Healthiest contact lenses?

I've been getting my daily disposable contacts from Daysoft for many years now. Several opticians have said they are not suitable to wear for the entire day and that there are healthier alternatives - silicon hydrogel?
Admittedly the opticians in question were also trying to sell me their (significantly more expensive) contact lenses.

Still, could somebody clarify what the best lenses for eye health would be? (I wear them the full day with a day off every week to give the eyes a break). Thanks.

AndrewJRenko

What is 'full day' in your book? It could be anything between 8 hours and 16 hours, so it would be good to clarify.

If you're in Dublin and you want an independent view, try the DIT Optometry Clinic;

http://www.dit.ie/national-optometry-centre/clinics/

They do sell lenses, but they're not profit oriented. If you want, you can do the student clinic at no charge. You'll be assessed by a student with a very, very thorough examination, and cross-checked by a senior staff member. It takes 90-120 minutes, but goes into every possible detail. Or you can do a standard clinic for a modest cost.

Thanks. A full day would be 7am to 11pm (on average).

Daisies

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks. A full day would be 7am to 11pm (on average).

Silicone Hydrogel without a doubt. It allows more oxygen into your eyes. The cornea gets some of its nutrients from the air and putting a barrier there i.e. a contact lens will decrease the amount of oxygen and nutrients getting to the cornea. Blood vessels may start to grow to feed the cornea (corneal neovasculariastion). Any hydrogel lenses are not recommended for more than 8 hours per day due to the lack of oxygen able to pass through the lens.

Yes silicone hydrogel lenses are more expensive but they are vastly better. The reason daysoft lenses are so cheap is 1) They are using lenses that are about 20 years old 2) they don't need to have the pricey professional liability insurance that any opticians requires 3) They are operating in a tax free environment

Daisies

Daisies wrote: »

Silicone Hydrogel without a doubt. It allows more oxygen into your eyes. The cornea gets some of its nutrients from the air and putting a barrier there i.e. a contact lens will decrease the amount of oxygen and nutrients getting to the cornea. Blood vessels may start to grow to feed the cornea (corneal neovasculariastion). Any hydrogel lenses are not recommended for more than 8 hours per day due to the lack of oxygen able to pass through the lens.

Yes silicone hydrogel lenses are more expensive but they are vastly better. The reason daysoft lenses are so cheap is 1) They are using lenses that are about 20 years old 2) they don't need to have the pricey professional liability insurance that any opticians requires 3) They are operating in a tax free environment

Thanks very much. Are silicone hydrogel lenses the best daily disposables, or just better than Daysoft (what is the contrasting generic term for their daily disposables called?) If not, what is the name of the better type? Is there any place online which offers silicone hydrogel lenses at prices much cheaper than in the local opticians? Lastly, I get the impression that in Specsavers anyway, and probably every other such place, they will push you to buy their preferred product. Is there any place to go, in addition to the DIT place mentioned above, where independent advice could be given by people who aren't trying to sell you their product?

Daisies

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks very much. Are silicone hydrogel lenses the best daily disposables, or just better than Daysoft (what is the contrasting generic term for their daily disposables called?) If not, what is the name of the better type? Is there any place online which offers silicone hydrogel lenses at prices much cheaper than in the local opticians? Lastly, I get the impression that in Specsavers anyway, and probably every other such place, they will push you to buy their preferred product. Is there any place to go, in addition to the DIT place mentioned above, where independent advice could be given by people who aren't trying to sell you their product?

Silicone hydrogel just refers to the material. Some daily disposable lenses with that material include: Acuvue TruEye, 1day Acuvue Oasys, Clariti Daily, MyDay, Daily Total 1.
The material of Daysoft and other older lenses is just plain hydrogel, types include : 1 day Acuvue Moist, Dailies Aqua Comfort Plus, Biomedic Dailies.

Most places will want you to buy lenses from them as the price you pay for an eye exam does not cover the costs associated with running a clinic. Specsavers will push the brand that they have special deals with the manufacturers. Most clinics will have lenses that they prefer to deal with e.g. Johnson and Johnson or Coopervision.