Over the past decade there’s been an explosion of contact lens styles and types on the market. Extended wear contact lenses and disposable contact lenses are the most popular, but daily contact lenses are still a popular option for those who can’t wear extended wear lenses for one reason or another.

What’s the difference between extended wear and daily contact lenses? Both types of lens are soft lenses, made of gas permeable silicon. Thin and light, they’re designed to float on top of the cornea and move with the pupil as you move your eyes. Unlike yesteryear’s rigid plastic counterparts, soft contact lenses have virtually no risk of scratching the cornea. In addition, they are designed in a material that lets oxygen pass through the lens to reach the surface of your eye. This gas permeability is vital to your eye health. Oxygen helps clear away bacteria that can collect behind the lens and grow there, causing eye infections.

Extended wear lenses are specifically designed with higher water content in the silicon, making them comfortable and suitable for wearing for as long as a month. Daily wear lenses are designed to be removed every day, and aren’t suitable for wearing while sleeping. Daily lenses may be disposable, or they may be RGP (rigid gas permeable) lenses that are designed to be removed and cleaned each night. They may also be more conventional soft contact lenses that can be worn repeatedly as long as they’re properly cleaned and disinfected.

Daily contact lenses may be a good choice for a person with an active lifestyle that requires removing and replacing contact lenses after swimming for instance. They’re also an option for you if you’ve been told that you’re a poor candidate for extended wear contacts because of a history of eye infections, or because of dry eyes.

Daily lenses are available in a wide range of prescription strengths and sizes. You’ll also find daily lenses in colored styles if you want to make a fashion statement or in bifocal prescriptions if your eyes just aren’t what they used to be. Your doctor can help you decide whether daily contact lenses are a good choice for you.