We know choosing the right contact lenses can feel like an overwhelming decision. To help you through the process, we have compiled a list of answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Yes. AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses deliver all day comfort on contact, all day every day. The proprietary materials in AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses are made with an ultra-smooth surface technology, which creates a protective layer of moisture and resists irritating deposits so your contact lenses stay consistently comfortable.
When used as directed, most people can wear contact lenses without complications. Successful contact lens wear depends on following the instructions of your eye care professional. Over time, your eyes can change, often without apparent symptoms or warning signs, which may put you at risk for developing complications. To maintain healthy eyes and the most efficient and comfortable vision possible, you need quality eye care on a regular basis. Only your eye care professional is educated, trained and licensed to examine, diagnose and provide treatment for your eyes and prescribe contact lenses.
Every sport is different. Talk to your eye care professional to select the best type of contact lenses based on your particular sport or activity. Contact lenses are not a substitute for eye protection. It is recommended to wear appropriate goggles, masks, etc. when participating in sports.
You can ONLY wear your AIR OPTIX® AQUA, AIR OPTIX®
NIGHT & DAY® AQUA, AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism or
AIR OPTIX® AQUA Multifocal contact lenses for extended wear (24 hours a day, including during sleep), if directed by your eye care professional. Overnight wear of contact lenses has been shown to increase the risk of certain serious contact lens–related complications. Always follow an eye care professional's recommendations for lens wear, care and replacement schedule.
The AIR OPTIX® family of contact lenses are highly breathable* soft contact lenses, with AIR OPTIX® NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses offering the highest breathability2* available today. Allowing oxygen to pass through the lens helps prevent damage to the cornea and keep eyes healthy.
You should not wear contacts if you:
While wearing contacts has many benefits, the risk of serious injury to the eye increases when contact lenses are worn for extended periods of time. For example, there is a risk of developing a serious eye infection, such as a corneal ulcer, which can develop rapidly. If left untreated, it can leave an eye scar—and in rare cases—lead to loss of vision. With overnight contact lenses, a localized inflammation of the cornea, which may be accompanied by mild to severe pain, is also possible and may require antibiotic eye drops. Other less serious side effects were conjunctivitis and lid irritation or discomfort while wearing the contact lenses, including dryness of the eye and mild burning or stinging. For your eye health, it is important that you follow the wearing and replacement schedule as prescribed by your eye care professional. If you wear your lenses too long, you can harm your eyes.
Your eye care professional can tell you about situations or environmental conditions that may be inappropriate for contact lens wear. Contact lenses should not be worn under certain general health and eye conditions. Only your eye care professional can determine if continued contact lens wear is right for you.
While wearing contact lenses your eyes should look well, feel comfortable and vision should be clear.
Many eye and vision conditions present no obvious symptoms so people are often unaware that a problem exists. Early diagnosis and treatment is important for maintaining good vision, and when possible, preventing permanent vision loss.
Yes. Proper contact lens care is important, but not difficult. For best results, we recommend OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution to care for your AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses. For helpful tips, click on Storing and Cleaning Contact Lenses.
Replace your AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses with a fresh pair as prescribed by your eye care professional. When not changing into a fresh pair, remove your contact lenses between uses and properly clean, disinfect and store them with OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® or
CLEAR CARE® cleaning system.
AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses are sold in multipacks so replacements are at hand.
The AIR OPTIX® contact lens brand is a family of breathable*, high-performance silicone hydrogel contact lenses from Alcon that provides vision correction for a variety of eye care and lifestyle needs. AIR OPTIX® AQUA (lotrafilcon B),
AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism (lotrafilcon B) and AIR OPTIX® AQUA Multifocal (lotrafilcon B) contact lenses are approved for daily wear or extended wear up to 6 nights. AIR OPTIX®
NIGHT & DAY® AQUA (lotrafilcon A) contact lenses are the most breathable* soft contact lenses and are FDA-approved for daily wear and extended wear up to 30 nights of continuous wear.§
AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses are made of state-of-the-art, proprietary silicone hydrogel materials. The unique structure of these materials allows the flow of oxygen through the contact lenses. AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses are designed to fit comfortably on the eye and allow plenty of oxygen to pass through.
Oxygen is essential for the health of your cornea, the domed-shaped front part of your eye. Insufficient oxygen may cause corneal swelling and/or lead to irritated, red eyes and uncomfortable lens wear. AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses are highly breathable.*
OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution is the recommended product for AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses. We recommend you carefully follow the wear, care, and replacement recommendations of your eye care professional. Visit opti-free.com for more information.
