In a few weeks I’m going to buy contact lenses for my 2 teenage daughters.
Hard, soft, extended wear, short wear, gas permeable (?), different brands with different price points…
…and the list goes on, and I know nothing about contact lenses.
If you wear contacts and would like to share your experience and/or insight, I’d appreciate it.
Personally, I’d suggest starting with Acuvue 2. I suggest this, becuase of the lenses I’ve worn, these were the most comfortable. And their not terrible expensive.
I’ve been wearing Acuvue Advance for almost 3 years, I think, and they’re pretty good. I like 2 week disposable - but I take mine out every night and do not sleep in them, so I usually get more than 2 weeks out of a pair.
But remember that the optometrist will do an eye exam for your daughters and prescribe a specific brand/type. They could end up with two different brands/types because of differences in their eyes. Or they could end up with the same brand.
This page, while it has some sponsored information/ads, has some decent information about the different types of contact lens.
I find daily disposables best in terms of comfort and hygene, and no trouble with cleaning which can be a pain (a joy after ten years or so on rigid gas permeable, where a bit of grit in your eye that otherwise wouldn’t be noticeable was agony and and I would always end up taking my glasses and solutions with me wherever I went just in case I had to take them out due to discomfort). Occaisionally one might dry under certain conditions, but this is rare and easily remedied by swapping for a new lens or comfort drops. Acuvue is the brand leader, but I don’t notice any difference between that and my brand, except in price.
The optician of course will be in the best position to recommend types and should allow your daughters to trial different lenses for a few days. Some people can’t get along with insertion and removal of certain types, or are sensitive to cleaning fluids etc.
You say teenage daughters?
Go with daily disposables if you can. If a lens is lost or damaged its no big deal. You don’t have to trust that they are going to keep them clean. The disposables may not be better but they are a whole lot more convenient. No cases, bottles of solution, etc. If they are someplace and the lens becomes uncomfortable they can just take it out and throw it away.
If they play sports they will not have to worry about the lenses. With any contact lenses they will see better and their periferal vision will improve which can improve their athletic performance.
Daily dispsables, hands down.
No mess, no cases to carry, no fussy solutions and they are the most comfortable.
In theory, while I love the idea of contacts and will wear them for a special occasion, a party or a night out, they are far too much hassle to wear everyday.
So I get a month’s worth of disposable lenses for the year.
Until you know how often your girls will be wearing their lenses, daily ones are probably the way to go.
I, like most teenage girls, nagged and nagged to get lenses, then quickly lost interest in wearing them all the time.
Of all the people I know who have glasses or lenses, most wear lenses occasionally and there are only 3 people I know who wear lenses all the time.
I love my disposables (AccuVue), because I didn’t take very good care of them yet never had a problem. 
But Lasik fixed all of that.
But shouldn’t your daughters’ eye doctor be telling YOU what type they will be wearing? 
Hard vs soft shouldn’t be a consumer choice, and there are plenty of other considerations…
Until you know what the available options are for their particular eyesight, you wont be able to decide much. With my eyesight I can only wear gas permeables for instance, so the other types are irrelevant.
In general though, one issue will be how much they experience hayfever and/or you’re living in urban/polluted areas. I used to have no trouble wearing contacts in NZ, but in Melbourne Australia, my eyes get irritated enough I cant use them as a daily option any more.
Otara
My optician told me I could wear GP or soft, but that GP wouldn’t be a good option for me because I have large pupils and the GP lenses would be visible in a way that soft lenses aren’t. Which seems like an odd thing to say, but as I said I rarely wear lenses and like my disposables, so it doesn’t matter that much.
Yeah I think anyone who can wear soft can get GP/hard, but generally you wouldnt bother, basically you only wear them if you have to - they’re harder to get used to.
