Contact lenses are a fantastic alternative to eyeglasses. You may be considering contact lenses because you value their convenience, have trouble wearing glasses, or simply do not like the look of glasses on your face. When choosing contact lenses, it is important to consider the frequency that you will be replacing them; not all contact lenses have the same usable periods, and it is important to know when to replace your current pair for new ones.
What are Daily Contact Lenses?
Daily contact lenses are single-use contact lenses that are meant to be disposed of every day. Every new day, a fresh pair of contact lenses will be opened and worn until the end of the day when they are thrown out. Other disposable contact lenses exist, such as 2-week disposable lenses and monthly disposable lenses.
What are the Pros and Cons of Daily Contact Lenses?
Pros
- Protein, calcium, lipids and other substances found naturally in your tears can build up on your lenses. These substances can affect your comfort when wearing contact lenses and can lead to infection if you are not careful. Reusable contact lenses can be cleaned and maintained, but cleaning is not always 100% effective. Being able to use a new pair of contact lenses helps you avoid contaminating your eye and contact lenses.
- Daily contact lenses are convenient. There is no need for contact lens solution or containers.
- For those who are new to wearing contact lenses, daily contact lenses can be easier to keep track of and more comfortable to wear. This is due to the lens being completely new and free from any contaminants, as well as the fact that there is no need to keep track of contact lens solution or containers.
Cons
- They are more expensive up-front. Over time, daily contact lenses will even out in price compared to reusable lenses, but if you are only an occasional wearer the price will end up being more expensive in the long run.
- Daily contact lenses are easy to damage and hard to clean. They are typically thinner than reusable lenses and are prone to tearing if you are not careful. For this reason, they are also harder to clean and maintain if they become contaminated during the day you are using them.
- They produce more waste than reusable contact lenses. Not only are you using more contact lenses, but you will also be purchasing more boxes that contain the contacts, thus increasing the overall waste from every purchase.
Daily Contact Lenses Vs Reusable Contact Lenses
There are some advantages to using reusable contact lenses compared to daily contact lenses. Reusable contact lenses can be better for the environment and usually cost less.
Reusable contact lenses need more maintenance and require extra supplies like contact lens solutions and containers to be used. Reusable contact lenses are also more likely to get contaminated and overused in comparison to daily contact lenses. Reusable lenses can be quite expensive to replace if you are not taking care of them; if you are often tearing lenses and going through lenses quicker than their specified rate of replacement, daily contacts might be a better option for you.
Mostly, the decision between daily and reusable contact lenses comes down to preference. Depending on what you value more, either daily or reusable lenses will offer you the best solution to your eye care needs.
Daily contact lenses used to be a luxury due to the manufacturing process used to create contact lenses, but significant progress in this process has been made to allow brands to create more contact lenses of high quality at a greater volume. This means that daily contact lenses are widely available and not a luxury anymore when compared to reusable lenses.
Are Daily Contact Lenses Right for You?
If you value convenience and cleanliness, then daily disposable lenses are a great option for you. Daily contact lenses do not require you to keep track of a container and other supplies required for reusable contact lenses, or worry about cleaning and disinfecting your contact lenses every night and they offer a convenient and easy solution to helping you see clearly.
Book an Appointment for a Contact Lens Exam
If you are curious about purchasing daily contact lenses, contact your optometrist and book a contact lens eye exam to learn more about your options and if daily contact lenses are right for you.
