*** Note: This article was written based on my personal experience and opinions which backed by some facts which are referenced in the article below. I did not intend this to be a medical article nor am I a qualified medical professional. I would recommend discussing this with your doctor if there are any questions around what was written. ***

Introduction

I am an regular contact lens wearer, I would wear contacts whenever I am out. My eye doctor recommended ACUVUE Advance and then later ACUVUE OASYS^® Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR^® PLUS Technology. From that day forward, I have been a contact lens wearer and I have to admit that it seemed like the greatest feeling ever.

My vision has been pretty consistent hovering around -3.25 on both eyes.

The Effects of Wearing Contact Lens

Over time, I started to experience dry eyes after 6 hours of daily wear. I started to notice this after 4-5 years. On average, I wear contacts up to 10 hours, allowing my eyes to rest once I get home and resort to my glasses.

For temporarily relief, there are contact lenses re-wetting drops that can help. I have used TheraTears Eye Drops for Contacts, Amo Blink Contacts Lubricating Eye Drops and Bausch + Lomb Renu Multiplus Lubricating And Rewetting Soft Eye Contact Lens Drops.

I did find relief resting my eyes and adding lubricant eye drops when my contacts are removed. The Refresh Optive Advanced were very good. It provided the much needed hydration and best when stored in the refrigerator. There are many other versions that were just as good or better. I personally liked the viles much better than the bottles.

My other personal favorite is TheraTears. They work just as well. It may be worth trying them to see which you prefer.

Switch to Daily Disposals

Eventually, my optometrist would advise to switch from 2-week disposals to daily disposals (1-Day ACUVUE® MOIST is a daily lens made with LACREON® Technology) and reduce my contact lens wear as much as possible. The daily option was to ensure I’m getting clean lens in-and-out. To be honest, I much prefer daily disposals since it feels much fresher and I don’t have to worry about any contamination. While using the 2-week disposals, it did save me a few bucks and I did not have to worry about running out of supplies so quickly. Here are some good disinfecting cleaning solutions which worked well for me for ensuring my soft contact lens were clean and fresh when they were ready to be worn.

Clear Care Plus Cleaning and Disinfecting Solution

Opti-Free Puremoist Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution

Renu Advanced Formula Multi-Purpose Eye Contact Lens Solution

I have been warned by my eye doctor that I should limit my contact lens wear when possible since it’s not good to wear them all the time. The doctor did not go into detail as to why, and my curiosity probed me to dig further and came across some articles which alarmed me.

Long Term Contact Lens Wear Effects

The short version is that wearing contacts for a long time can starve your eyes of oxygen; the contact lens would act as a barrier to the oxygen supply, so extensive wear can potentially starve the cornea of oxygen. The damage will not be apparent to the naked eye, and only when the optometrist used a special microscope. One risk mentioned was corneal neovascularisation, the body will try to compensate for lack of oxygen in the eyes by growing new blood vessels and your eyes would have new blood vessels which could turn the cornea opaque and threaten the your sight.

I personally have been told that I have scarring around my eyes which is outside of the cornea and this doesn’t affect my vision. When reducing contact lens wear, it caused the new blood vessels to collapse, and caused the scarring. This condition is more common with soft lenses, made of water-containing plastic. The lens which are gas permeable, while less flexible, it allows for more oxygen. The latest contact lens type known as silicone hydrogels, will allow more oxygen to pass through to the cornea, making them healthier. (see references)

Both ACUVUE OASYS^® Brand Contact Lenses with HYDRACLEAR^® PLUS Technology and 1-Day ACUVUE® MOIST is a daily lens made with LACREON® Technology – are made with hydrol gel polymers.

ACUVUE OASYS vs ACUVUE® MOIST – My Comparison

I have used the Acuvue brand for over a decade and I have no major complaints. Between the dailies, ACUVUE OASYS^® and ACUVUE® MOIST, I personally found more comfort using the ACUVUE OASYS^®.

While the ACUVUE® MOIST offered much comfort, I have started to feel like my eyes were drier after 6 hours of usage. Whereas, the ACUVUE OASYS^®  feels much thinner.

Let’s review the specs in more detail:

Water Content

Based on the specs below, the ACUVUE® MOIST has more water content with 58% and the ACUVUE OASYS^® is at 38%.

UV Blocking

ACUVUE OASYS^® is 96.1 UVA and 99% UVB, whereas, ACUVUE® MOIST blocks on average 82% of UVA and 97% UVB.

Lens Material

ACUVUE® MOIST is made of etafilcon A (Silicone Hydrogel Polymers) with a high Oxygen transmit-ability of 103-147 Dk/t. 

Oxygen transmitability is the degree to which oxygen may pass through a particular material of a given thickness.

Even though the ACUVUE® MOIST has a higher water content, the oxygen transmitability is greater with the ACUVUE OASYS^®  even though the center thickness is slightly thicker on the ACUVUE OASYS^® .

Here’s a quick snapshot using the Acuvue Product Spec Sheets.