Contact lenses are extremely popular as a form of vision correction. This is shown by the fact that they are worn by over 75 million people worldwide. Of all the contact lenses available, monthly disposable contact lenses are amongst the most popular.

They are designed to be replaced every month, as directed by your optometrist. Monthly wear contact lenses are offered by all the main contact lens manufacturers, such as CooperVision, Ciba Vision and Bausch & Lomb. As a result there is plenty of choice available to those wanting to use them. They were introduced into the UK in the 1980s and have since undergone significant development to enhance the level of comfort that they offer to the wearer.

One of the main developments of monthly disposable contacts was the use of silicon hydrogel to create the lenses. This product enabled significantly more oxygen to reach the eye than had previously been possible- seven times more oxygen in fact!

The amount of oxygen that reaches your eye is very important. This is because it is needed to keep the eyes healthy. If an inadequate amount of oxygen reaches the eye it becomes prone to infection. This can produce unpleasant symptoms such as pain, redness and even vision problems. Furthermore, not receiving enough oxygen into your eye can cause corneal ulcers which can cause a lot of pain and discomfort.

If you wear monthly disposable contact lenses, you need to make sure that you follow the care advice given to you by your optometrist. This is because if you do not clean and handle them properly you risk either tearing the lens or allowing sediment to build up on its surface which can cause discomfort and possibly lead to an eye infection.

If you have any questions about how to look after your lenses do contact your optometrist as soon as possible for advice.