what's the difference between soft contact  lens and hard contact lens?
474860
It depends. Choosing the best option is upto you. \n\nSoft lenses are less durable but can be stylish.\nHard lenses are durable.\n\nso upto you to choose durability or fashion\n\nRigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses, sometimes referred to as hard lenses, are made of slightly flexible plastics that allow oxygen to pass through them to the corneas of eyes. There are materials that should only be worn during the day and materials that can be worn throughout the night. RGPs give you excellent vision and have a short adaptation period. They are durable, come in light tints for handling and usually have a relatively long life.\n\nSoft contact lenses are made of soft, flexible plastic that also allows oxygen to pass through it to the corneas of the eyes. There are soft lenses that are only to be worn during the waking hours and soft lenses designed for overnight wear. Usually these lenses are immediately comfortable and have a very short adaptation period. These lenses come in light tints, or tints that change the color of your eyes, and they also can be made bifocal. There are soft lenses which can be kept for about a year, ones that you replace every 3 or 4 months, monthly replacement lenses, two week replacement lenses or daily replacement lenses.\n\nThe contact lens doctors at the Eye Clinic will explain all of the options available to you and help you come up with the appropriate lenses for your eyes, your lifestyle and budget.
527036
try sunglasses! thats the beauty of contacts you can wear really cool shades just like everybody else!
310921
Actually, they're more similar than you might think.  Any contact lens has to be prescribed by an eye doctor because contacts are technically medical devices.  Contacts come in many different sizes and fits, so your eye doctor has to select a lens that fits your eye properly and lets enough oxygen through.  If your contacts don't fit you correctly, serious damage to your eyes can occur.  What you mean by cosmetic contacts is probably colored contacts that don't have any power (prescription) in them.  These can be fit and prescribed by your eye doctor as well.
1058493
i think that it might be okay if you keep it in the solution for a month (you might want to replace the solution every 5-7 days.. but check with your optometrist first) but DON'T swim with them.. when soft contact lenses get completely wet, they stick to your eyeball like no other.. and it becomes really difficult to remove them.. i know.. from experience :/
1062637
depends on which you buy. if you buy daily contact lens  then change daily before sleep. NEVER wear contact lens to sleep regardless of the type of contact lens. if buy monthly contact lens then wear daily  till 1 month is up then discard. always have the contact lens lotion also. it is very important for those montlhy contact lens. wash with the contact len's  lotion for contact lens.
276813
Soft contact lenses can now correct astigmatism.
802505
I have been wearing soft contact lenses since 1979, when they cost $350 a pair (and that was in 1979).  Now, soft lenses cost about $20 for a box of 6, or $40 for 6 pair.  If you have astigmatism, you will pay about $90 for 6 pair.  \n\nThe game is that you're supposed to throw the lenses away after anywhere from a couple days to a month.  However, I routinely keep my (so-called) disposable lenses for 6 months or longer per pair by keeping them clean and disinfected, using a daily cleanser, soaking solution, and a weekly (about every 2 weeks in reality) enzyme soak.  \n\nVirtually all lenses cost the same.  It is your eye doc who will decide what brand you are prescribed.  Typically your optometrist works with a limited selection of brands, and will choose the best among those.  You will probably be given a free pair to wear on a trial basis, to make sure they are comfortable and fit properly.  Overall, lenses are very similar these days.  \n\nIf you wear your lenses every day, you should expect to pay about $15/month for supplies to keep them clean.  Note that this is cheaper than replacing lenses frequently, but it's not free.  And you will still have expenses for solutions and such even if you do replace your lenses frequently.  If you are new to contact lenses, you should expect to lose or ruin a pair or two in your first year--this is where you benefit from inexpensive disposable lenses.  \n\nI don't know where you live, but in the U.S., Consumer Reports recently said that the best price and service available for purchasers of eyeglasses and contact lenses is at either Costco or Sam's Club.  These stores' eye centers are open to the public, even if you don't have a membership (it's Federal law that their pharmacies, optometrists and other health-related facilities be open to the public without restriction).  I have used them for years, and I get excellent service and the best prices--in Dallas, for instance, it's about $100 for a contact lens + eyeglass exam, and another $90 for my toric lenses.  Wal-mart is another good choice.
