There are a variety of different types of contact lens, which fall into two main categories, Hard Lenses & Soft Lenses.

Hard Lenses are more commonly known as 'Gas Permeable Lenses', and although they usually give very good clarity of sight, many people find them difficult to get used to, and so they are not usually the first choice of contact lens.

Soft Lenses have the outstanding advantage that almost everybody finds them comfortable and easy to get used to. The disadvantage is that Standard Soft Lenses do not properly correct everybody's eyesight as well as spectacles do. Some people's eyesight requires a more complicated type of soft lens called a Toric Soft Lens.

This is a type of lens that is specially made to correct Astigmatism. The term 'Astigmatism' refers to a mild, natural distortion of the eyeball that almost everybody has got, and spectacle lenses are routinely made to correct this. Standard Soft Lenses do not compensate for astigmatism, so if your eyesight has more astigmatism than can be conveniently ignored without affecting clarity of sight, the more accurate Toric Soft Lens is used.

This situation occurs in 15-20% of contact lens fittings. The only real disadvantage is that this type of lens is more complicated to manufacture, and thus more expensive.

The general rule with soft lenses is, the more often you replace them, the less dirty they are and thus there are fewer potential problems that could occur, and this is healthier for your eyes.

• On a practical level however, a balance has to be struck between how often the lenses are replaced and how much it costs to do so.
• For general wear (approx. 8 hours per day, 4 or 5 days per week) we recommend replacing lenses every 3 months.
• For more intense wear (8+ hours per day, 6 or 7 days per week), monthly replacement of higher water content lenses is advised.
• There are new lenses that are specially designed for overnight wear, and these are worn continuously for 6 days and nights, with 1 night per week off, and the lenses replaced monthly.
• For occasional use, Daily Disposable Lenses (worn once, then discarded) are excellent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it hurt to put contact lenses into my eyes?
Modern Soft lenses are the most comfortable lenses that you can get. Almost without exception, the most common reaction to having lenses put in for the first time is: 'It's nowhere near what I imagined…I wish I had tried them years ago!'

What if I just can't get on with them?
No problem. We offer every new wearer 1 WEEKS FREE TRIAL. This means that although you pay for your lenses when you pick them up, when you return for your next appointment 1 week later you can decide to return the lenses for an automatic full refund.

Am I too old to wear contact lenses?
Definitely not! If you need different glasses for reading close-up, or if you wear bifocal glasses, them we may need to adjust the strength of your contact lenses. Alternatively we will often suggest reading glasses to wear over your contact lenses. Apart from this, age makes little difference.