Soft Contact Lenses
 

Let's face it, if you are going to load something into your eye day in and day out you want it to be darn comfortable, right? Well more than 80% of contact wearers use soft contact lenses.

Many among them claim they find those soft lenses initially more comfortable than hard contact lenses or rigid gas permeable lenses (RGP). With soft contact lenses, there will be no more contact lenses popping out of your eyes. Never!

Soft Contact Lenses or SLC's are made from complex polymers and often referred to as hydrogel lenses. Soft Contact Lenses are now available in colors as well.

Advantages of soft contact lenses:

• Your eyes adapt to them quickly.
• You seldom feel your soft contact lenses when blinking.
• They are harder to accidentally dislodge due to their greater eye surface coverage.
• Soft contact lenses eliminate unsightly pressure marks on your nose from eye glasses.
• They can be colored to enhance or even change your eye color.

Disadvantages of soft contact lenses:

• Soft contact lenses are highly sensitive to oils, bacteria and contaminants on your hands.
• Because they are fragile, it is possible to tear or otherwise damage soft contact lenses during cleaning.
• The longer you leave a pair on your eyes the greater the chance for eye infection
  (soft contact lenses should not be worn longer than the period suggested by your physician).
• Some users experience excessively dry eyes and must switch to rigid gas permeable contact lenses.  Otherwise, they have to make regular use of appropriately designed eye wetting solutions.

Inserting and removing soft contact lenses with clean, dry hands is an absolute must. An advice for you is make sure you have your eye doctor train you in the proper insertion and removal of your soft contact lenses. You are the paying customer; make sure they take the time to show you the easiest and safest way to do it. Have them stick with you until you fully understand and can perform the process on your own.

Be patient with yourself and know that millions before you have passed through the exact same initial discomfort and learning process. If your soft contact lenses still don't seem to fit properly, have your eye doctor re-examine your eyes until you have a prescription that works properly and comfortably for you.

Don't forget you also have the right to obtain your written prescription so you can use it to buy soft contact lenses from the provider of your choice.

Many users of soft contact lenses sing the praises of the convenience of daily disposable contact lenses. In fact, daily disposables have captured a very large share of the world. They may cost a bit more, but they do at least relieve you of the chore of daily lens cleaning. You can also have ready replacements at hand in case you unexpectedly damage or lose a pair of soft contact lenses.

With the exception of the daily disposables, there is a possibility of tearing soft contact lenses during the cleaning process. Newer solutions now offer a "no-rub" cleaning process, which can thus minimize such damage. Some users experience more eye dryness with soft contact lenses than with rigid gas permeable lenses because the rigid gas permeable lenses (RGB) transmit a greater percentage of oxygen to the cornea of the eyes, and they allow for greater water transfer (tears).