One, he didn''t think they were available from any other source," "and two, he had heard they weren''t as highly controlled as those dispensed through doctors."Neither assertion is true. got on the Internet and found her lenses on several Web sites for $35.95 for a box of six pairs. (Her doctor was charging $50 a box.) says her doctor told her that lenses offered by places like may have failed manufacturers'' quality checks. Bausch contacts and other lensmakers say there''s no difference in quality between the lenses sold through doctors durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses and those sold directly to consumers. STATES CRACK DOWN. Attorneys general in 32 states have sued the American Optometric Association and two of the top contact-lens manufacturers (Vistakon, a division of contacts, and Bausch), alleging that the AOA tried to get manufacturers to agree to selllenses only through optometrists durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses or other eye-care professionals. The attorneys general say they also have evidence that doctors agreed to withhold durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses prescriptions from people who sought to buy lenses from other sources, despite the fact that at least 22 states have laws requiring eye doctors to give out contact-lens prescriptions upon request.Although the AOA says patients should be able to buy their lenses anywhere, the organization has reservations about mail-order purchases. "The difficulty when someone goes through mail order is that they don''t come back for regular checkups," says AOA president Dr. Harvey Hanlen.

extended lenses in particular pose a much greater risk than daily wear lenses. Though extended-wear lenses are extremely thin and allow some oxygen--necessary for healthy eyes--to reach the cornea, they are worn continuously, including at night while the eyelid is closed. Bacteria can easily grow more easily under these conditions. Twenty-one in 1,000 extended lens wearers develop infections as opposed to 4 in 1,000 daily soft lens wearers. To reduce this risk, eye care professionals now recommend removing extended lenses at night. In addition, newer versions of extended lenses being developed may offer increased oxygen durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses exchange and pose less risk. Disposable lenses may also help to prevent infection, since the wearer is durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses guaranteed a clean pair of lenses every few weeks or every day.

Originally, hard contact were made of a material called PMMA. Although still available, the more common types of contact durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses are listed below:Rigid gas-permeable (RGP) daily-wear lenses are made of plastic that does not absorb water but allows oxygen to get from the atmosphere durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses to the cornea. (This is important because the cornea has no blood supply and needs to get its oxygen from the atmosphere through the film of tears that moves beneath the lens.) They must be removed and cleaned each night. Rigid gas-permeable durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses (RGP) extended-wear lenses are made from plastic that also does not absorb water but is more permeable to oxygen than the plastic used for daily-wear lenses durasoftfreshlooktoriccontactlenses.