A contact lens, simply put, is a thin lens made out of a very specific type of plastic that is placed directly over the eye. Contact lenses have been seen as an attractive alternative to traditional eyeglasses for years, due in large part to the fact that they work just as well and the user doesn’t have to actually wear eyeglasses if they don’t want to. Contact lenses can be produced in a wide variety of different types ranging from corrective to therapeutic and even to simply cosmetic in nature. Disposable contact lenses have become increasingly popular in recent years and for good reason: they actually have the potential to help your eyes be healthier if you go about using them in the right ways.

One of the main benefits of disposable contact lenses is that they actually move with your eye, unlike regular glasses. Disposable contact lenses allow you to have a much more natural field of view, especially because you don’t have to look through or around the frames that traditionally hold regular eyeglass lenses in place. Additionally, the fact that disposable contact lenses move with your eye greatly reduces distortions and other maladies that you would sometimes experience in your field of vision.

Because disposable contact lenses are designed to be replaced in a timeframe that is much smaller than regular contacts, there is a much smaller chance for infection present. Traditional contact lenses are designed to be worn for long periods of time. As a result, the chances of infection are quite high from things like dust or dirt getting trapped in between the lens and your eye and even from the quality of the lenses themselves. Disposable lenses don’t have those types of issues. Another factor that contributes to the decreased chance of infection is also another benefit inherent in these types of lenses: they require little to no cleaning. So long as the proper wearing instructions are followed at all times, most users can use disposable lenses for a period of between one to six days without needing to clean them at all.

Despite the fact that they are designed to be replaced on a frequent basis, disposable contact lenses like the 1 Day Acuvue Moist are still very durable. These types of lenses are produced using a special water holding ingredient that is very similar to the chemical composition of regular tears. As a result, they are designed specifically for the exact type of conditions that they will see when worn properly in your eyes. Most users can go many hours in a single day without needing to even think about changing these types of lenses at all.

Another downside of regular contact lenses is the fact that they have a tendency to dry out due to overuse. Most contact lens users can tell exactly when they need to start thinking about having their lenses replaced because they get dry and therefore are much harder to remove and much more uncomfortable to wear. Because disposable contact lenses are designed to be changed on a much more frequent basis, those types of issues are all but nonexistent.

Daniel Peterson is an optometry student. He loves to write about his top findings and research on healthy living blogs.