Considerations

• You may hate the way your glasses look or feel on your face, but contacts may not be right for you. You're a poor candidate to wear what's essentially a thin, clear, plastic lens if you have a history of eye infections, dry eye or severe allergies. You should also rethink this option if you work in a dusty or dirty place, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
  
  

Preparation

• If you think contacts are for you, you'll still have to get the OK from your doctor. You'll need to have a special contact lens exam and be fitted for lenses. Putting the lens in your eye may take some getting used to, but most lenses nowadays are easy to adjust to and comfortable. You'll also need to practice good care to keep your eyes from getting infected. That means you need to wash your hands before you touch the lens. The solution you are given to clean the lens must be rubbed in, and the lens needs to be soaked in a special case overnight. That case should be replaced every three months and should be cleaned with fresh solution each day, according to the American Optometric Association.
  
  

Soft Lenses

• When you go to your doctor for your first pair of contacts, you'll find out about several types of lenses--but not all types will be for you. Soft lenses, which are gel-like and flexible, are the most popular--used by 80 percent of wearers, according to the AOA. These lenses are good for active people because they stay put on your eye, according to the Mayo Clinic. They're not so good if you have certain types of vision problems, and they can get dirty easily.
  
  

Sub-Set

• There are specific types of soft lenses: single-use, daily wear and extended wear. Single-use are, as the name indicates, the type that you wear once and throw away, so there is reduced chance for infection. Daily wear are removed each night and can be used for weeks or months, depending on the type of lens that is prescribed to you by your doctor. If you choose extended wear, you can keep your contacts in continuously for a specified period of time (and no longer!). This option is easy to care for because there is no need to remove your contacts when you go to bed, but you can also set yourself up for a nasty infection.
  
  

Gas Permeable

• The gas permeable lens is more rigid than the soft lens. The benefit is it allows your eyes to breathe better, the Mayo Clinic reports, by letting more oxygen in. When this happens, the chance for an infection is reduced. It may take more time for you to get used to these lenses because at least initially they are not as comfortable as soft lenses. The AOA also reports that these lenses have more of a tendency to slip on your eye, so they may not be the best if you are active in sports or other hobbies.
  
  

Hybrids

• If the two primary options listed above--gas permeable and soft--aren't right for you, there is always a cross between the two. According to the Mayo Clinic, hybrid lenses offer a gas permeable center and a soft, gel-like outer ring. This design helps those with conditions like astigmatism, which is essentially blurry vision, and presbyopia, the inability to see close-up, according to the AAO. There are also specialized lenses specifically made for conditions like presbyopia, or if you have an irregularly shaped cornea.
  
  

Infection

• Infections can happen, and when they do, you'll know it. Infections can start with what seems to be a minor irritation or you might get some crusts that build up on the corners of your eye or eyelashes. From there, you may notice some redness, which can progress to swelling, extreme pain, sensitivity to light and the feeling that a jagged foreign object is in your eye when nothing is present. These infections are nothing to fool around with--they can threaten your vision. The best way to prevent them, according to the AOA, is to practice good hygiene--wash your hands, never reuse solution and replace your case regularly. You should also remove your contacts whenever you are exposed to tap or fresh water, which includes while showering, as that can open you up to infection as well.