There Is a Soft Contact Lens for Your Vision Needs

Despite the fact that soft contact lenses have been around for many years now, there are still some people who are not aware of the full range and benefits they provide. This is especially true if they were told in the past that there was no ideal contact lens for their type of correction. Once accustomed to eyeglasses, and assuming the issue of wearing contacts has been settled, these persons very often never followed up on new information that could change an outdated diagnosis. When you couple this with the fact that under 20% of eye doctors proactively recommend contacts*, it is not surprising that even though innovations in lens technology have put soft contacts at the forefront (approximately 90% of lenses sold are soft contacts), there are those who are unaware that they could be wearing them today.

Soft contacts began as a means of single vision correction (near- or farsightedness), but they have marched far past that initial application. Today there are soft contacts available to treat astigmatism (torics) and presbyopia (multifocals). There are brands that provide UV-blocking to protect your cornea from the sun. In recent years cosmetic soft contacts have emerged to allow enhancements or complete changes in eye color for fashion or costume use.

In the realm of convenience and comfort, hydrogel and silicone hydrogel soft contacts have an advantage due to their makeup of water-containing plastics. This technology allows more oxygen to be transmitted to the cornea; keeping eyes healthy during lens wear. Certainly, the most convenient modality of hydrogels is the daily disposable, which are used once and discarded at the end of the day. There are other lenses with differing wear times, e.g. two-week and thirty-day disposables, but daily disposables eliminate the cleaning and care regimen that comes with contacts worn repeatedly for a period of time.

Contact lenses have become easier for users to obtain after a 2004 federal law required that patients be given their contact prescription from eye doctors. The ability to source lenses with a valid prescription in venues other than their eye doctor’s office has dovetailed with the growth of online vendors to service contact lens shoppers. The result is an easy and affordable means to replenish wearers’ contact lens supplies.

So, if you are among those that gave up on wearing contacts in the past--for whatever reason—you owe it to yourself to explore the possibility that you could be experiencing the freedom and satisfaction that come with contact lenses. Begin a conversation with your eye doctor to see if the many improvements in contacts have now allowed you to become a ‘good fit’ for lenses…you may be pleasantly surprised.


* “Targeting Contact Lens Practice Growth” by David M. Pearce, President of Responsible Marketing Consulting Services.

Contact Lens Wear: Freedom, Convenience, and Responsibility

Those who appreciate and value the ability to wear contact lenses also know that there is a level of responsibility that must always be exercised due to the eye health factors involved.

The major reason people choose contact lenses is that they are the vision correction option that best approximates the natural free feeling of going without glasses. Contacts have become more convenient in recent years, due to advances in materials and technology that have extended wear times and widened the range of vision correction. Now that federal law requires that wearers have a copy of their lens prescription, obtaining contact lenses has become easier through online retailers and other sources.

And this is where personal responsibility in choosing lenses has become more important.

Despite the necessity of a valid prescription (renewed annually through an exam with your eye doctor), the increased ease of shopping for contact lenses and the introduction of many types of non-corrective cosmetic lenses has allowed them, in some people’s minds, to become more of a fashion accessory and not a medical device. Teens and young adult wearers have become susceptible to this mindset and have tended to lump contact lenses with t-shirts, shoes, jewelry and other trendy items that are sometimes shared with others. This is a dangerous practice. Nothing illustrates this more than the recent explosion in popularity of circle contact lenses among young girls in an effort to achieve the ‘enormous eyes’ sported by current pop singer Lady Gaga in a music video. These lenses (which give wearers a large-eyed look, much like what is seen in Japanese anime and manga) are illegal in the United States without prescription, but are nevertheless available for purchase on the Internet. Medical and legal warnings are being bypassed in favor of looking ‘cool’. Definitely not ‘cool’ are the results from irresponsible use of these lenses: pain, inflammation, corneal abrasions, and infections that can cause blindness.

It is not difficult to be a responsible contact lens wearer. Just stick to the basics that have proven healthy and effective for years. Only your eye doctor can properly prescribe and fit your contacts. Have regular eye exams to monitor any developments that can affect your ability to continue with your lenses. Discuss any voluntary changes in regards to lens brands or styles with your eye doctor. Follow all care, cleaning, and wear-time instructions from your doctor and contact lens manufacturer. Do not be swayed by fads until you investigate the latest ‘chic’ lens product to see if it can be prescribed safely.

When it comes to contact lenses, there is never any time when it is ‘okay’ to ignore the health concerns of these necessarily controlled medical devices. Responsible behavior in your approach to contacts is the best way to avoid damaging your vision, thus jeopardizing the freedom and convenience contacts add to your lifestyle.

Healthy Eyes Lead to Successful Contact Lens Wear

When it comes to acquiring and wearing contact lenses, a lot of thought and preparation goes into the selection and care of your contacts. It is right for you be concerned about getting the proper lens that fits correctly, and gives you the comfort and freedom that is important for your lifestyle. To support the success and longevity of contact lens wear, the best eye health possible should be maintained.

It is not difficult to give yourself an ‘edge’ against potential challenges that could endanger your ability to wear contacts. The following are a few things to consider in regard to being proactive when it comes to vision care.

