Hi Guys,

This is a small blog from one our team members very own personal experience with the Acuvue TruEye contact lens:

When I was just starting high-school, I couldn’t find any glasses that I thought looked good on me. I was so sick of squinting at the blackboard and I found myself having to sit in the front row, regardless of where my friends sat. Often I’d walk along the street with my head down in case someone I knew saw me and I didn’t acknowledge them because I didn’t recognise them! I’d also just started sailing lessons…..I really needed an alternative to wearing glasses.

I booked an appointment with my optometrist to try contact lenses. He showed me how to use the lenses, and how to take care of them. Before I knew it, I’d managed to pop in the contacts and didn’t have to wear glasses anymore!

I found wearing contact lenses made such a difference to my life! I could play sport, go to the beach and go to school without feeling embarrassed of what I looked like wearing my old glasses.

Since then, I have started wearing nice glasses that I wear as a fashion accessory, but I still wear contact lenses on the weekends and when I do sport. I’m not sure how I survived without them!

I wear daily disposable contact lenses because I’m prone to allergies and irritation, and besides, it’s so easy to just pop them in and throw them away at the end of the day! Recently my optometrist fitted me with Acuvue TruEye and contact lens use has never been easier. They’re really easy to put in (they keep their shape) and easy to take out (they don’t stick to your eye). I hardly ever have problems with irritation or blurriness due to dryness; contact lenses just keep getting better and better!

We are often asked whether contact lenses purchased from Contact Connection will be eligible for health fund claims.  The answer is Yes.  This is because Contact Connection is run and owned by Australian optometrists and we also are recognised providers for contact lenses.  All of the major health funds plus many more like MBF, NIB, HCF, Medibank Private, CBHS and NRMA accept our itemised receipts.  One of the major benefits of purchasing contact lenses from Contact Connection is that we format the receipt to maximise your benefit back from your health fund.  This is achieved by splitting the item numbers into groups so your claim can be maximised.  For E.g. if you purchase 6 months supply of Acuvue Oasys we will print out the invoice as 2 lots of item numbers (852) because you’re effectively purchasing 2 x 3 months supply.  For funds like Medibank private you will receive a higher benefit when processing the claim.  After you’re claim is processed your out-of-pocket expenses will be minimised.  We also have a profiles page we’re you can view your past receipts and re-print them when necessary.

Most health funds also do not roll-over your benefits each year so its best to always use them up before the year ends.  Some health funds like CBHS do not work on a calendar year and you receive benefits 1 year from when you used them.  AHM works on a financial year basis while Medibank private, HCF, NIB, MBF and a majority of other funds work on a calendar year.

With such a competitive market, contact lenses are vastly becoming more affordable for everyone.  If you are a regular wearer of contact lenses and cost is an issue you are most likely to wear fortnightly or monthly disposable contact lenses but how much are you really saving?

The following is an analysis on the difference in costs between daily disposable contact lenses, monthly and fortnightly disposable contact lenses.  We have selected the most popular contact lenses on the market to give a general benchmark on the difference between the costs of each type of contact lens.

Acuvue Moist contact lenses are still the most popular daily disposable contact lens sold on today’s market.  The recommended retail price for these lenses bought from your optometrist averages to $110 per 90 Pack.  These contact lenses can now also be purchased online for only $68 per 90 pack which is a huge saving.  Comparing this contact lens to Acuvue Oasys which retails at an average price of $120 for 3 months supply at your optometrist and $60 for 3 months purchased online we can compare the average annual expenditure for both lenses.

The cost of wearing Acuvue Daily and fortnightly contact lenses has been tabulated below to show an average yearly expenditure for online and retail outlet purchases.

Calculations are based on Acuvue moist:  RRP $110, Online Price $68.  Acuvue Oasys: RRP $120, Online Price $60.

If you wear daily disposable contact lenses everyday and purchase from a retail outlet expense can be high.  However purchasing them online is reduces costs by almost 40% so there is now an affordable way to purchase contact lenses.  We also need to factor in costs of contact lens solutions which would average about $60 per year.  If we factor this cost in, purchasing 1 years supply of Acuvue moist would only cost $4 more than Acuvue Oasys.

The introduction of online contact lens ordering has now made wearing daily disposable contact lenses on a frequent basis an affordable option.  With all the benefits of using daily disposable contact lenses there is a growing trend towards the use of daily disposable contact lenses.

Purevision 2 HD Contact Lenses are now available for sale!

