Can you get contact lenses that are sunglass dark?

[Poirot]

Can you get contact lenses that are sunglass dark?

Or would it just risk UV damage?

I hate the look and feel and blinder-vision of sunglasses.

[pkbites]

I’m almost sure of it. My son came home with several brochures for all these weird styles of contact lenses. I thought for sure there was a pair of “Blur Blickers” or something or other. Too bad he threw that brochure away, I could give you the name of the company.

[GIGObuster]

They do have UV protection contact lenses, but they are clear:
http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/uv.htm

For special occasions one can find fun designs:
http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/theatrical.htm

For a dark sunglasses effect the closest one can get are dark tinted ones:

Color Contact Lenses - Choosing the Right Colored Contacts

Some Disadvantages:
It’s important to be aware that while manufacturers have made different sized lenses to fit most wearers, there will be some occasions (such as during blinking) where the colored portion may slide somewhat over the pupil. Also, the size of your pupil is constantly changing to accommodate varying light conditions — so sometimes, like at night, your pupil may be larger than the clear center of the lens. In these instances, your vision may be slightly affected.

Also many times people that use dark glasses do take them off, especially when getting indoors, that is something I would not like to do as often with contact lenses…

Finally here is one very curious quote from the last article:

Light-filtering tints are a more recent development. These contact lenses are designed for sports use, because they enhance certain colors (such as optic yellow, the color of tennis balls and some softballs and golf balls), as a result of muting other colors. The result is that the ball stands out against the background and is easier to target. The lenses can also be used by spectators. More are being developed especially for golfers, trap-shooters, skiers, and other sports enthusiasts.

[DaveW]

About five years ago, I walked into an eyeglass place in a mall and asked the doctor there if I could get mirrored contact lenses. He said no, and explained that the mirroring flecks off the plastic used in the lenses, right into the eye. Yuck. Too bad. I would have traded in my glasses for that look.

• Dave W.
  http://members.aol.com/psorsite/
  “My dream is of a day where every SDMB poster will have a quote of mine in their sig.” - Arnold Winkelried

[Guy_Propski]

Peter Gabriel has a set of mirrored contact lenses made to wear for the cover shoot of his 2nd album. The effect is freaky, to say the least.

You can get contact lenses in just about any color. The full-eye ball, or sclera, lens is what special effects folks use to give characters weird looking eyeballs. Sclera lenses are hideously uncomfortable to wear. You also have to have a cast of your eyeball made, which requires an optician to numb your eyeball, then cover the whole thing with quick-setting goo. See Penn and Teller’s book “Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends” if you want to see a picture of what it looks like. Not for the squeamish.

As to practicality of regular sized lenses, as was pointed out above, contact lenses move around the eye; they float downward when your eye is open, and are pulled back up when you blink. Depending on the size of your pupil, the sun-blocking portion could be out of place. There’s also the problem of what to do when you walk from the sun into a dark place (like driving into a tunnel, for example). Taking off your sunglasses while driving is pretty easy; popping out contacts is not.

[CalMeacham]

There’s a company in Singapore that makes photochromic contact lenses. They get darker when exposed to UV light. You can find them by entering “photochromic” and “contact lenses” on a decent search engine.

[kitaine]

Paragon Vision Sciences makes a contact lens called SportSight GP, which is sunglass-dark. It’s an interesting product for certain situations, such as playing golf or participating in other outdoor sports. Most of your questions about the product can probably be answered at http://www.sportsightgp.com on the FAQ page. If not, you can probably contact the company.