About Contact Lenses for Seniors

Contact lenses have improved tremendously in recent years. New materials have become available that are more compatible with common eye problems suffered by seniors, such as dry eye. Additionally, a number of lenses are available that have a multifocal design, allowing the wearer to focus up close and at distance and lessening dependence on reading glasses. Lenses are also available in disposable, single-use packaging for wear during certain occasions.

Contact Lens Technology

• Contact lens technology is always improving, and there are many more choices of lens than in the past. Materials are lighter and are more permeable to oxygen. They maintain wetting on the surface of the eye in a much more stable manner than the past, improving comfort. Previous wearers of contact lenses that discontinued use because of a lack of comfort will likely be pleasantly surprised to find that today's lenses are much more comfortable and easy to wear.

Dry Eye and Contact Lenses

• Dry eye is common in seniors, creating a significant impediment to contact lens wear. While it is still true that dry eye needs to be adequately controlled for contact lenses to fit most comfortably, there are a number of lenses available that do not exacerbate dry eye. Additionally, there are many emerging treatments in the field of dry eye and ocular surface disease. Therefore, dry eye is not nearly the hindrance to contact lens wear that it has been in the past.

Multifocal Contact Lenses

• Many varieties of contact lenses have multifocal designs, allowing the wearer to focus near and far. This allows freedom from reading glasses in many situations, such as reading a restaurant menu or working at the computer. Many seniors wearing multifocal contact lenses find that their daily activities can be performed without glasses altogether.

Disposable Contact Lenses

• Many seniors would like the opportunity to be free of glasses for certain social occasions, such as dinners or golfing. Single-use, disposable contact lenses fit this purpose, allowing wearers to wear a lens for a single event or day and then throw it away, removing the hassle of cleaning or storing lenses.

Talk to Your Eye Doctor

• Talk to your eye doctor for more information about contact lens wear. Your eye doctor will be able to make specific suggestions regarding contact lenses that best fit your needs.