There is nothing mysterious about wearing contact lenses. It simply changed the way I see and the way I look.
I had no idea multi-focal contacts would work that well. But I was convinced after my first set of trial lenses.
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Top Daily Replaceable Lenses
The Best Daily Contact Lenses in 2018
Over the last few years, daily replaceable contact lenses have continuously increased their share in a fast-growing contact lens market. This isn't a surprise, as the advantages of wearing daily contact lenses are quite obvious. They don't require any cleaning routine as you just discard them at the end of the day. You can always carry a few extra boxes with you when you are on-the-go or while traveling. You don't have to worry about the handling as you just put them in once and start with a fresh pair every day. And with a fresh pair you reduce the risk of an eye infection.
Every major contact lens manufacturer is now offering daily replaceable lenses for all types of vision corrections and most of them carry two or even three daily lens families in their portfolio. So which daily disposable contact lenses are the best?
Best Daily Contact Lenses for Myopia/Hyperopia
In order to come up with this best-in-class daily contact lens list, we looked at a bunch of criteria to ensure an unbiased ranking. First, on the technical side, we think it's important to evaluate material, water content, oxygen transmission, lens design, special features such as Class 1 UV blocking and unique wetting or manufacturing technologies. On the prescription side, we looked at available prescription parameters. And, last but not least, we gather consumer and practitioner feedback from reviews, ratings and their personal experiences. So here we go, in no particular order.
Top daily lenses from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (ACUVUE) has a very long tradition of offering daily-disposable contacts which goes back to the '80s with the roll-out of 1-DAY ACUVUE®. A lot has changed since then: material, water content, and oxygen transmission just to name a few. And with the introduction of the very first silicone hydrogel daily lens called 1-DAY ACUVUE® TruEye®, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care set another major milestone. Silicone hydrogel based lenses offer a major advantage when compared to traditional lens materials. It manifests in their ability to let a very high level of essential oxygen get through the lens material to your eyes, so they can breathe and stay white.
1-DAY ACUVUE® TruEye®
As already mentioned, this was the world's very first daily lens with silicone hydrogel material. 1-DAY ACUVUE® TruEye® was introduced back in 2008 in the UK and shortly after was successfully rolled out around the globe. While the oxygen transmission value (118 Dk/t), a parameter for measuring the ability to transfer oxygen through the lens, isn't the highest anymore when compared to other daily lenses that were introduced later, this lens is definitely time-tested. And through the addition of HydraClear, a wetting agent to increase moisture, Trueye overcomes the hydrophobic nature of all silicone hydrogel lenses. And despite it's age and the advancements in contact lens technology, we think this is a great lens. And, like all other ACUVUE® lenses, TruEye® comes with outstanding UV blocking.
1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST
This daily lens can look back at an even longer history, as they were first made available in 2006. With another water embedding technology called Lacreon, they are also available for all of the major vision correction types. Besides the myopic/hyperopic version, there is also 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST for Astigmatism and 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST for Presbyopia. The lens material (Etalfilcon A) is an ionic hydrogel material (not silicone-based) which translates into a 58% water content, great for overall and end-of-day comfort.
ACUVUE OASYS® 1-DAY
If you are wearing contact lenses, you most likely have heard of ACUVUE OASYS® which is one of the best-selling brands in the world. ACUVUE OASYS® 1-DAY with HydraLuxe are the latest member of the ACUVUE OASYS® family. They were added in 2016 and continue in the tradition of the OASYS brand using the same silicone material: Senofilcon A. A new wetting agent technology called Hydraluxe was added to the lens. ACUVUE OASYS® is also available as a daily lens for astigmatism. Both versions offer Class 1 UV blocking. Prescription parameters range from -12.00D to +8.00D with 0.5 steps after +-6.00D, which covers most patient's vision correction requirements and goes beyond the typical range most lenses offer.
Best daily disposables from CooperVision Inc.
