When first exposed to the available contact lens information, it can be overwhelming. Contact lenses are made of different materials, can be clear or colored, are worn just during the day or overnight too, can last years or are disposed every day. And these choices are in addition to the type of vision correction or whether there's any correction at all. So the following contact lens information is designed to offer a basic introduction to contacts.

Originally contact lenses were made of glass and not surprisingly, weren't popular. But for the last 60 years they been made of various types of plastic. And when sifting through contact lens information, you need to be aware of the differences. Currently, the most popular type is hydrogels or soft contacts. They're comfortable because they absorb water and when wet are very flexible. The other type of lens is rigid gas permeable or RGP. Because they don't absorb water they're not as immediately comfortable as soft lenses. Conversely, because RGP lenses hold their shape, they often provide better vision correction, especially for some conditions like astigmatism.

Usually contact lenses are worn during the day and are called daily wear. But with an improved ability of the lens material to pass oxygen to your cornea, some lenses can be worn overnight for up to a week. These type of lenses are called extended wear. The contact lens information that comes with your contacts explains whether overnight use is appropriate.

Like all things, contact lenses get dirty. Your tears have a number of elements besides water and some of them can accumulate on contacts. Also, dust and bacteria in the air can build up on the lenses. You clean contacts in accordance with the packaged contact lens information. But to cut down on this cleaning, frequent replacement lenses are available, They're meant to be replaced every few weeks or months. And because they spend less time in your eyes, there's less chance of any harmful deposits. If you want to eliminate cleaning, you can get disposable lenses which are thrown away after one use.

A popular contact lens, even for people with normal sight, is the colored lens. The amount of tinting used determines the effect on your eye color. Enhancement lenses are lightly tinted to make you natural color more appealing. Opaque lenses have a non-transparent color layer that covers your iris so that it can be a completely different color. Even when there's no vision correction involved, the lenses are still a medical product and the contact lens information you're given should be followed to maintain healthy eyes.

Contact lenses can correct for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and even presbyopia. When reading through contact lens information, it surprises some people that they can get bifocal contacts. But by use of several optical techniques, a contact lens is capable of correcting for a range of vision, from near to distant.