The part of the eye most impacted by contact lenses is the cornea. Making sure that you follow the wear and care regimen of your contacts is a good first step to minimize problems that could stem from not properly cleaning or disposing of your lenses.

An appointment with your eye doctor is recommended to discover the state of your current eye health and determine if you are at risk for eye disease due to family history and other factors. Your regular physical exam is helpful to monitor potential conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which also affect your eyes. These two culprits, if left unchecked, can lead to serious eye problems and a lessening of your ability to wear contacts. Even if you receive excellent health reports, do not fall into the trap of thinking you can do without that next exam; you do not want to be caught unawares by a rapid change in your health—both physically and visually.

Blood vessels that strengthen vision are helped by regular exercise and a healthy diet. Daily activity can lead to lower instances of inflammation in vessel walls. Foods rich in vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, and E aid in this regard, as well as fight other disorders connected to the cornea and retina. Vitamin supplements can help as well, but any changes in diet and supplement intake, as well as any substantive alterations to your exercise schedule, should be made in consultation with your doctor.

Overexposure to the sun can cause damage to the eyes, but do not be fooled into thinking that UV-blocking contact lenses will give you all the necessary protection. Lens wearers also need to have a pair of good quality sunglasses to protect the entire eye area against damaging rays because contacts—even the UV blocking kind—only cover the cornea.

If you smoke, consider giving up the habit immediately. The negative effects to eyes from both first- and secondhand cigarette smoke are significant. Conditions that smokers have to look forward to if they keep up the habit are dry eye; cornea irritation; blood vessel clots that affect retinal function; and glaucoma. By quitting sooner rather than later, risks for eye disease associated with smoking begin decreasing.

Successful contact lens wear depends on maintaining optimum eye health. Everything you can do to assure this, with the help of your physician and eye doctor, gives you the best chance possible to continue enjoying the enhanced lifestyle that come with contacts.

Take Advantage of Purchasing Contact Lenses Online

Are you one of the 35 million Americans who wear contact lenses? Where do you buy your replacement lenses? If you are not buying them online, then you are missing out on an economical and convenient way to shop for your lenses.

When the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act was enacted into law in 2004, contact lens wearers were empowered to ask for and obtain their contact lens prescription. This allowed them to seek out and shop for the most convenient supply option for their replacement lenses—thus putting the ability of finding the best deal squarely in the hands of the consumer. Online retailers were also provided the opportunity to become significant players in the contact lens business as long as they offered the consumer excellent pricing, service, and dependability.

Why are online retailers so successful? The answer is simple: they realize the fact that as a consumer, you are looking to make the best use of your time and to save the most money you can. Online retailers can save the consumer up to 70% on the prices generally offered by the eye doctor, optical chain or box store. To check on the best pricing available online, consumers may visit shopping sites that compare lens prices, discounts, shipping costs, and other information to help in selecting the site that offers the best prices.

Being able to buy your contact lenses from the comfort of your own home or office is a huge benefit when considering today’s world of busy schedules and hectic lifestyles. No more rushing to pick up your lenses during lunch time or battling traffic to pick up your lenses after work. Now you can purchase what you need in a matter of minutes. All of this practicality does not set aside your basic expectations of a business.

High quality customer service is not compromised online. Reputable online contact lens retailers provide a telephone number where you can call to ask questions or discuss concerns. Delivery time is short and lenses in stock will reach you in many cases within 5 business days.

Shopping online helps you save on two important personal commodities: time and money. Only by finding an online vendor best suited to your needs, will you begin to reap the benefits of price, convenience, and service that add up to the value you are looking for when buying contact lenses.

Reasons to Give Up Those Negative Notions about Contact Lenses

Are you one of those who feel you cannot wear contact lenses or are not inclined to explore this option based on things you have heard? Did you arrive at this decision years or even decades ago? If so, then it is time to take another look at the possibilities because there have been some significant changes made concerning styles, types, and comfort of contact lenses—many occurring in just the last few years.

It is easy to stick to the old prejudices against contact lenses when the only information you rely on is hearsay or based on old and outdated facts. Major advances have been made since the days when all contacts were rigid plastic. The most important has been the development of hydrogel soft contact lenses, which allow much-needed oxygen to permeate to the cornea. They also retain the moisture required to provide longer and healthier wear.

Improvements in comfort have lessened the difficulty during the initial ‘breaking in’ period of getting used to the lenses. This adaptation period is usually brief and, once completed, most feel as if they are not wearing contacts at all. In most cases, any discomfort beyond adaptation is quickly remedied when the cause is determined. Other concerns such as lenses ‘popping out’ (minimized to near zero due to lens improvements and innovations) or ‘sticking’ to the eyes (lenses can always be removed) are groundless. Eye doctors and staff are expert in teaching simple methods to insert and remove contact lenses—millions of satisfied wearers attest to it. In addition, mindfully following doctors’ instructions in regards to use and care significantly reduce chances of any serious eye problems. Among the safest and convenient lines of contacts promoting eye health are daily disposables, which are discarded at the end of day and replaced the next morning.

