Disposable Contacts: A Healthy Choice
By Liz Segre; reviewed by Dr. Arthur B. Epstein
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Introduced in 1987, disposable contacts are designed to be worn for a specific period of time, then thrown out and replaced with a fresh pair of lenses. Disposables are now the most common type of contact lenses. Many eye care practitioners and consumers favor disposable contacts because of their health and convenience benefits.
What Are Disposable Contact Lenses?
It's important to understand the terminology:
- Disposable lenses = replaced every two weeks, or sooner
- Frequent replacement lenses = replaced monthly or quarterly
- Traditional (reusable) lenses = replaced every six months or longer
The term "disposable" often collectively refers to both disposable and frequent replacement lenses.
Replacement Schedule vs. Wearing Schedule
A common source of confusion about contact lenses involves replacement and removal intervals:
- Replacement schedule refers to how often your lenses are discarded and replaced that is, whether they are disposable, frequent replacement or reusable.
- Wearing schedule refers to how often you remove your contacts (but don't necessarily discard and replace them). Daily wear means you remove them each night. Extended wear means you sleep in them.
Disposable contacts can be prescribed either for daily wear or extended wear, depending on your eye physiology and needs.
Why Throw Out Lenses at All?
The more frequently you replace your contact lenses, the healthier and more comfortable your eyes can be. Substances like protein, calcium, and lipids found naturally in your tears can build up on your lenses. These deposits make your contacts less comfortable than when they were new, and can also make your eyes more prone to infection.
Of course, you can always clean your lenses, but disposable lenses save you some (but not all!) of the time and trouble of doing this.
Are you following your doctor's cleaning instructions? If not, you might be better off with daily disposables.
The Ultimate in Health and Convenience: Daily Disposables
There are two ways to avoid just about all contact lens care. One is to sleep in your lenses, and then replace your lenses periodically. Unfortunately, sleeping in lenses is not a good idea for everyone (to learn more, see our article on extended wear), and sleeping in contact lenses slightly increases your risk of eye problems.
The other alternative is daily disposables, also called one-day disposables: contacts that you discard every night, and replace in the morning with a new pair. Many eye care professionals and contact lens wearers feel that this option offers the best of both worlds. It's convenient because there is no lens cleaning at all. It's healthy because there is no day-to-day lens deposit buildup, and because there is no increased risk of eye problems due to sleeping in lenses.
How Different Are Disposables from Regular Lenses?
Even before the advent of disposable lenses, it was well known that frequent lens replacement was a healthy thing to do. Problem was, contacts were too expensive to discard very often so various cleaning solutions and devices were used to prolong the life of the lens.
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