Otara
No tech advice to offer, but having lived through equipping two teenage daughters with contact lenses, my parental advice would be to basically let the girls do it themselves. Take them to the optometrist, but then sit there in the chair and let them make the decisions as to whether they’re going to get disposables, extended wear, etc. Make sure they understand the differences, both cost-wise and wear-wise, and then let them decide. That way they’ll have ownership of it, and they’ll be less likely to need a trip to the doctor with an eye infection caused by not taking care of their contacts.
When both my daughters in turn evinced a desire for contacts, our arrangement was that Mommy and Daddy would pay for the eye exams, because we’d be paying for them anyway for glasses, but that the girls would pay for their own contact lenses. AND that they were to be proactive in getting themselves to the eye doctor in a timely manner for annual exams as required, AND for getting off the couch and putting on their shoes and finding their car keys and actually going down there and fetching their own damn lenses, solution, etc. That way it’s one less thing on Mommy’s “To do” list (no “pick up contacts” on it), and, as I said, that way they have ownership of the whole thing. After the initial visit, I told them, “They’re YOUR contact lenses. YOU do it. Make the appointments, I’ll give you a blank check, or you can tell them to send me a bill.”
Thanks so much for all the responses, including the practical, parental advice.
I had my daughters read the thread. We’ll go through the helpful cite Lsura linked to and do a little homework before we go to the eye doctor.
Thanks again.
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Double post. This one deleted.
Agreed.
Although soft lenses are lazy - most people can wear the cheap disposable sort … which are good for kids who cant be arsed to learn to take care of something. To be honest. soft lenses are not for everybody - torics for astigmatics if you are over a certain degree suck donkey dick. Soft lenses also will have a tendancy to dry out eyes, especially in heavily processed air [heat or air conditioning]
The gas perms are good - still reasonably priced, and they can last 6 months or a year when cared for properly. Eyes dont tend to dry out, and they dont tear. And they are fantastic for astigmatics as well as mopics.
[i have worn custom schlerals, old style glass, old style gas perms, regular nondisposable soft, and disposable soft. Gas perms rock. Any kid who is responsible enough to be trusted with contacts can learn to take care of gas perms.]
When I got contacts I spent about six months trying different brands until the optometrist and I were satisfied. The optometrist carries a fairly wide range of trial lenses that I gather are supplied by the lens makers free of charge. I’d try a pair for a couple of weeks then go back and get my eyes checked out to see whether they were causing any problems and to find out what I thought. I think six months of appointments was covered by the initial cost, I could go back as many times as I liked at no additional expense.
We eventually settled on the Acuvue 2s. They were the only ones that I’d forget I was wearing because I literally couldn’t feel that they were there.
I have since changed to ones that can be worn for a month without having to take them out at night. Mainly because I couldn’t be bothered puting lenses in and out every morning and night. They are slightly less comfortable but still good.
I’m wearing “Night and Days.” You leave them in your eye for (up to) an entire month and throw them away at the end and start a new pair for a new month. Very convenient as I got seriously tired of cleaning and storing them each night and putting them back in each morning. They’re supposedly 6x more efficient at allowing oxygen through letting them be extended wear lenses.
Currenty I’m wearing Night and Day as well. I’ve been wearing contacts for about 12 years, these are the 4th brand I’ve worn, and while I do love them, they do seem (TO ME) to be the hardest contacts to wear. They don’t seem as comfortable as my Acuvue 2s, but I’m willing to give up the little bit of comfort for the benefit of wearing them for about a month straight. There’s nothing like waking up and still being able to see, or laying in the couch slipping in and out of sleep and not having to worry about getting up and taking them out. I, however, wouldn’t suggest someone start with them. For one, they are harder to get used to (for me anyways, it’s almost like I have to ‘break them in’, they’re annoying the first day or so, then they’re better), and for two, there hella expensive.
Oh yes, it took me at least a week to get used to them, and that week was hell. Red, itchy eyes that pretty much felt miserable. At least the optometrist warned me that such a thing would happen. I agree though, the feeling of waking up and being able to see without first going to the bathroom and putting contacts in is great. 