The Benefits of Daily Disposable Contacts

Ever wish you didn’t need to worry about cleaning your contacts or remembering when to throw them away? If so, then daily disposable contacts are for you! “Dailies” are a type of contact lens that gets thrown away after a single wear, usually at the end of the day, and a pair of brand new contacts are worn the next day. This blog post highlights the health benefits and convenience of daily disposable contacts.

1. Healthiest for eyes

The most obvious benefit of daily disposable contacts is that they are the healthiest for the eyes. Naturally occurring protein, lipids, and calcium from tears can build up on traditional contacts over time. This can cause irritation and blurred vision. It also increases the risk of an eye infection. Cleaning reusable (biweekly or monthly) contacts every night does not perfectly remove all debris. However, daily disposable contacts eliminate the concern for lens deposits because a fresh pair of contacts is used each day. The risk of eye infection with dailies is dramatically less than other modalities.

2. Best for comfort and allergies

If you are currently a contact lens wearer, you know the refreshing feeling of inserting a new pair of contacts after wearing the same pair for a month. Imagine putting in a clean, new pair every single day! For this reason, the comfort of dailies exceeds that of a biweekly or monthly lens. This also benefits individuals suffering from dry eyes and allergies. Any pollen or debris that built up on the contacts gets disposed at the end of the day, instead of having to clean the lenses and hope they last another couple weeks before opening a new pair.

3. Convenience

Dailies require the least amount of maintenance. We know your schedule is already packed with work and family life, so let us ease the burden of contact lens care. With biweekly or monthly lenses, it can be difficult remembering when it is time to replace the contacts, but with dailies, there is no confusion as to when it’s time to open a new pair. There is also no need to worry about storing and cleaning the contacts for an extended amount of time. This is extremely convenient for “people on-the-go,” who will no longer have the hassle in airports of packing contact lens solution when traveling.

Dailies are especially beneficial to young contact lens wearers – children and teenagers. You don’t have to question if your teen is cleaning and replacing his or her contacts as prescribed because daily contacts take the responsibility and work out of the equation.

4. Perfect for part-time wearers

If you only wear contacts for special occasions, events, exercising, or when you want to wear non-prescription sunglasses… then you should really be wearing daily disposable contacts! Whenever you decide you want to wear contacts, just open a new pair and throw them out when you’re finished for the day. When wearing monthly contacts, the 30-day countdown begins as soon as the package is opened. This does not mean that you can wear the contacts 30 times before replacing them. The solution also needs replaced every 24 to 48 hours to maintain a safe environment for storing the contacts. A pair of contacts sitting in a case of solution that hasn’t been changed in days, weeks, or months is a playground for bacteria. So next time you see that mysterious pair of contacts in a case pushed to the back of the bathroom drawer – throw them out!

Concerns?

Rather than getting 24 contact lenses with an annual supply of monthlies, an annual supply of dailies includes about 730 lenses. To solve the environmental concern of disposing extra waste, Bausch + Lomb has partnered with TerraCycle to create a recycling program called ONE by ONE. As a participating office, we collect empty blister packs, top foil, and contacts (of all brands) to send for recycling. You can either print your own shipping label through their website or drop off your recyclables at Weber Vision Care for us to send.

The additional contacts for a year supply of dailies (730 versus 24) can also be more expensive than a traditional monthly lens. The difference in price can easily be offset by not needing to purchase cleaning products and taking advantage of the excellent manufacturer rebates on a year supply. If you breakdown the cost, you are paying roughly less than $1/day for convenience and healthy eyes all while maintaining crisp, clear vision.

Of course dailies are not for everyone’s prescription. There are toric and multifocal contacts for astigmatism and those needing reading glasses, respectively. However, some prescriptions fall out of the typical range.

Wondering if dailies are for you? Schedule a contact lens evaluation or ask us at your next appointment. We are more than happy to get you started with the benefits of daily disposable contacts!