How do you choose the right contact lenses? With so many contact lens options available in the market, choosing the best contact lenses can be difficult. But that is not a decision you should make alone — your eye doctor will help you choose the right ones.

Getting the right contact lenses depends on several issues. These include the type of refractive error you have and how much your eyes can tolerate wearing contact lenses. Also, your expectations and how keen you are to suitably care for your contact lenses will determine the type of contact lenses you will get.

Types of Contact Lenses

The first step is to choose the type of contact lenses your eyes need. The common types include soft contacts, rigid gas permeable contacts, and specialized contacts.

Soft Contact Lenses

These contact lenses are the most common and these are more comfortable and easier to use than rigid gas permeable contacts.

Soft contacts come in different types:
 

• Daily Wear Contacts – These are contact lenses you can wear during the day and take out every night to clean. Wearers replace these lenses after a set duration, depending on the type of soft contacts and brand. Replacement can be daily, weekly, every two to three weeks, or monthly.
   

• Extended (Overnight) Wear Contacts – You can wear this type of soft contact lenses for an entire month. This includes wearing them at night. However, extended soft contact lenses can cause eye problems. This is particularly when debris collects beneath the lens and causes serious eye and corneal infections.

Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Contacts

Rigid gas permeable contact lenses give pure, crisp vision for people who have many problems with their eyesight. Besides, these contact lenses last longer than soft contact lenses. They are also more breathable, allowing more oxygen to flow in your eye.

You must remove these contact lenses for cleaning at night, but you can wear some of them for a week or even a month nonstop. However, it may take some days or a couple of weeks to get used to RGP lenses.

Specialized Contacts

Depending on your eyesight needs, your optometrist may recommend specialized contact lenses. These include:
 

• Hybrid Contact Lenses – With a rigid center that is gas permeable, these correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, irregular corneal curve (keratoconus), and presbyopia while being surrounded by a soft lens for comfort.
   

• Multifocal Contact Lenses – These treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and presbyopia all at once.
   

• Scleral Contact Lenses – To correct vision if your cornea is distorted or is irregular.
   

• Colored Contact Lenses – These boost your ability to see different colors or make up for colorblindness.

How Selective Are You?

RGP contact lenses require some getting used to initially, but they usually offer clearer vision compared to soft contacts, particularly if you have astigmatism. If you try the soft contacts but do not like your vision’s clarity, consider shifting to RGP lenses.

For more on how to choose the right contact lenses, visit Highline Eye Care & Optical at our office in Flagstaff, Arizona. You can call (928) 240-9214 today to schedule an appointment.