Contact Lens Types

There are many different contact lens types available, all of which require a prescription from an eye care provider. Talk to your eye care provider if you’re thinking about getting contact lenses or changing your contact lens type. To get a prescription for contact lenses, an eye care provider will:

  • Perform a complete examination of your eyes
  • Try contact lenses on your eyes
  • Determine how the contact lenses fit on your eyes
  • Test your vision through the contact lenses
  • Give you instructions on proper contact lens wear and care

Your eye care provider will help you get the best possible vision and comfort from contact lenses. Wearing contact lenses without a proper fitting and lens care instructions from an eye care provider can lead to eye injury, infection, or other complications 1,2. Contact lens types may differ based on what they are made from (lens material), how long they are designed for wearing each day (wear schedule), and how often they should be replaced (replacement schedule). The most common contact lens types include the following:

Lens Material: Soft or Hard (Rigid Gas Permeable)

Wear Schedule: Daily Wear or Extended Wear

Replacement Schedule (for soft contact lenses): Daily Disposable or Planned Replacement

Less commonly, people wear other types of contact lenses for special reasons.

Lens Material

	soft contact lenses in a sealed plastic package on the left, and a hard contact lens case on the right

Soft contact lenses are made of soft, flexible plastics that allow oxygen to pass through to the cornea—the clear dome that covers the colored part of the eye. This lens material may be easier to adjust to and provide better initial comfort than hard, or rigid gas permeable, contact lenses. Soft contact lenses are the most common lens material worn.

Wear Schedule

Daily wear contact lenses are intended for use during the day. They are not designed for overnight wear. Remove daily wear contact lenses each night, rub and rinse with contact lens solution, and place in a clean contact lens storage case filled with fresh contact lens solution to disinfect them. Sleeping in daily wear contact lenses can increase the chances of getting a serious eye infection 1-4.

References
  1. Stapleton F, Keay L, Edwards K, Naduvilath T, Dart JK, Brian G, Holden BA. The incidence of contact lens-related microbial keratitis in Australia. Ophthalmology. 2008;115(10):1655-62.
  2. Dart JK, Radford CF, Minassian D, Verma S, Stapleton F. Risk factors for microbial keratitis with contemporary contact lenses: a case-control study. Ophthalmology. 2008;115(10):1647-54, 1654 e1-3.
  3. Poggio EC, Glynn RJ, Schein OD, Seddon JM, Shannon MJ, Scardino VA, Kenyon KR. The incidence of ulcerative keratitis among users of daily-wear and extended-wear soft contact lenses. N Engl J Med. 1989;321:779-83.
  4. Schein OD, Glynn RJ, Poggio EC, Seddon JM, Kenyon KR. The relative risk of ulcerative keratitis among users of daily-wear and extended-wear soft contact lenses. A case control study. Microbial Keratitis Study Group. N Engl J Med. 1989;321:773-78.

Replacement Schedule

The majority of soft contact lens wearers must replace their contact lenses according to a schedule prescribed by an eye care provider.

Disposable contact lenses—as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—are used once and then thrown away 1. With a true daily disposable schedule, a brand new pair of lenses is used each day. Wearing daily disposable contact lenses for more than one day may cause eye discomfort or other complications 2,3. Discard daily disposable contact lenses at the end of each day, and put in a new pair the next day.

References
  1. FDA. Types of Contact Lenses. 2013.
  2. Dumbleton KA, Richter D, Woods CA, Aakre BM, Plowright A, Morgan PB, Jones LW. A multi-country assessment of compliance with daily disposable contact lens wear. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2013;36(6):304-12.
  3. Dumbleton K, Richter D, Bergenske P, Jones LW. Compliance with lens replacement and the interval between eye examinations. Optom Vis Sci. 2013;90(4):351-58.

Special Contact Lens Types

The types of contact lenses listed above correct vision in the same way that glasses do, only they are in contact with the eye. There are additional contact lens types that people may use to enhance eye color, correct special vision problems or even treat eye diseases.

Hybrid contact lenses have a rigid gas-permeable center attached to an outer "skirt" made of soft contact lens material. The soft, outer part of the lens increases comfort and helps the lens to stay centered on the eye, while the rigid gas permeable center provides clear vision 1. This design is intended for people who have irregular corneas. Because this is a newer type of contact lens, there are fewer options available and fewer eye care providers who fit these contact lenses as compared to soft or hard contact lenses.

Reference

  1. National Keratoconus Foundation. Contact Lenses for KC. 2014
References
  1. Sauer A, Bourcier T. Microbial keratitis as a forseeable complication of cosmetic contact lenses: a prospective study. Acta Ophthalmol. 2011;89(5):439-42.
  2. Steinemann TL, Fletcher M, Bonny AE, Harvey RA, Hamlin D, Zloty P, Besson M, Walter K, Gagnon M. Over-the-counter decorative contact lenses: cosmetic or medical devices? A case series. Eye Contact Lens. 2005;31(5):194-200.
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