Having spent the best part of my childhood and teenage years wearing prescription glasses, I never know the joys of contact lenses till a friend told me about them. In our home, we were taught to believe that having poor vision was nothing to be ashamed of. And contact lenses were viewed as a purely cosmetic option, meant to cover that fact. But it wasn’t until I gathered the courage to go in for my first set of contact lenses that I realized how wrong that belief was!

My optometrist first had a good laugh when I narrated my belief about contact lenses to him. He then took the time and the effort to tell me all about contact lenses. He first explained that contrary to popular belief, contact lenses weren’t merely aesthetic devices. They were medical devices in the true sense of the term and should be worn only when prescribed. In the United States of America, it is considered illegal in many states to try to buy contact lenses without a prescription.

Next, he told me all about the kinds of contact lenses that were available in the market. Broadly, there are two types of contact lenses. While all contact lenses are made from some form of plastic, the two broad sub-divisions are whether the contact lenses are soft or hard. Hard contact lenses are also known as rigid gas permeable lenses. As the name suggests, soft contact lenses are softer because they contain more water. This makes them much more comfortable to wear than the rigid gas permeable contact lenses, which are more defined. While it is initially easier to get used to soft contact lenses, in the long run, it is the hard contact lenses that are more dependable and durable.

But what is more important than the material or type of the contact lenses used, is the replacement schedule of the contact lenses. Back in the 80’s there were only hard contact lenses available. While they were durable and could be used for months on end, the technology of those times made them uncomfortable and susceptible to oxygen deprivation, making them strenuous options for your eyes. The present day hard contact lenses have however been able to overcome that problem and can be worn continuously for at least 30 days with no discernible oxygen deprivation effects. Soft contact lenses on the other hand, are available in a wide array of wearing schedules. There are the one day contact lenses that can be disposed after being used for a day, there are the extended wear contact lenses that can be worn for periods ranging from a week to several weeks and then there are also the conventional soft lenses that can be worn for as long as a year before they need to be replaced.

Of course, a lot depends on the individual wearing the lenses. If you are someone like me, whose eyes produce more lipids or proteins, you will need to go in for a shorter wearing schedule as the deposits can decease the lifespan of the contact lenses. And finally, (my optometrist had another long laugh) there are variations in color of the contact lenses. After the prescription has been determined and the material has been chosen, individuals can opt to go in for tinted contact lenses to change, highlight or even modify the color of their eyes!