If you already wear contact lenses, but also wear sunglasses when outside, light-adaptive contact lenses might be a good choice for you. Also called transitional lenses or photochromatic lenses, these contacts automatically darken when exposed to UV rays and then lighten again when the UV goes away. This allows you to only wear one pair of lenses, whether you’re indoors or outdoors.
How they work is simple. The lenses are coated with a special gel which reacts to UV light. The stronger the UV beams are, the darker they get.
Are light-adaptive contact lenses right for you? Here’s a quick rundown of their pros and cons.
Pros
There are a lot of benefits to switching to transitional lenses!
- Only one pair of lenses. Transitional lenses are incredibly convenient. You simply wear your contact lenses, with no need to switch to sunglasses when outdoors.
- Save money. While light-adaptive contacts are a bit more expensive than regular contacts, they’re less expensive than buying contacts and sunglasses, especially if they’re prescription shades.
- Better UV protection. UV rays can directly damage the eyes, and contribute to late-life vision problems such as cataracts and macular degeneration. Transitional lenses protect your eyes from these harmful rays!
- No fashion limitations. Virtually any type of contact, including colored contacts, can have a photochromatic treatment applied.
Cons
There are a couple issues with transitional lenses that you should be aware of. However, these shouldn’t be a big issue for most people.
- Limited effectiveness while driving. Nearly all car windshields today block UV light, which means your transitional contacts will not darken much in the car. If you do a lot of daytime driving, you might still need basic sunglasses to reduce incoming light.
- Affected by all UV light sources. If you happen to work around other sources of UV, such as black lights or grow lights, your transitional lenses would darken just like you were in sunlight. In this case, you would probably be better off with regular contacts.
- Affected by cold. Transitional lenses are a bit slower to react in cold weather. However, it needs to be extremely cold for this to become a major issue.
Valley Eyecare Center in Phoenix can help you find the perfect light-adaptive contact lenses! Our experts can work with you to talk about your lifestyle and recommend the right brand. Please contact us to schedule your next eye exam, and discuss your options.