It has been a while since Bausch & Lomb has released a new contact lens.  Their current flagship contact lens is Purevision – A monthly extended wear contact lens which as an exceptionally high dk/t value which is a measure of how much oxygen flux a contact lens has.  Coming soon to Australia is Bausch & Lomb’s newest addition to their family of contact lenses – Purevision 2 HD.  Purevision 2 is thinner, more comfortable and clearer than ever before.  Using high definition optics, Purevision 2 boasts superior clarity by reducing glare, halo’s and aberrations.  With it’s thinner lens design Purevision 2 also feels naturally comfortable and even with its thin design, Bausch & Lomb claim it is easy to handle.  Purevision 2 comes in a moisture-rich package which provides additional comfort and is can still be worn as a monthly extended wear contact lens.

So with all these features of Purevision 2 HD contact lenses, is this new lens likely to dominate the contact lens market and take on the likes the Acuvue Oasys?  Experience shows that the original Purevision contact lens had similar features except that it had a high modulus which means the lens material feels ‘harder.’   This high modulus wasn’t particularly favoured by many optometrists especially with new contact lens wearers because it did not feel particularly comfortable during the initial fit.  Bausch & Lomb realised this and released a second generation of Purevision lenses which had a lower modulus which improved comfort slightly.  Learning from their previous mistakes Purevision 2 HD will hopefully be exceptionally comfortable and provide superior clarity.  Pricing is not yet available for Purevision 2 HD but we would expect it to be more expensive than the current Purevision contact lenses.  At Contact Connection we think the release of a new monthly extended wear contact lens is exciting and are interested to see if Bausch & Lomb can win back some of the market share of contact lens which has been a long time dominated by Johnson & Johnson.

Only time will tell how Purevision 2 will perform against major competitors like Acuvue Oasys and Focus Night & Day.  Contact Connection will definitely give feed back and reviews on this new contact lens by Bausch & Lomb.  Stay tuned!

Sometimes ordering contact lenses online can be confusing because we have to decipher our optometrist’s contact lens prescription.  A common question we’re often asked: “Is my glasses prescription the same as my contact lens prescription.” The answer is no.  The power of your glasses and contact lenses may sometimes be the same however your contact lens prescription will have details about the brand, base curve and diameter of the lens prescribed.  Because there are so many different brands of contact lenses available your optometrist has the task of weeding out all the brands which aren’t suitable and to fit you with the optimum lens.  If you are just long or short sighted your prescription is relatively simple.  You will only have details about the; Brand, Diameter, Base Curve and Spherical Power.  For example it may be written as:

Acuvue Moist / 14.0 / 8.5 / -2.00

People who have astigmatism will have additional parameters in their contact lens prescription including the Cyl Power and Axis.  An example of how this is may be written is:

Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism / 14.0 / 8.6 / -2.00 / -1.25 x 180

The -1.25 x 180 is the Cyl power and axis of the lens.

If you need to wear spectacles for reading or have both a distance and near prescription your optometrist may prescribe a multifocal contact lens.  Usually a multifocal contact lens prescription will contain a parameter called the ADD.  The ADD is how much additional power you require for near.  Some brands of multifocal contact lenses will have a limited range of powers for the ADD such as +1.00, +1.50, +2.00, +2.50 and so on.  Other brands of multifocal contact lenses will may have the ADD written just as; High or Low.  An example of how a multifocal contact lens is written may be:

Purevision Multifocal 14.0 / 8.6 / -3.00 DS High ADD

The +1.00 denotes the distance prescription and is the sphere power.  The ADD for the multifocal contact lens in this prescription is HIGH.

Have you ever wondered why your contact lens prescription is not always the same as your glasses prescription?  This is usually the case with people who have high prescriptions or have some astigmatism.  If you have a prescription which is larger than 4.00 Dioptres your contact lens prescription may be slightly different.  This is because a contact lens is placed directly on the eye whereas the lenses on glasses are positioned a small distance from your eye.  This distance is known as the vertex distance and affects the effective power of the lens.  If you have astigmatism and your optometrist has chosen to fit you with a spherical lens than your contact lens prescription will be different to your spectacle prescription.  Usually your optometrist will use the ‘Spherical equivalent’ of the astigmatic prescription which is calculated by halving the cyl power and adding it to the sphere.

If you are unsure of how to read your contact lens prescription please email us, we’re always happy to try clear things up and make the ordering process simpler.

Depending on your prescription, your optometrist may prescribe either a toric contact lens or a spherical contact lens.  Spherical contact lenses are used to correct people who have no astigmatism or only small amounts whilst toric contact lenses are used to correct people who have larger amounts of astigmatism.  So what are the major differences between the two types of contact lenses and which one do you need?

