If you are on a budget, you may need to consider costs versus benefits of Acuvue's 1-Day TruEye daily disposable contact lenses.
Acuvue’s 1-Day TruEye daily disposables are made of what the company describes as a “breathable” type of silicone hydrogel contact lens material known as narafilcon B.
Before Acuvue offered silicone hydrogel dailies, these types of contact lenses were replaced only at intervals ranging from weekly to monthly.
But despite benefits such as extra comfort, some eye care practitioners say daily disposable silicone hydrogel contact lenses are roughly twice as expensive as other types.
And because the lenses are disposed of daily, the comfort aspect may not be as much of a factor as it is with lenses that have longer replacement schedules.
“Silicone hydrogel lenses may be overkill for daily disposables,” said Brian Chou, OD, a partner at Carmel Mountain Vision Care — a group optometric practice in San Diego.
But Larry K. Wan, OD, of Family EyeCare Center in Campbell, Calif., disagrees.
“The TruEyes silicone hydrogel contact lens provides five times more oxygen to the eye than other one-day, single-use lenses, and has the highest level of UV protection,” Wan told Contact Lens Headlines. “It may be the most comfortable and trouble-free lens option available.”
But Chou said he is inclined to wait and see if the new silicone hydrogel daily genuinely is cost effective for his patients.
“If there are two lenses that perform equivalently well but one lens is half the cost, I will prescribe the lower cost lens to serve the patient’s best interests,” Chou said.
Depending on the geographic market, Wan said TruEyes contact lenses cost about $15 to $17 more per 90-lens box than other products on the market. He said this expenditure amounts to about $1.80 per day for wearers.
“This is about the same as what a pair of high-quality eyeglasses would cost you,” Wan said. “For many patients, this is a tremendous value for the quality.”
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