Daily disposable contact lenses are my lens of choice for most of our patients. In our practice, the majority of our contact lens patients wear daily disposable lenses, and they love this modality. The main comment I hear from patients returning for their follow-up visit is “I love the feeling of wearing a fresh, new lens each day!”.
Twenty-four percent of U.S. contact lens wearers are already wearing daily disposable lenses, and this figure is increasing each year by over five percent. Here are the four main reasons why:
1. Convenience. Patients love the convenience of daily disposables. They can put brand new contacts in when they wake up, wear them all day and then remove them and throw them away before bed. No care involved at all!
2. Comfort. Patients who suffer from allergies or irritated eyes from contact lens solutions find the comfort of daily disposables to be superior to monthly lenses. Because you are putting in a new fresh lens every day, there is significantly less mucous build-up on the lenses and no irritation from the preservatives found in multipurpose solutions.
3. Safety. I find a lower incidence of infection among my daily disposable contact lens wearers primarily due to poor compliance and lens hygiene with other replacement options. I love the ease of use of the daily disposable contacts. I have had many patients who I have switched over to daily contact lenses due to poor compliance with replacement schedules with other lenses and their frequency of infections and complications has been drastically reduced. These lenses are wonderful for children and teens for this reason as well.
4. Cost. Over the past year, the cost of annual supplies of daily disposables have decreased. In addition, many manufacturers offer rebates on a purchase of a one year supply. You’ll also save about $100/year by not needing to purchase contact lens solutions!
Although daily disposable contact lenses are not an option for all patients, contact lens companies have recently greatly expanded the powers and parameters of these lenses. In our clinic we carry the following brands: Proclear 1-day, Safigel 1-day, Dailies AquaComfort Plus, Alcon Dailies Total1, and 1-Day Acuvue Moist. If you are interested in finding out if daily disposable contact lenses are an option for you or a family member, give our office a call at (203) 985-9000.