With Halloween fast approaching, many people look to colored contacts, specifically of the spooky variety, as a way to level up their transformation skills. For those new to the world of colored contacts, here is some important information to know before you shop.
Not All Contacts Are Created Equal
You will notice as you begin your search for colored contacts that there is quite the range of prices for colored contacts you can find on the internet. Why is that? Well, as with most of everything you buy on the internet, you get what you pay for. Meaning that if you buy the cheapest pair of spooky lenses you can buy, do not expect something of higher quality. And when it comes to your eyes, our suggestion here at Choice Eye Center is to invest in something that will not hurt your eyes. We are all about the health of your eyes.
The Risks Involved With Colored Contacts
The cheaper material that is used to make the cheaper contact lenses means that oxygen is less permeable. This means that there is a greater risk of possible complications occurring, including irritation, dryness, redness, ulcers, bacterial infection and more. If you do decide to go with the cheaper option for colored contacts, please remember to be responsible and not wear them for long periods of time.
The wrong size will also have an effect on your comfort level. Even without a prescription in your contact lens, it is still important to have a contact lens fit examination with your eye doctor to get the appropriate size for your eye. A contact lens that is too small for your eye will cause irritation and make your eyes tired. A contact lens that is too large will move around and most likely fall out of your eye given enough blinking. Either of which is likely to cause redness and irritation.
Colored contacts, although mainly used for cosmetic reasons, are still a medical grade device, and as such, should be treated with the appropriate amount of care.
Why do I need a contact lens fit?
If you call an optometrist's office and ask about ordering colored contact lenses, you will hear that they want you to come in for a contact lens fit examination. Many of you might wonder why this would be necessary if you are not getting a prescription contact lens and are simply looking for something for a costume. You may even feel like the optometrist is just trying to get more money out of you. Eye doctors are held responsible for giving medically sound advice for the health of your eyes. Telling you that you can order colored contacts without a contact lens fit would be irresponsible of the eye doctor because there are risks to getting an incorrect contact lens fit, even if there is no prescription involved (as mentioned above). Even if only worn for a day, you will want to have a contact lens that is as comfortable as possible and will not cause unnecessary irritation and other eye problems. Another part of the contact lens fit is ensuring that you can insert and remove the contact lenses without damaging or injuring your eye.
The Wide Range - Price And Availability
So now that we have gone over why you should not just go with the cheapest option available, let us go over why you might see quite the considerable price range even amongst more quality colored contact lenses. Even with standard optical, prescription contact lenses, there are a variety of different types and styles to choose from. From dailies to a monthly lens, from spherical to toric (dealing with the shape of the eye), they come in a wide variety of options to try to find the best option for each and every patient.
So not only will there be a possible high price for a non prescription colored contact lens, or "plano" as we like to use in the industry, prescription colored contacts will run even higher.
Spherical lenses are more common than toric lenses. This deals with the shape of the lens and the eye. But to get the right prescription available, manufacturers are more limited on what designs are available in this type of lens. So if you are looking to get a prescription colored contact lens, it is important to note that you are going to be more limited as far as design option. These prescription lenses are more expensive than plano lenses.
Even more complicated than spherical lenses are toric lenses (lenses for stronger astigmatism.) The shape of this lens is even more difficult to do with complicated designs. So if your prescription requires a toric lens, you will have even less options to choose from as far as design goes. These lenses are also known to be the most expensive due to the shape of the eye.
In Summary
The health and well-being of your eyes are important. Our advice is that cheap short term fun with cheap colored contacts is not worth the long term risks to your eyes. If you want to use colored contacts, there is a way to do them, just do it safely. See your eye doctor, get a contact lens fit, and pay more to ensure you do not risk the health or comfort of your eyes.
We at Choice Eye Center are happy to answer any more questions you have regarding colored contacts and lenses. Currently, you can order high quality colored contact lenses through us. Call us today to schedule a contact lens fit examination. To get your contacts before Halloween, orders must be placed by October 16th.