Clarity 1 Day
CooperVision entered the market of daily replaceable silicone hydrogel contacts with the acquisition of Sauflon Inc, a UK company that manufactured daily silicone lenses as early as 2010. The Clarity 1 Day family with WetLoc offers a version for mono-vision, toric and multifocal. We also like the aspheric optical design, which reduces spherical aberration and halos, so we are adding this lens to our selection of best daily lenses.
MyDay Daily Disposable
This is the youngest member of the daily lenses that CooperVision offers. CooperVision introduced a new technology called Smart Silicone which increases the ability to transfer oxygen with less silicone in the material while maintaining a high level of water content. MyDay Daily Disposable is the first daily lens they rolled out with this impressive technology without requiring an additional wetting agent. It is available as a daily disposable mono-vision or toric lens.
Bausch & Lomb's top daily lenses
Many eye care practitioners are also a fan of BioTrue and SofLens, two daily disposable lens families offered by Bausch & Lomb.
Biotrue ONEday
Like almost all recently launched daily lenses, Biotrue ONEday lenses are silicone hydrogel based and due to a wetting agent, provide a high level of hydration and oxygen transmission for added comfort and less dryness. The unique MoistureSeal technology is another highlight of these lenses as they maintain 95% of the lens moisture for a full 16 hours.
SofLens daily disposables
We love the SofLens daily disposable lenses for one main reason: price. They are one of the least expensive daily replaceable lenses you can find and win in the category of 'Best Daily Contact Lens for Budget Conscious Patients'. While they are not silicone based, they are a time-proven non-ionic polymer daily lens with a 59% water content and a very attractive price tag. The daily cost per eye for Soflens Dailies is in the $0.39 - $0.64 range, a price range usually reserved for monthly replaceable lenses.
Alcon's top daily disposable contacts
If you have worn daily-wear lenses for many years, you probably came across CIBA Vision, a company that had entered the soft contact lens market in the early 80s, and later changed into Alcon Laboratories Inc. Alcon offers two great daily contact lens product lines, the DAILIES AquaComfort Plus and DAILIES Total1.
DAILIES AquaComfort Plus
DAILIES AquaComfort Plus are daily disposable lenses made of a non-ionic hydrogel material. We like the blink activated release of moisture through the use of a combination of wetting agents integrated into the lens matrix. Alcon calls this interesting technology AquaComfort Plus and is getting the water content to a remarkable 69%. So these lenses are a great option for people with dry eyes and deserve a spot in our list.
DAILIES Total1
And last but not least there is DAILIES TOTAL1, another one of our favorite daily lenses. At the upper spectrum of the price range of any of the daily disposable lens brands you can buy, DAILIES TOTAL1 is equipped with SmarTears, an ingredient that is similar to natural tears and integrated to support stabilizing the lipid layer of the tear film. This lens offers one of the highest levels of oxygen transmission that are available today. The Dk/t value of DAILIES TOTAL1 stands at an exceptional 159 Dk/t. Very impressive!
Best Daily Lenses for Astigmatism
Some of the before mentioned lenses are also available as a toric version which is great news to patients with astigmatism. When comparing a toric lens to their mono-vision lens sibling, you will notice that the main characteristics such as lens material, water content, oxygen transmission and UV blocking are usually identical. Our list of best toric contacts from each of the manufacturers above includes:
- ACUVUE OASYS® 1-DAY for ASTIGMATISM
- Biotrue ONEday for Astigmatism
- DAILIES AquaComfort Plus Toric
- MyDay Toric
Best Daily Multifocal Contacts
For those of us using reading or progressive eyeglasses, daily disposable multifocal contacts are a great option. Whether you want to wear them all year round or just occasionally, our list of top multifocal lenses includes:
- 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST MULTIFOCAL
- Clariti 1 day multifocal
- Biotrue ONEday for Presbyopia
- DAILIES TOTAL1 Multifocal
Taking the next step
Learn more about this list covering the best daily contact lenses. Start with our Lens Advisor Tool or our cost-per-day comparison for myopic/hyperopic (short-/far-sightedness), toric or multifocal lenses and explore more about these products before your next visit to your eye care practitioner. There you will find many lens-to-lens comparisons available for each of the daily lenses covered in this article. They contain detailed spec sheets and ratings & consumer reviews and help you in the discussion with your ECP.