Toric contact lenses are designed differently to spherical contact lenses in a way that they have a difference in power (Cyl) at a particular merdian (axis).  Due to the nature of astigmatism, a toric contact lens needs to sit in a particular orientation in order to correct the astigmatism.  Usually this is done by having a thicker edge at the 6 o’clock position called a prism ballast design.  Gravity holds the lens into position and orientates the lens.  Contact lenses which use this design include popular brands such as; Purevision Toric, Soflens Toric, Frequency Xcel Toric and Proclear Toric.  Over the years there have been various designs such as Air Optix for Astigmatism which has weighted regions at the 4 and 8 o’clock positions.  Toric contact lenses are great for correcting astigmatism however, they do have their cons.  Because toric lenses need to sit in a particular orientation to correct astigmatism, if they move ‘off axis’ the wearer my experience blur constantly or intermittently.  This is a common symptom of people wearing toric contact lenses especially if the lenses are not fitted correctly.  Toric contact lenses are usually not as comfortable as spherical contact lenses because of the thicker edges though most patients can get used to this after wearing the contact lenses longer.  Toric contact lenses start from a cyl power of -0.75 and can range up to -3.25 in soft disposable contact lens designs.  Sometimes your optometrist may choose to give you a spherical contact lens instead of a toric contact lens especially if you have very small amounts of astigmatism, this is because the compromise in vision is sometimes more favoured for ‘stable’ vision.

Spherical contact lenses do not have the same issues as toric contact lenses because they have the same edge thickness all the way around.  You also do no have the issue of having intermittent blur however, if you have larger amounts of astigmatism you may have no choice but to wear a toric contact lens to achieve good vision.  Your optometrist will choose the best contact lens for you and sometimes it may involve making a compromise to achieve satisfactory vision.  Toric contact lenses are excellent for correcting astigmatism but the contact lens needs to be carefully selected in order to achieve optimum vision.

Are you thinking of switching from daily disposable contact lenses to monthly or fortnightly disposable contacts?  There are pros and cons of each type of wear and before you make the switch you should consider what your main goal is for switching and will switching make wearing contact lenses easier.

Daily disposable contact lenses are the most popular type of contact lenses worn today.  They’re easy to use and require minimal maintenance, you wear them once, then you throw them out.  No cleaning solutions or contact lens cases are required.  Daily disposable contact lenses are also the most hygienic form of contact lens wear because you’re wearing fresh new lenses every time and eliminates protein build up on a lens compared to monthly and fortnightly contact lenses.  So why doesn’t everybody wear daily disposable contact lenses?

One of the main “cons” of wearing daily disposable contact lenses is that there aren’t as many materials which are as advanced as those available as a monthly or fortnightly contact lens.  Contact lenses like Acuvue Oasys and Air Optix contain wetting agents which retain moisture in the contact lens and provide exceptional comfort compared to most other daily disposable contact lenses.   Daily disposable contact lenses like Acuvue 1-Day and Focus Dailies All day comfort are an older generation of contact lenses which do not have any agents to help retain moisture.  It was not until recently that Acuvue TruEye was released to bridge the gap and a daily disposable contact lens made of silicone hydrogel was released.  Acuvue TruEye is the first daily disposable contact lens made from an advanced material and contains an active wetting agent.  This makes Acuvue TruEye a comfortable and healthy lens material with all the benefits of using a Daily Disposable contact lens.

So now that there is a lens which is comfortable to wear and is easy to maintain which lenses should you wear?  If cost is not an issue than Acuvue TruEye contact lenses are an excellent choice.  If cost is an issue than you should work out what your budget is and look at fortnightly and monthly lenses like Acuvue Oasys and Air Optix which are more economical but still provide exceptional comfort during wear.  You should always remember to factor in costs of contact lens cleaning solutions when budgeting.

Eye contacts also known as contact lenses are an alternative to wearing spectacles.  Eye contacts are used to correct vision and give wearers freedom from wearing spectacles.  There are 2 types of eye contacts, soft disposable contacts and hard contacts.  The most popular eye contacts today are soft disposable contacts mainly due to their comfort whilst wear.  Before wearing eye contacts you must always have them fitted by your optometrist.  During an eye contacts fitting, your optometrist will ensure you are wearing the best eye contacts suited to your prescription and lifestyle.  Eye contacts can be used to correct short-sightedness, long-sightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia and are available in daily, fortnightly, monthly and extended wearing regimes.  Eye contacts can be purchased online, at prices usually much cheaper than your local optometrist.  The eye contacts you order online will also be exactly the same as those you purchase from your local optometrist, as they are all sourced from the same suppliers.  Eye contacts are cheaper when purchased online because there are fewer expenses running an online retail store.  Your local optometrist will need to pay for rent and more wages when running a practice with a shopfront therefore the margins need to be higher to pay for the expenses.  Online eye contact retails have reduced expenses and because they serve contact lens wearers internationally they purchase higher volumes of eye contacts giving them buying power.  The reduced prices on eye contacts are then passed onto the consumer, also because of the competitive nature of online business, prices are also driven down.  You should however, consider more than just the cost of your eye contacts when purchasing.  Service at your local optometrist will always be better because they can check the health of your eyes and ensure you are wearing the latest and best product available on the market.  Your local optometrist may also claim a rebate from your private health fund on the spot with a hicaps terminal.  Some health funds may even cover the complete cost of your eye contacts.  If your buying eye contacts online you should check they are recognised Australian providers, health funds will not pay a rebate for your eye contacts if they are purchased from overseas suppliers or do not have a provider number.

