Daily Disposable Contact Lenses

Disposable lenses are replaced every two weeks, or sooner.

Daily disposable contact lenses are designed to be worn for a single day, and then thrown-away. As such, these lenses represent the ultimate in convenience for the contact lens wearer. No need for extensive cleaning procedures - you don´t even need a contact lens case unless you want to take the lenses out for a while.

Moreover, daily-disposable contacts are generally considered the safest and healthiest type of contact lenses because the use of a fresh pair of lenses every day minimizes the chance for build-up of harmful pathogens on the lens surface.

Each of the major US contact lens manufacturers offers a daily disposable contact. First into the market was Johnson and Johnson with the Acuvue 1-day, then came Ciba with the Focus Dailies and finally Bausch & Lomb with the Soflens One-Day. In Europe and Asia, Daily Disposables are one of, if not the leading modality for contact lens wear.

Daily Disposables: A Healthy Choice

Disposable contacts are worn for a specific period of time, then thrown out and replaced with fresh lenses. Disposables have become the most common type of contact lenses.

Many eye care practitioners and consumers prefer disposable contacts for their health and convenience benefits.

What Are Disposable Contact Lenses?

You need to understand the terminology:

Disposable lenses = replaced every two weeks, or sooner
Frequent replacement lenses = replaced monthly or quarterly
Traditional (reusable) lenses = replaced every six months or longer
The term "disposable" often refers to both disposable and frequent replacement lenses.

Replacement Schedule vs. Wearing Schedule

A common source of confusion about contact lenses involves replacement and removal intervals:

Replacement schedule refers to how often your lenses are discarded and replaced, that is, whether they are disposable, frequent replacement or reusable.
Wearing schedule refers to how often you remove your contacts (but don't necessarily discard and replace them). Daily wear means you remove them each night. Extended wear means you sleep in them.
Disposable contacts can be prescribed either for daily wear or extended wear, depending on your eye physiology and needs.

Why Throw Out Lenses at All?

The more frequently you replace your contact lenses, the healthier and more comfortable your eyes can be.

Protein, calcium, lipids and other substances found naturally in your tears can build up on your lenses. These deposits make your contacts less comfortable than when they were new, and can also make your eyes more prone to infection.

Of course, lenses can be cleaned, but cleaning is not 100 percent effective. Some deposits will remain and increase over time.

There are two ways to avoid just about all contact lens care. One is to sleep in your lenses, and then replace your lenses periodically. Unfortunately, sleeping in lenses is not a good idea for everyone, and sleeping in contact lenses slightly increases your risk of eye problems.

The other alternative is daily disposables, also called one-day disposables: contacts that you discard every night and replace in the morning with new ones. Many eye care professionals and contact lens wearers feel that this option offers the best of both worlds. It's convenient because there is no lens cleaning at all. It's healthy because there is no day-to-day lens deposit buildup, and because there is no increased risk of eye problems due to sleeping in lenses.

How Different Are Disposables from Regular Lenses?

Even before the advent of disposable lenses, it was well known that frequent lens replacement was a healthy thing to do. Problem was, contacts were too expensive to discard very often - so various cleaning solutions and devices were used to prolong the life of the lens.

Then contact lens manufacturers developed new manufacturing methods to produce high-quality lenses in greater volume, at lower cost. These advances led to lower lens prices, making it affordable to replace lenses more often.