917800
Whats the problem with changing your contacts every day. They are easy to put in and remove, and who wants to wear them when you sleep.  But that's OK. Anyway I am nearsighted as you are and I've worn contacts for years and years. My favorite, and the most comfortable for me were Daily Wear Contacts, you take them out when you sleep then put them back in , in the morning.To me contacts must fit and feel like their is nothing in your eyes, otherwise they get uncomfortable and you won't like wearing them. The Daily Wears are the most comfortable  because they are  very soft, like Plastic Wrap.  The Monthly wear types are more like a soft plastic and I didn't dig them.  You will pro bally like contacts they are pretty cool. Also note : If you can see up close no problem, but you can't see distances, and if you need glasses to drive, you are Nearsighted.\nWhen you can see distances and you can see to drive a vehicle, but you can't read without glasses, you are Farsighted.
172069
If you're looking to buy them without a prescription, you should know that ill-fitting contacts can lead to serious eye problems.  Contacts are medical devices that need to be fit specifically to your eyes (they aren't a one-size-fits-all kind of thing).  Even if you don't need a prescription to help you see better, you do need a prescription for the lens itself.  Your best bet is to make an appointment with your eye doctor.
732770
Well an astigmatism does make comfortable contact wearing difficult (but not imposible). What kind of contacts do you have? You should ask to try  acuvue for astigmatism. My dad wasn't able to wear contacts either(he has an astagmatism to), but this brand has worked out great for him. Also try vasine eye drops. Also Renu contact solution is the best to help keep moisture in. I would say maybe try another doctor, but don't give up yet. Trust me the effort is worth it. Hope this helps!
1162693
Try AMO Complete solution. You should check with your eye dr. before resuming contact lens wear though.
65691
Contact lens simply put, are mini lenses that go directly into your eyes. They work by adjusting your eyesight as any ordinary glasses would. The benefit? No need to wear specs, able to play sports with ease etc. The downfall: constant removing of lenses as well as cleaning them every night.
884982
No, you have a different eye exam for contacts, so the same script wouldn't work  -  it's a different type.
335195
i also have myopia and astigmatism and i've been wearing contacts since i was 12. the only visible diff. between toric contacts and the regular ones are the three lines near the bottom. they're about the same in comfort as the regular contacts... dry eye is the usual prob for me. but you get used to it. i got an extended wear pair that i change every 6 months.
638600
Contact lenses offer no protection against chemicals--in fact it is more dangerous to wear them than not.  If there are lots of chemical vapors in the air, they will end up accumulating underneath the lens (gas permeable lenses are slightly better, but I still wouldn't wear them in a chem lab).  Furthermore, if you get something in your eye and you need to wash it out, the contact lens will prevent effective cleaning.
677417
Technically, yes.  The trouble is that you have to adapt a lot more to hard contacts.  If you take a break from them, you will have to re-adapt (meaning that they'll be uncomfortable).
687646
Yes.  Contact lenses (the soft ones), are made of a special hydrogel.  This allows the contact lens to sit on your eye daily without irritating it (I know they irritate a bit but trust me.. it could be much worse!).  This places them in the classification of biomaterials.  \n\nBiomaterials are materials that come into direct contact with the body but are not 'of the body' so to speak.  Whenever something that is alien to the body (and this includes non native organ donors), an immune system response will ocur.  This will lead to inflammation depending upon the extent of the immune response.\n\nThe extent of this inflammation depends upon how biocompatable we can make the material.  Hydrogels are what we call very hydrophilic.  That is that they bind very well with water (and are indeed mostly water which is very biocompatable).  Thats why they slip and slide and are a bugger to get in and out of your eye.  This enables them to sit on your eye with minimal immune response.\n\nHowever, over the course of the day bacteria and dirt binds with the lenses.  Soaking them over night in saline and treatment disinfects them.  If you don't disinfect them, bacteria and dirt in general triggers a bad immune response of inflamation.. hence the red eye syndrome everyone hates.  \n\nAlso, because they are hydrogel, over the course of the day they can dry out.  Blinking unfortunately is not sufficient to keep them hydrated.  As they dry out they shirnk a bit and become quite hard like a plastic almost.  You can see this if you leave an old lens to dry out on the side for a bit.  This further becomes an irritation as now, rather than having a very soft lens on your eye, you've got a lump of hard plastic.\n\nFinally, with them also being very hydrophilic, as they dry out they will try to absorb water into their matrix from your eye.  This creates (in short detail) a bond between your eye and the lens making them also difficult and uncomfortable to remove.\n\nSo to summarise, don't leave em in.  It can be uncomfortable and potentially hazzardous for infection.  Also keep em clean or use new ones daily!\n\nHope this helps.