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By Phil Galewitz, Special to USA TODAY
Despite the growing popularity of laser eye surgery, the makers of contact lenses are not conceding anything, coming out with several new types of lenses in the past few years that give wearers an unprecedented number of options.
"It's a great time to be a contact-lenses wearer," says Ron Walker, publisher of All About Vision.com, an Internet consumer guide. "There are more choices than ever before."
While 6 million Americans have had laser eye surgery, about 40 million wear contact lenses, according to Market Scope, an eye industry market data firm, and the trade group Vision Council of America.
Because of intense retail and online competition, the price of most of the newer contacts are comparable to that of older styles. Most lenses typically cost about to a month.
"Lenses are more comfortable, and the vision quality is better than it has ever been," says Joe Yager, an optometrist in Orlando and president of the American Academy of Optometry.
Silicone hydrogel
Perhaps the biggest breakthrough with contacts in the past few years is the new silicone-hydrogel lenses. The material allows at least four times more oxygen to flow through the lens into the eyes than traditional soft lenses. Increased oxygen is the key to comfort and to avoiding dryness and infection, Yager says.
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Dwight Cavanaugh, professor of ophthalmology at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, likens the advance in lenses to switching from VHS to DVD. "It's a no-brainer," he says. "It's a safer, better lens."
The new material comes in lenses that are discarded after 14 days and in those that can be worn continuously for 30 days at a time. So far, though, the new material is not available in the daily disposables. Cavanaugh says these types of lenses remain the safest because they require the least handling by the user and allow for the least bacterial buildup on the lens.
Bifocal contacts
Another improvement is the bifocal contact lens. "Bifocals is an emerging market because the average age of a contact lens wearer is now 38," says Amy Nau, director of optometric services at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Bifocal lenses feature two prescriptions on one lens: one to correct distance vision, if that's needed, and the other to correct near vision.
There are three different designs: simultaneous, concentric and alternating vision. Simultaneous vision designs fit centered on the cornea, with both the distance-vision and near-vision prescriptions within the pupil area. In a concentric design, the center portion of the lens contains the distance prescription and the outside contains the near prescription, or vice versa. Alternating vision designs work much like a bifocal eyeglass lens: The top of the lens has one prescription and the bottom has the other.
'Sunglass' contacts
One of the most intriguing new types of lenses is the new "sports-tinted" lens. The Nike Maxsight lens works like a pair of sunglasses but without the frames that can slip or fog up. The new lenses come in gray-green shade for golfers and amber shade for fast-moving sports like baseball or tennis. The lenses are larger than a typical soft contact lens and give the wearer's pupils an enlarged appearance.
The lenses are not meant to replace sunglasses for everyday use because you still need sunglasses to protect the area around the eyes — not just the cornea — from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, says Christine Sindt, an optometrist and director of the contact lens service at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Several professional athletes have tested the lenses, including Brian Roberts of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles.
Color contacts
One of the most popular new types of contacts is one that changes your eye color and corrects your vision. You can get two types of color contacts: enhancement color lenses, which are half transparent and designed to enrich your natural color; and opaque lenses, which can change your color completely.
For years, teenagers bought colored contact lenses in discount stores. But prompted by reports of teens developing serious eye problems after using non-prescription cosmetic lenses, Congress last year enacted a law that requires that all contact lenses be fit and dispensed by an eye-care professional.
Nau says patients should try a lens for a week or two and then return to their doctor to determine what, if any, effect it has on the eye. Some contacts can damage the eye even though the wearer may not have any discomfort, she says.
| Posted 7/17/2006 8:32 PM ET |
| Updated 7/18/2006 6:58 PM ET | | 
