Not that long ago hard or rigid contact lenses were the only option for those of us who didn't want to wear eyeglasses. Today however the world of contact lenses has really advanced and you will find much more comfortable soft contact lenses in a variety of types and styles. In fact, these days you would be hard pressed to find anyone who wears the old hard contact lenses.

Those old hard contact lenses were made out of material called polymethyl methacrylate, otherwise known as Lucite - a plastic you might recognize in some old jewelry and household products. While this allowed for great vision correction it was pretty uncomfortable to put in your eyes. Not only that but it took quite a bit of maintenance to keep these clean and healthy.

This material was also not gas permeable and so it did not allow oxygen to flow through to your eyes, therefore it was not advisable to wear the hard contact lenses for more than 12 hours. Even at that, they could probably get pretty uncomfortable.

Thankfully, soft contact lenses were invented that are much more comfortable and a lot easier to maintain as well. Soft contacts are made with water so that they float freely on the surface of the eye. They're quite comfortable and you can get used to wearing them in no time at all. They also allow oxygen to pass freely through the lens onto the cornea of the eye.

One of the drawbacks of the soft lenses is that they are not as durable as hard lenses and you can easily tear them when handling them. Also, the vision you get with these lenses isn't quite as sharp as with hard corrective lenses. But even though it's not as crisp, the vision is quite clear - usually better than eyeglasses and most people find it quite satisfactory.

Protein buildup, however, can be more of a problem with soft contact lenses and over time this buildup can have a negative impact on your vision. Not only that but it can make the lenses uncomfortable. However, if you properly care for your lenses this will minimize the buildup of protein and is also important for good eye health.

The technology behind contact lenses is evolving with breakneck speed and along with that so is the technology of the cleaning and disinfecting solutions used. At first, there were separate solutions for cleaning, disinfecting and storage but today one solution can do the job for everything making it much more convenient.

Properly cleaning your contact lenses is important, but if you don't have time for that you can simply get disposable lenses that you throw away after each time you wear them. When it's time to put a new lenses you simply open brand-new ones!

Soft contact lenses come in a variety of types you can get daily wear, or extended wear which can be worn for a day, a week or a month depending on your particular situation. It's never been easier to get good vision correction than it is today!

Contact Lens Use