Daily vs. Monthly Contact Lenses: Why Daily Lenses Are Your Best Option
An estimated 45 million Americans wear contact lenses, which means that 45 million people have asked the same question: are daily or monthly lenses better?
Daily contact lenses are made to be worn once and then thrown away at the end of the day. On the other hand, monthly contact lenses are stored in contact lens solution overnight and can be worn for about 30 days before switching to a new pair.
It can be a difficult decision, but knowing the facts can help you make an informed choice. Keep reading to learn more about why daily contacts are your best option for your eyes and the planet.
1. Eye health
The most important benefit of daily contact lenses has to do with the health of your eyes.
Anyone who has worn longer-use contacts knows that they tend to feel itchy or dry towards the end of their 30-day lifespan. That’s because as you wear them, there’s a gradual buildup of proteins, lipids, and other substances that come from your eyes or tears. Airborne allergens can also stick to your lenses, causing irritation. ( Learn more about possible causes of contact lens discomfort.)
But discomfort and irritation are not the only risks of the accumulated buildup on your lenses. Perhaps you reuse the same contact lens solution multiple nights in a row and forget to wash your hands before putting your lenses in your eyes. All of these things pose a risk for bacteria to come into contact with your cornea, where this bacteria could grow and cause a serious infection.
Keratitis is one of the most common eye infections for contact lens wearers. It occurs when the cornea becomes infected. In some cases, it can scar the cornea, affecting your vision.
Daily contact lenses are the best option for your eye health. Popping in a new pair of lenses each morning means that the lenses are fresh and clean, and throwing them out each night means you’re throwing away all of the buildup and allergens they may have gathered throughout the day.
Aveo daily contacts take eye health one step further, with leading-edge technology that puts your eye health first. Our Omafilcon A hydrogel lens material with AquaLock repels bio-buildup, and our AquaLock technology creates a cushion of hydration against the surface of your eye and keeps your lenses 96% hydrated even after 12 hours of wear.
2. Cleanliness
If something is coming in contact with your eye, you want it to be as clean as possible. As mentioned above, monthly contact lenses gradually accumulate proteins and lipids from your eyes or tears, or allergens from the air. Even if you rinse your contact lenses every night, it’s impossible to completely remove the buildup.
Daily contact lenses offer a cleaner, safer option. As you put in a fresh new pair each morning, you can rest assured that you aren’t putting yesterday’s bacteria, bio-buildup, or allergens back into your eyes.
3. Convenience
If you wear monthly contact lenses, you’re probably familiar with the struggles they bring: like forgetting when you need to switch your lenses or unexpectedly running out of contact lens solution.
Daily contact lenses are a much more convenient option. With daily lenses, there’s no contact lens case or solution. You don’t have to worry about cleaning them every night or remembering when the 30-day limit is up. You can simply throw out each pair at night and pop in a new pair every morning.
Aveo makes daily contacts lenses even more convenient than they already are by offering a subscription service that delivers lenses with your prescription right to your door. You can sign up for a monthly, quarterly, or annual plan, so that fresh contact lenses are ready for you when you need them.
4. Sustainability
Wait — how can daily contact lenses be more sustainable than monthly lenses if you’re throwing them away more often?
Let’s break it down.
If you use monthly contact lenses, you may throw away the lenses themselves less often, but there are other aspects of monthly lenses that make them less eco-friendly — such as bottles of contact lens solution and lens cases.
And get this: the waste from one bottle of contact lens cleaning solution is more than that of 2.5 years of daily lenses. Most people go through four to eight bottles per year — so a year’s supply of those bottles alone can create as much plastic waste as 10–20 years of daily lenses!
Likewise, one contact lens storage case for reusable lenses has the same plastic equivalent of anywhere from four to eight years of daily lenses, depending on the type of case. And of course, you should be changing your case every one to three months — yikes.
Now consider daily lenses: the waste from a whole year’s worth of daily contact lenses is the same as that of just 2.3 credit cards (around 11 grams).
When it comes to the eco-friendliness of contact lenses, there are also more factors to think about than just how often you throw them out. Manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and the amounts of water and energy used are all important aspects of a product’s sustainability.
At Aveo, we’re committed to offering the most sustainable daily contact lenses. Here’s how:
- We use 20x less water to manufacture our lenses than other brands, and our factory uses renewable biomass energy for heat and power.
- Even the molds used to make Aveo contact lenses are reused — we send them to recycling plants to be made into new products.
- We minimize our environmental impact with our own LEED Gold-certified distribution center.
- Our quarterly and annual plans allow for fewer deliveries and lower carbon footprint.
- Aveo packaging is also 100% recyclable with inserts printed using soy-based inks — so don’t forget to toss your packaging in the recycling bin.
5. Comfort
If you’ve ever experienced prolonged contact lens discomfort, you know how easily it can ruin your day. The best contact lenses should feel like you aren’t wearing any lenses at all.
As mentioned earlier, monthly contact lenses can experience a gradual buildup of proteins, and lipids — even if you change and rinse them every day. Allergens from the air can also adhere to the surface of the lens, causing miserable symptoms such as itchy, watery, or irritated eyes. Likewise, towards the end of the 30-day limit, your monthly lenses may make your eyes feel dry or uncomfortable.
Learn more about contact lens discomfort and how you can get relief.
Daily lenses, on the other hand, help maximize comfort. A new pair each morning offers fresh hydration and no bio-buildup.
With Aveo, our cutting-edge contact lens technology promises all-day comfort. Here’s how:
- Our BlissEdge design keeps the lens in place and swaps water and oxygen under the lens for fresh moisture and oxygen from the air every time you blink.
- Your eyes need oxygen — our premium Omafilcon A contacts are super breathable, with an oxygen transmissibility (Dk/t) of 37. Other hydrogel lenses have a Dk/t as low as 18.
- Aveo lenses include AquaLock, which mimics a hydrophilic molecule that occurs naturally in your eyes. AquaLock creates a cushion of hydration against the surface of your eye and keeps your contacts 96% hydrated even after 12 hours of wear. And, it’s integrated right into the lens, so it won’t wear off or dissipate like a coating.
The bottom line
When deciding between daily and monthly contact lenses, it’s essential to know the facts. Daily contact lenses are better for your eye health and are more convenient, comfortable, and sustainable than monthly lenses. Aveo daily lenses make sure that whether you need lenses with or without astigmatism correction, you can feel confident that you have the best option for your eyes and the planet.
Learn more about getting 10 pairs for just $5, or follow us on Instagram for more eye-care tips!
Get all the benefits of daily contacts by signing up for our 10-pair trial!
Originally published at https://aveovision.com on June 21, 2021.