Alcon introduces Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal
September 11, 2018
Patients with presbyopia have now access to another multifocal contact lens from Alcon Laboratories. Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal is the latest contact lens featuring HydraGlyde and SmartShield technology. HydraGlyde, a unique surface moisture technology utilizing a PVP/PEG-based wetting agent, was originally rolled out in 2016 with the non-presbyopic version, Air Optix plus HydraGlyde. In combination with the SmartShield Technology, lens wearers will benefit from the long lasting comfort and enhanced lipid deposit resistance throughout the day.
Starting in October 2018, Air Optix plus HydraGlyde Multifocal will be rolled out to eye care practitioners nationwide and internationally. The official press release from Alcon can be found on Alcon's website.
Daily Cost Comparison of Contact Lenses
How much does it cost to wear contact lenses? Is there a difference between wearing monthly or weekly replaceable lenses and daily disposable contact lenses? And are there any differences between the major brand manufacturers?
We've put together a table showing the daily cost per eye for the most popular lenses on the market. This comparison of lenses for myopia/hyperopia is shedding some light on the true cost. For lens wearers with astigmatism or presbyopia, we also put together a cost comparison of lenses for astigmatism as well as a comparison of multifocal lenses.
FDA Approval for ACUVUE OASYS® with Transitions®
2019 will be another exciting year for the contact lens industry, for patients and for eye care professionals around the globe. It will mark the first time a contact lens will offer auto-light-adjustment capabilities. Hard to imagine, but yes, these lenses will automatically adapt to changing lighting conditions. This has been available for a long time for glasses, but not for contact lenses, and ACUVUE OASYS® with Transitions® will be the first of its kind. Johnson & Johnson Vision received FDA pre-market approval for ACUVUE OASYS® with Transitions® on April 10, 2018.
ACUVUE OASYS® vs. 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST
With ACUVUE OASYS® and 1-DAY ACUVUE® MOIST we are comparing the mono-vision contact lenses of the two main product families from Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
Johnson and Johnson Vision Care is one of, if not THE market leader in the contact lens industry and the ACUVUE brand is well known and highly respected by millions of patients around the globe.
ACUVUE OASYS® 1-DAY vs. 1-DAY ACUVUE® TruEye®
Like 1-DAY ACUVUE TruEye®, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care's ACUVUE OASYS® 1-DAY is a high-performance silicone hydrogel contact lens. They are both made with a water-loving, hydrophilic material that has the ability to absorb water while the silicone hydrogel base material ensures a high level of oxygen transmissibility. This combination makes the lenses soft and comfortable so that the eyes can stay fresh. Introduced in 2009, 1-DAY ACUVUE TruEye® is using Narafilcon A, while ACUVUE OASYS® 1-DAY which was introduced in 2016, uses Senofilcon A, a material also found in the time-tested ACUVUE OASYS® product family. Both lenses feature Class-1 UVA and UVB blocking.
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WHAT ABOUT LENS CARE?
The most convenient way is to go with daily disposable lenses. You insert them in the morning and toss them in the evening. No cleaning, no storing and a fresh pair every day. And if you are more budget conscious, choose weekly or monthly replaceable lenses. After all, the lens cleaning routine is not that complicated.
READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
Every eye is different. Make an appointment with an Eye Care Practitioner. They are the experts and only they can determine the accurate prescription parameters and provide you with the right alternatives. Ask for a free trial - most manufacturers offer free trial lenses. That way you can try out different lens options, and find out which lens works best for you.
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