Should You Wear Contact Lenses Instead of Glasses?

I still remember the first day I got fitted for contact lenses about five years ago. It was as if I had been given a second shot at perfect vision - no need for clunky glasses, thick frames and lenses, or the inconvenience of having my glasses knocked off my head while playing a game of pick-up basketball after class let out.

Millions of consumers have switched over to contact lenses from their prescription eyewear. You can wear contacts as often or as little as you want - I find them uncomfortable while at the beach and on long flights, so I just wear glasses on those occasions.

Contact lenses require a prescription so you will need to see an optometry office in your area to get fitted for them. Typically prescriptions last for one-year; feel free to price comparison shop for boxes of lenses and do not simply settle for the marked-up prices your optometrist offers you.

Online-only contact lens retailers such as 1800Contacts.com and VisionDirect.com fill prescriptions quickly and offer overnight delivery for many brands.

I personally prefer daily disposable lenses as you simply take the lenses out at night and throw them away. The next morning, you put in a fresh pair - no need for complicated cleansing solutions or a lens case. A fresh pair each morning also lessens the chances of catching a rare, but serious, form of eye infection.

CIBA Vision's Focus Dailies brand is my personal favorite in terms of comfort, but Johnson & Johnson also makes an excellent brand of daily contact lenses, Accuvue 2.

Unless you wear contact lenses specifically designed for in-sleep and continuous use, you should not take a nap or sleep while wearing daily contact lenses.

Aside from that, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before putting in and removing your lenses. I have been using dailies for about five years and have never had an eye infection or irritated cornea. It is important not to re-use daily lenses; they are simply not designed to last that long.

Of particular interest to long-time contact lens wearers is CIBA Vision's Focus Night and Day brand of lenses, which claim to be designed for continuous use for up to one month. This means, if your eye doctor allows it and with his or her supervision, you can leave the lenses in for a month straight! (Many see this as exciting because it's a surgery-free alternative to Lasik eye surgery.)

I tried Focus Night and Day and found them too uncomfortable after about the first week of wear, but there are certainly many positive experiences written about by others online. If convenience is a major concern, certainly ask your physician if he recommends Night and Day for you - but, like I said, I just found them too "scratchy" after a week.