Yes. Contact lenses are medical devices and must be prescribed and fitted by a licensed eye care professional. To find an eye care professional in your area, please click here.
There are six AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses per box.
The cost varies by the type of
AIR OPTIX® brand contact lens you purchase, so please ask your eye care professional.
Ask your eye care practitioner which
AIR OPTIX® brand contact lens best suits your needs.
Also called myopia, nearsightedness is an imperfection in the shape of your eye, lens or cornea that causes blurry vision at far distances. It is the most common eye condition among Americans and is usually inherited. Detected first in school-age children, it generally progresses until the 20s, but adults can develop it, too. Soft contact lenses, like AIR OPTIX® AQUA contact lenses, provide one prescription power to correct the focusing error of myopia. They provide unobstructed vision.
Also called hyperopia, farsightedness is an imperfection in the shape of your eye, lens or cornea that causes blurry vision at near distances. Like many eye conditions, hyperopia runs in families. However, due to the flexibility of the eye when one is young, farsightedness can be very mild as you grow up and not develop further until adulthood. Soft contact lenses, like AIR OPTIX® AQUA contact lenses, provide one prescription power to correct the focusing error of hyperopia. They provide unobstructed vision.
AIR OPTIX® AQUA breathable* contact lenses are made with a state-of-the-art material that allows up to 5X more oxygen through the contact lens than traditional soft contact lenses1—for healthy-looking and healthy-feeling eyes. The ultra-smooth surface technology helps create a protective layer of moisture that resists deposits while allowing oxygen to flow easily, to help provide outstanding comfort all day, every day.
Your eye care professional can determine the contact lens and correction that are best for you. The quick contact lens snapshot below includes all available prescriptions.
Astigmatism is a slight difference in the shape of your eye, causing fuzzy, blurred vision at all distances. The oval shape of eyes with astigmatism causes images to be processed differently than eyes with a more circular shape, as shown below.
| How a circular-shaped eye processes images: | How an eye with astigmatism processes images: |
Because astigmatism causes images to be processed at two points on the back of the eye, each lens that corrects for astigmatism require two prescriptions that must remain in the same place relative to the eye. If the lens rotates, vision will become blurry. So, lens stability is key to consistently clear vision.
Contact lenses that correct astigmatism are called toric contact lenses. They are made specifically to address the slight difference in shape of your eye that can cause fuzzy, blurred vision. A toric contact lens has two prescriptions—one to correct astigmatism and the other to correct near- or farsightedness. They are also designed to stay stable in the eye and not rotate as you blink or move your eyes.
AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism contact lenses are toric contact lenses that correct astigmatism while providing overall constant and stable vision. And because of the unique ultra-smooth surface technology and proprietary lens material, AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism contact lenses also give you all-day comfort that lasts throughout the wearing period. If you have astigmatism, talk to your eye care professional about AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism contact lenses.
Today, there is an AIR OPTIX® for Astigmatism contact lens for almost every astigmatic patient. Your eye care professional can determine the contact lens and correction that are best for you. The quick contact lens snapshot below includes all available prescriptions.
Presbyopia is a condition in which the eye’s natural lens loses its ability to focus, making it difficult to see objects up close. As we get older, our eyes’ lenses start losing elasticity, which means they cannot change their shape and focus on different distances as easily as they used to. The loss of focusing ability is so gradual that it may take a while before we realize we are having trouble seeing up close. This noticeable change in vision is common, unavoidable, and typically occurs around the age of 40.
If you have presbyopia, you should talk to your eye care professional about
AIR OPTIX® AQUA Multifocal contact lenses. The Unique Precision Profile™ design of AIR OPTIX® AQUA Multifocal contact lenses allows for a range of prescription strengths to blend across the lens for clear, uninterrupted vision, near through far. These lenses work with your eyes’ natural function to allow your eyes to make remarkably smooth transitions, from up close vision to farther away. This all-distance design allows for clear vision for the biggest challenges—like reading fine print—so you can go back to seeing clearly without having to strain or struggle with readers. It also allows for clear distance vision without blurring or distortion, even when driving. In addition, the unique ultra-smooth surface technology creates a protective layer of moisture that resists irritating deposits for consistent comfort that lasts from day 1 to day 30.1
Your eye care professional can determine the contact lens and correction that are best for you. The quick contact lens snapshot below includes all available prescriptions.
Some contact lenses are not approved to sleep in or for overnight wear. However, many soft contact lenses are only approved for six nights of continuous wear. In contrast, AIR OPTIX® NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses are approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear.§ If you are sleeping in your contact lenses, it is important that you to talk to your eye care professional and be honest about your sleeping habits so that you can get the contact lens that is right for you.