Today, you are not limited to buying contact lenses through your eye doctor. Now you have the right to know your lens prescription and the freedom to purchase contacts where you wish. So, if cost is one of your worries, then quick surfing of Internet contact lens retailers will put your mind at ease almost immediately. There is an online vendor that will satisfy any budget—no matter what type or brand of contact lens you are looking for.

And do not feel that you have grown ‘too old’ to wear contact lenses because you may have put off exploring this option for so long. There are contacts that can be prescribed for almost any condition, including those associated with age (i.e. presbyopia, dry eye, astigmatism, etc.). At the other end of the spectrum, studies have recently shown that conscientious pre-teens can also successfully wear contacts.

Begin the process of enjoying the benefits that come with wearing contacts by scheduling a consultation with your eye doctor. Now that some misconceptions have been cleared up, there is no reason not to give contact lenses a second look.

Color Contact Lenses—Fun and Functional

For many years, contact lenses have been prescribed and used strictly for vision correction purposes. But lens technology has improved on the functionality of lenses these past decades. It also allowed lenses to become a true cosmetic device, bringing attractive fashion color options to the wearer.

Color contact lenses came onto the market in the mid 1980s and have seen an increase in popularity in recent years. With the freedom to source their contacts at whatever venue they choose (with a valid prescription), wearers have also begun to think beyond just the corrective nature of lenses. They have discovered, through Internet surfing and media advertising, that contact lenses have a stylish factor and can be used to enhance or change their appearance.

There are three basic types of color contacts. A visibility tint does not affect eye color but instead carries a light blue or green hue as a means to see it better as you insert or remove it. This tinting also helps to locate the lens if you should happen to drop it. An enhancement tint is darker and is designed to amplify the natural appearance of light-colored eyes. Opaque color tints are the deepest in hue and can completely change someone’s eye color, especially those with dark eyes.

Another line of contact lenses that fall within the category of opaque color tints is the costume, or theatrical, lens. Until recently, these contacts were used primarily in the film and television industry to help transform actors into aliens, demons, or vampires. Now, these ‘fun’ contact lenses are widely available to general consumers. Eyes can have the look of jaguars, werewolves, zebras, and any number of other effects for Halloween, costume parties, and the like.

Color contact lenses appeal to a wide segment of consumers because of their cosmetic nature, but their corrective value is just as important. Color contacts are available not just in plano (non-powered), but also for near- and farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. They also come in convenient disposable brands.

Much enjoyment can be had with color contact lenses, but always keep in mind that they remain controlled medical devices. Do not let the fun factor cause you to think of them just as accessories, which may lead you to relax your caution and care. They must be prescribed by an eye doctor and, like other contacts, are not to be shared or traded. Do not even think about purchasing them in beauty salons, novelty stores, or at flea markets—which, aside from being extremely unsafe, is illegal. In addition to providing proper fit and prescription, many eye doctors will also help you in selecting the color contact lens that will best accentuate your look.

Tips for Buying Contact Lenses Online

You have decided to buy your contact lenses online and have quickly discovered that there are a large variety of vendors out there. Now you need a process to narrow the field so you can choose the best site for you.

Locating a seller with the best prices becomes easier with the use of price-comparison websites. The most common are those aligned with the popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo! (Google Product Search, Yahoo! Shopping), but there are others: BizRate, MySimon, Shopping.com, etc. Besides offering the obvious price match-ups, these sites also can make you aware of vendors you may not have found otherwise. In many cases, they also provide reviews of sellers posted by customers.

Beyond the pricing issue, there are other aspects of an online vendor’s service that need to be addressed before you commit. Great prices? Fantastic. But will you get what you want when you want it? If you have a complaint, will it be answered to your satisfaction? Let’s take a look at some things you can check for in order to select or discard an online seller.

A vendor who also takes telephone orders is indicative of a company that has service staff and is truly a mail order entity, as opposed to one individual with a website. Also, being able to talk to an actual customer service representative has reassurance value even in today’s online shopping atmosphere.

Receiving your order when you need it is important, so ask about shipping time and what may affect it. Reliable sellers should be able to tell you if the desired product is in stock and when it will ship. Some outfits will have fewer contact lenses on hand, so first they may have to order what you want before being able to ship it to you. Keep in mind if you have a complicated prescription there is a greater likelihood that those lenses will need to be backordered, even by larger companies. Also factor in the requirement by law that contact lens sellers must verify your prescription with your eye doctor. This, too, will affect processing and shipping time.

If problems occur with your order, you need to be assured that your complaint will be received and addressed. Reputable vendors offer contact information, including a toll-free number for customer service. As a rule of thumb, try the toll-free numbers to see if you get an answering machine—these are sellers you may want to avoid. Learn any company’s return policy; if your contact lens prescription changes, you will want a vendor who will take back any unopened boxes and credit you accordingly. Also, ask what they will do in the case of a shipment damaged in transit.

Of course, you are the final judge. No one is perfect, so in the end you will balance any contact lens seller’s flaws against their overall prices and service and choose accordingly. Employing the above tips will make your selection process easier.