What You Need to Know About Night and Day Contact Lenses

In the earlier days of contact lenses, wearers didn’t have much choice when it came to how long they could wear them. Very early contacts could be worn for only a few hours at a time while more modern-day contacts can be worn pretty much throughout the day. In fact, most contact brands in today’s time must be taken out before a person goes to bed. If not, they risk getting a serious eye infection. Of course, there is an exception if one wears night and day contact lenses. With night and day contact lenses, a person can wear the contacts all day and night without causing any damage to their corneas.

Night and day contacts do not use the same type of material that is found in regular contact lenses. Instead, night and day contacts are made with lotrafilcon A. Lotrafilcon A is a material that allows more oxygen to pass through to the cornea. With access to more oxygen, the cornea can tolerate wearing the lens for a longer period of time. Thanks to lotrafilcon A, night and day contacts can be worn continuously for up to 30 days before having to be taken out and disposed of.

Despite the convenience of night and day contacts, currently only two companies in the U.S. make these types of lenses: Bausch & Lomb and Ciba. Bausch & Lomb’s night and day contacts are called Pure vision, while Ciba’s night and day contacts are called Focus Night and Day.

There are more similarities among these brands than differences, as both brands allow for 30 day continuous use and both offer free trials. Price-wise Ciba’s Focus Night and Day contacts are more expensive than Bausch & Lomb’s Pure Vision contacts.

There is also controversy surrounding Bausch & Lomb, as the company underwent a lawsuit in 2006. Apparently their solution had caused a large number of fungal eye infections. However, since then the company has removed the solution from their product line. Additionally, there has been nothing reported about the safety of their contacts.

How can one obtain a pair of night and day contacts lenses? The first step is going to the optometrist and seeing if one is even capable of wearing them, since some eye conditions require that the eye be allowed to ‘breath’ for a certain length of time.

Once the optometrist makes out a prescription, a person can get night and day contact lenses from the optometrist’s clinic or they can go online. Some popular sites offering night and day contacts are 1800Contacts.com, Lens.com or JustLenses.com. To buy the contacts, a person will need to enter in their current prescription information. Shipping rates vary from site to site, but generally many sites selling contact lenses will offer free shipping if a certain amount is ordered. Indeed, online stores are a good alternative for people who want the convenience of being able to order the contact lenses in the comfort of their own home while sitting in the pajamas.

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