Contact Lenses

Contact lenses have come a long way and offer some exciting options. You can bat a pair of baby blues one day, then flash golden tiger eyes the next. You can even toss disposable lenses in the trash each night. For people with vision problems, contacts remain an effective, almost invisible tool. The thin plastic lenses fit over your cornea -- the clear, front part of your eye -- to correct vision problems including nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. You can wear contacts even if you have presbyopia and need bifocals.

Talk to Dr. Paris Abedi about the best type of lenses for you. Get regular eye exams to keep your peepers healthy and make sure your prescription stays up to date.

Soft Contact Lenses

They’re made from a special type of plastic mixed with water. The water content lets oxygen pass through the lens to your cornea. That makes the lenses more comfortable, lessens dry eyes, and helps keep your cornea healthy. If it doesn't get enough oxygen, it can swell, get cloudy, and cause blurry vision or other, more serious problems.

Pros. Many soft lenses are disposable, so you can throw them away after using them for a short time. Having a fresh pair of soft contacts means less chance of infection, less cleaning, and more comfort.
While soft contact lenses are commonly throwaways, there are some soft lenses that aren't aren't. Depending on what you need for your eyes, you may wear the same pair for about a year and clean them each night. These are typically more custom-designed contact lenses. Compared with rigid gas-permeable lenses, the other main type of contacts, soft lenses feel better when you first put them in.
As a bonus, many soft lenses provide UV protection.

Cons. Soft contact lens material can absorb particles, chemicals, bacteria, and mold more easily than both hard and rigid gas-permeable lenses. They soak up all kinds of things that can irritate your eyes -- smoke and sprays in the air and lotion or soap on your hands
Soft contacts are also more fragile. They can rip or tear more easily than hard or gas-permeable lenses.

Varieties. New types of soft lenses come to market as new technologies develop.
  • Daily disposables are soft contacts that you wear only for a day and then throw away. That means you don’t have to clean them regularly or risk dry eyes and irritation from contact solutions. If you have allergies, they may be the best choice for you.
  • Silicone-based materials create an extremely breathable lens that lets plenty of oxygen pass through to your cornea. They also keep deposits from building up. That means less irritation from dry eyes. Some silicone contacts are FDA-approved for extended wear, so you can use them for up to 30 days. But many eye doctors say to remove any type of contact lens at bedtime. Why? Your cornea gets less oxygen when you sleep in contacts, so the risk of serious complications is higher. Silicone lenses aren’t for everyone, so talk with Dr. Abedi if you’re interested in them.
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