Next time you buy eye contacts you should take into consideration service, your health fund and price.  Buying Eye contacts online does have its pros and cons, consider all your options first.

A contact lens is a small round piece of plastic which is worn on the eye used to correct vision.  If you are short or long-sighted or have astigmatism you may be able to wear a contact lens. A contact lens can be made of soft or hard plastic.  The most popular form of the contact lens being produced today is made of soft material which provides excellent comfort during wear compared to a hard or rigid contact lens.  Before wearing a contact lens, you must be fitted with the appropriate type and material to ensure healthy and optimum vision.  During the contact lens consultation, your optometrist will choose a particular type of contact lens based your on your lifestyle.  Contact Lenses come in daily, fortnightly monthly and yearly, each have their own pros and cons.  Before wearing a contact lens you should always consider what for what reason do you want to wear a contact lens, how often you would like to wear the contact lens and how motivated you are in wearing a contact lens.  These primary factors will influence the success you will have in wearing contact lenses.  Common reasons for wearing a contact lens are:

• Playing sports or an active lifestyle
• Difficulty or disliking wearing spectacles
• People with high prescriptions

If you intend to wear contact lenses infrequently than a daily disposable contact lens may suit your lifestyle.  It is a more inexpensive way of wearing a contact lens because your wear the lenses as you need them and discard them after use.  Wearing a daily disposable contact lens is also the most hygienic form of wear because a fresh new contact lens is used each time.  People who wish to wear a contact lens more often may choose to wear a fortnightly or monthly contact lens.  These contact lenses come in many advanced and new materials which maximise oxygen flow through the lens and provide additional comfort through to use of wetting agents.  When you see your optometrist for a contact lens consultation they will choose the best suited contact lens which matches your lifestyle as well as recommend the newest and best products.

Probably the toughest part of wearing a contact lens is initial phase of learning how to insert and remove a contact lens.  Your optometrist will show you the correct technique of how to insert and remove a contact lens after that it will just take practice.  Usually first time wearers may feel sensitive when inserting the contact lens and common symptoms may involve excessive tearing, itchiness and light sensitivity.  Wearers will need to persevere with the initial symptoms when wearing a contact lens for he first time before your eyes become desensitised to contact lens wear.  Once your eyes have adjusted to wearing a contact lens the severity of the symptoms will lessen when you insert or remove them.

The contact lens has definitely been one of the most innovate inventions in our era and has given spectacle wearers an alternative choice and freedom from spectacles.  Next time you see your optometrist, ask them for a contact lens consultation and see what benefits they have for you.

Buying contact lenses from online retailers is a great way to find cheap contact lenses.  You may have noticed that buying contact lenses online is much cheaper than buying from your optometrist.  This is because an optometry practice needs to be run with a shop front and has more overheads such as staff wages and rent.  Most optometry practices do not carry much stock because they only service a local area for people who wear contact lenses.  You can buy cheap contact lenses online because online retailers service contact lens wearers all over the world therefore more contact lens stock is carried and higher volumes are turned over.  This gives online retailers buying power and the reduced prices on contact lenses is passed onto the consumer.  The competitive nature of online websites also makes the prices of contact lenses cheap and drives prices down.  People often question the quality of the contact lenses supplied online because of their cheap prices.  The cheap contact lenses you buy online should be exactly as the ones you buy from your local optometrist; this is because all the contact lenses are sourced from the same supplier.  There is no compromise in quality.  There are however, a few things you should consider when buying cheap contact lenses online, such as service.  The best service will always be from your local optometrist as they can check the health of your eyes and give advice on any new products.  It is always important that you always have the health of your eyes checked for maintaining health vision.

Cheap contact lenses can be found all over the internet just simply by searching Google with keywords such as ‘Cheap contact lenses”, “Contact Lenses Online”, or “Buy Contact Lenses Online”.  If you are a member of a private health fund you should check that your online supplier is a recognised provider, your health fund will only pay you a benefit if you purchased your contact lenses from a recognised Australian provider.  Being a member of a health fund further reduces the costs of your contact lenses and in many cases you may not need to pay for your contact lenses at all once your health fund pays your benefit.  Many health funds also allow claim to be processed online which makes claiming and buying contact lenses more convenient however, buying your contact lenses from your local optometrist has its benefits in that you may be able to claim your health fund benefit on the spot with hicaps.

Buying cheap contact lenses online definitely have there benefits however, make sure you think about the pro’s and cons of purchasing them online or with your local optometrist.