Daily Contact Lenses

By Kevin A. Rogers, OD, Rogers Regional Eye Center
    The advancements in contact lenses are ever changing. Today there is a contact lens for every type of prescription, no matter a patient’s age or ocular health. One of the latest advancements in contact lenses is daily lenses. A daily lens is a contact lens that is worn for 1 day and when taken out at night it is simply thrown away. There is no solution to buy and there is also no need to clean lens and cases. The next morning a new contact lens is put in. This drastically reduces the chances of complications such as, dryness, allergies and infections like corneal ulcers. The one perceived negative of a daily contact lens is cost. Patients ask me all the time about the cost of these lenses if they are throwing them away daily, when it has traditionally been you kept a contact lens for 2-4 weeks. The cost of contacts is not simply just the purchase of contacts. The solution that is used to clean and disinfect contact lenses can cost anywhere from $80-$120 a year. So since daily lenses require no solution there is a significant savings there.  Also all contact lens manufactures give hefty rebates for an annual purchase. The next time you visit your eye doctor, ask about daily contact lenses.