybrid" lens. The rigid center corrects farsightedness, nearsightedness and astigmatism and delivers clear, high definition vision, even at night. And the soft skirt surrounding the center provides the all-day comfort of a soft lens.

Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)
Orthokeratology, or Ortho-K, is a lens fitting procedure that uses specially designed rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses to change the curvature of the cornea to temporarily improve the eye's ability to focus on objects. This procedure is primarily used for the correction of myopia (nearsightedness).

Overnight Ortho-K lenses are the most common type of Ortho-K. There are some Ortho-K lenses that are prescribed only for daytime wear. Overnight Ortho-K lenses are commonly prescribed to be worn while sleeping for at least eight hours each night. They are removed upon awakening and not worn during the day. Some people can go all day without their glasses or contact lenses. Others will find that their vision correction will wear off during the day.

The vision correction effect is temporary. If Ortho-K is discontinued, the corneas will return to their original curvature and the eye to its original amount of nearsightedness. Ortho-K lenses must continue to be worn every night or on some other prescribed maintenance schedule in order to maintain the treatment effect. Your eye care professional will determine the best maintenance schedule for you.

Decorative (Plano) Contact Lenses
Some contact lenses do not correct vision and are intended solely to change the appearance of the eye. These are sometimes called plano, zero-powered or non-corrective lenses. For example, they can temporarily change a brown-eyed person s eye color to blue, or make a person s eyes look weird by portraying Halloween themes. Even though these decorative lenses don t correct vision, they re regulated by the FDA, just like corrective contact lenses.