AIR OPTIX® NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses are designed to be worn continuously, even while napping and sleeping, as determined by your eye care professional. The contact lenses are FDA-approved for daily wear and continuous extended wear for up to 30 nights.§ They are made of a proprietary lens material that allows up to 6X more oxygen to pass through the contact lens than traditional soft contact lenses.1 Fact is, AIR OPTIX®
NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses are the most breathable* soft contact lenses available. They also feature an ultra-smooth surface technology which creates a protective layer of moisture and resists irritating deposits for 30 days and nights of comfort.
Traditional soft contact lenses do not offer a high enough amount of oxygen through the lens, which could increase the risk of eye health-related issues, like eye infections, if worn for extended periods or overnight. And some contact lenses have surfaces that break down with wear, allow irritating deposits like dirt, dust and lipids to build up on the contact lens and causing the contact lenses to feel dry and less comfortable over time. AIR OPTIX® NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses were created specifically with superior breathability and deposit resistance. This is why
AIR OPTIX® NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses are FDA-approved for up to 30 days and nights of continuous extended wear.
Your eye care professional can determine the contact lens and correction that are best for you. The quick contact lens snapshot below includes all available prescriptions.
AIR OPTIX® NIGHT & DAY® AQUA breathable* contact lenses do not require daily cleaning or disinfection when worn continuously for up to 30 nights.§ However, contact lenses removed between replacement times must be cleaned and disinfected before reinsertion. OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution is the recommended product for
AIR OPTIX® brand contact lenses. We recommend you carefully follow the wear, care, and replacement recommendations of your eye care professional. Visit opti-free.com for more information. For general information about contact lens care and wear, click here.
The contact lenses are worn on the cornea—the domed-shaped front part of the eye—and they correct vision by refocusing light rays onto the retina—the back part of the eye.
The contact lenses may be used to correct nearsightedness (myopia) or farsightedness (hyperopia). They may be prescribed for:
Not everyone can reach the maximum wear time of 30 continuous nights. Approximately 80% of wearers are able to wear the contact lenses for extended wear, and about two-thirds of wearers achieve the full 30-night continuous wearing schedule.
Your eye care professional may recommend a shorter wearing time depending on your individual needs, and you should always follow your eye care professional’s advice. After removing your contact lenses, rest your eyes and do not wear contact lenses for at least one night. Remember, even between shorter wearing periods, you should always clean, disinfect and store your contact lenses with a contact lens solution like OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution.
It is essential to visit your eye care professional about your eye health. Make sure you get complete information about AIR OPTIX®
NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses and discuss any questions you may have. To learn more, ask your eye care professional for the AIR OPTIX®
NIGHT & DAY® AQUA contact lenses patient instruction booklet available from Alcon.
AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses are designed to enhance dark or light eyes, with a completely natural effect and can be prescribed with or without vision correction. They are made with a unique, smooth surface and feature a technology that combines 3 colors in 1 to blend naturally with the color of your eye, so you can experience a new look that can be subtle or vibrant.
Yes. Contact lenses are medical devices that should be fitted by a licensed eye care professional, even for people who do not need vision correction. AIR OPTIX® COLORS Color Studio offers a virtual experience with 9 different color contact lenses available to try on, making it an easy way to find the color that best fits you.
Your eye care professional can determine the contact lens and correction that are best for you. The quick contact lens snapshot below includes all available prescriptions.
Both color contact lens brands share the 3-in-1 Color Technology; however, AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses are made of the same material as AIR OPTIX® AQUA contact lenses, the #1 monthly replacement contact lenses3. AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses are six times more breathable* than the leading color contact lenses2, for healthy-looking and healthy-feeling eyes.
Proper contact lens care is important, but not difficult. AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses should be removed and cleaned daily. For best results, we recommend OPTI-FREE® PureMoist® Multi-Purpose Disinfecting Solution to care for your AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses. For helpful tips, click on Storing and Cleaning Contact Lenses. Please consult the Frequently Asked Questions section for general information about contact lens care and wear.
†Eye exam may be required before lens trial. Professional fees for eye exam may apply. One pair of non-corrective AIR OPTIX® COLORS contact lenses for wear in-office only. Offer available at participating offices.
‡One-month trial refers to a recommended replacement schedule of up to 4 weeks as determined by the eye care professional.
§Not everyone can sleep in lenses or wear lenses for a full 30 nights. Ask your eye care professional for complete wear, care, and safety information. Important Safety Information.
