WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTACT LENSES?

How Many Types of Eye Contact Lenses are There?

If you have never used contact lenses, you are probably not familiar with aspects such as materials or available modalities.

Types of Contact Lenses

Soft eye contact lenses

How are they?

Its texture is pleasant, comfortable, easy to adapt and hardly move in the eye. Advances in materials have led to the development of a new generation of soft lenses, called silicone hydrogel, that allow greater oxygenation of the cornea, ensuring the health of the ocular surface. 

What types are there? 

Disposable daily replacement:

• Single-use.
• Presented in individual containers.
• Allow a new pair to be released every morning and discarded at the end of the day. 

Reusable:

• They allow the same pair of lenses to be used every day for a certain number of weeks, usually one month.
• They are cheaper than disposable daily replacement.
•  Require the use of maintenance solutions.
•  Replacement periods must be respected to avoid the formation of protein deposits in the lens and other complications. 

Types of Contact Lenses

Prolonged use:

• Designed to be worn continuously, both during the day and at night, for a certain number of weeks, depending on the manufacturer.
• It is not necessary to remove the lenses to sleep, although it is not always recommended to wear them every night.
• Continuous use can influence the accumulation of microorganisms in lenses and increase the risk of infections and other problems. 

For whom?

This type of lens is perfect for athletes and for all those with very active lifestyles. 

Rigid gas-permeable eye contact lenses

How are they?

They are smaller and more consistent than soft ones. They are durable and their maintenance is very simple. If the prescription does not change, you can use the same lenses for a period that usually ranges between six months and two years, which makes them very attractive from the point of view of cost.

At first, they may seem a little less comfortable than soft ones, so it takes a while to adapt. They also have a greater tendency to move from the center of the eye.

For whom?

They are the lenses of choice to correct certain visual problems, such as refractive errors that require high cylindrical or spherical powers, in a more precise way than soft lenses

Specialized Eye contact lenses

Hybrid lenses

How are they?

Types of Contact Lenses

Hybrid contact lenses consist of a central zone made of a gas-permeable material surrounded by a softer outer ring.

For whom?

Hybrid lenses are often used in cases where the curvature has an irregular shape, such as keratoconus, or if the user has problems with gas-permeable lenses.

Bifocal and multi-focal contact lenses

How are they?

As with progressive glasses, bifocal lenses include two prescriptions on the same lens: one for far vision and one for near vision, while multifocal lenses have a power spectrum on each lens that allows you to see well at all distances. Both modalities are available in soft and gas permeable materials.

For whom?

They are indicated in people with presbyopia, who require good vision from far and near.

Monovision eye contact lenses

How are they?

In this case, each lens has a different prescription: one for reading and another for far vision. There is also the option of using a bifocal or multifocal lens in one eye and a monofocal lens in the other.

For whom?

Although this option is increasingly in disuse, its indication is for people with presbyopia.