Since “Biofinity” and “Biofinity contact lens review” are the most frequently searched terms leading to my website, I thought I would give everyone my view of the Biofinity contact lens.
Its technical specs can be found at the Coopervision website. Silicone hyrdrogel lenses (the super breathable class of contacts) have been on the market for years, but Coopervision came to the game after Ciba, Bausch & Lomb, and Vistakon. All the latter use a special coating on the surface to make the silicone material wettable for your eye, but Coopervision’s unique Biofinity material is wettable throughout the matrix of the material.
It’s a one month lens, which is convenient for most people to remember when to toss their now old lenses which will soon become cesspools ripe for eye infections. The reason is because they build up deposits, like this:
Replace your contacts on schedule!!!
Lots of lenses are only two week and toss lenses, but Biofinity is resistant to deposits enough to allow it to be a one month lens. Official and approved.
Biofinity also got an FDA indication for extended wear. In other words, if your doctor thinks your eyes can handle it, Biofinity can be worn one week straight, take it out, clean it, soak it overnight, and then repeat.
Now, I’ve tried this, and while it was totally doable, for me it’s not as comfortable for extended wear compared to Ciba’s Night & Day (by the way, I refuse to call it Air Optix Night & Day Aqua because that is just waaaaaaaay too long a name for a contact lens.) But guess what. That’s just me. Maybe for you it could be fine. However, almost every patient I’ve tried this with comes back a week or two later and says they would rather be Rx’d Night & Day if extended wear was their approved goal.
If you’re just interested in daily wear (taking out every night) or if price is the main consideration, then Biofinity wins over Night & Day because it’s only around $50 per box of 6 lenses rather than Night and Day at ~$70 per box of six. Another consideration is that you can now get Air Optix Aqua (regular, NOT Night & Day) for ~$47 per box. My only beef with that is that it’s basically the same lens as O2Optix which was released as a two week lens, so I’m not sure whether to believe that Ciba wants you to wear a 4 week lens for two weeks or a two week lens for four weeks.
Comfort-wise, it seems to me that the percentage of patients that like the comfort of the Biofinity is about the same percentage of people that like the feel of O2Optix. Now, the only thing is, both those percentages are less compared to Acuvue Oasys comfort. But consider that a year supply of Acuvue Oasys (a 2 week lens) is about ~$272 while Biofinity is around $200.
Biofinity has a great toric lens in case you have low to moderate amounts of astigmatism (0.75-2.50) in one or both eyes. For mild amounts of astigmatism (0.25-0.50 and maybe 0.75), its aspheric optics help mask it for clearer vision compared to contacts without aspheric optics.
Anyway, my advice is to just try it out. If you like it, buy it. If not, try something else. That’s how I roll. I alternate between wearing Biofinity, Acuvue Oasys, and Night & Day. Mostly Night & Day. But hey, I’ve been wearing contact lenses so long that you could poke me in the eye, and I’d barely feel it. But seriously, I think I have significant corneal hypoesthesia which allows me to tolerate pretty much any lens that gets pushed out into the contact lens market.
Another consideration for you is the compatibility of lens material to your desired contact lens solution system. Some lenses can only tolerate the most expensive solutions. The Biofinity material is pretty much compatible with even the most cheapest of house brand multi-purpose solutions. On average. Your eyes may vary.
I think Biofinity is a quality lens, but take it home along with your Oasys and Night & Day or O2Optix and see which one works best at which price for you.
There, does that answer your question?
That does answer my question. My next question is can you give me a prescription for the Biofinity for less than a whole eye exam since I just had an exam and they want to charge me again just to change my Rx?
If you can physically stop by my office, then my policy is that I just charge a contact lens fitting (usually $30) as long as you’ve had an eye exam within the last six months. (We’ll need proof like a copy of your records faxed over or at least a signed Rx.)
If I provided your contact lens prescription, then I would gladly see you back in to change lenses without additional cost for up to 60 days after the prescription was given. ($20 after 60 days, full exam price after six months).
If your eye doctor office doesn’t have that type of policy, then I think they’re not very customer service oriented.
What a great site. I was just prescribed contacts after going 10 years contact-free after having LASIK in 2000. I’m a -2.00 in my left and a -.75 in my right with minimal astigmatism. Anyway, my right eye seems to feel irritated in all the contacts I’ve tried, and I get inconsistent vision correction between brand. I’ve tried: Accuvue Oasys (can’t see great out of these and annoyingly flimsy when taking out/putting in(, Pure Vision (awful– irritating), Optix Day & Night (best vision out of all of them–very noticible clarity—still feel it in my right eye though), and Biofinity (about as comfy as Night & Day but a little less clarity). What is the difference between Optix Night & Day and Biofinity (diff in thickness, specs, etc). And is there another brand I should consider that has the clarity of Night & Day but more comfy? Thanks.
@Jackie. I think Night and Day has great optics that are probably attributable to the lens thickness. Probably the thickest soft lens on the market, there is currently nothing like it.
Thanks!
Hello Doc,
I recently started wearing biofinity. I love them.
I have a question regarding soaking it overnight. The pattern in which I wear them is a little different. I wear them day long, sleep with them. I take them off during shower and put it back on. so its like 10- 20 mins of soaking each day. Is that enough?
Thanks,
MG
Aquify advertises that it can disinfect your lenses in five minutes. The rest say four hours or overnight.
Also, if your doctor has approved your eyes for continuous/extended wear in Biofinity, they should be taken out overnight at least once per week according to the destructions. I don’t get really worried about showering in your lenses. Hot tubs, lakes, rivers, and swimming pools are the risky environs.
Great review, thanks! I was using Focus night & day for more than 2 years and when I went to see a doctor to get a new prescription, I was told that the brand name changed into Air Optix. I thought it was all right and wanted go with Air Optix, but after a week I started having very bad eye irritations. It was unbearable, so I went so see the doctor again. I ended up using eye drops and ointments for 2 weeks and used my glasses. I tried the Air Optix again and after a week, same problem. I took them out and not using them until they undo whatever change they made to the night & day. So I have been trying new brands. Purevision: not so comfortable. Now I was given Biofinity and told I could wear it for a week without taking them out. I want a contact lens that I can wear for at least a week without taking them and use for 2-4 weeks, I haven’t tried Acuvue products yet, so my question is how would you compare Biofinity and Acuvue (comparable product) to Night & Day (not Air Optix)? Thank you!
AV comes in a tighter fitting curve and a looser fit curve while the Biofinity comes in a middle of the road curve. Depending on your cornea, you could be able to wear either one. The AV is a great two week lens but a poor one month lens while the Biofinity is made for one month.
Ask your eye doctor to see if you can try them both out.
Your comment about swimming with contacts being risky is worrying me… I am wearing contacts again after Lasik (worked great for about 7 years, with reading glasses only)… and was hoping I could swim in the gym pool with contacts because I sure can’t do any kind of sport without some kind of visual assistance. My bioinfinity work seem to well +3.00 and +3.75… (tried Acuvue but they were very painful — I think it was the material they were made of.) So back to the point, you don’t recommend swimming with them? What can I do to see and swim again? Would swim goggles over contacts make it safer? Thank you –
@Teresa If you think it’s okay to eat food after it touches a latrine for a few seconds, then wear your contacts after they’ve been exposed to the filth of swimming pool/hot tub water. Only…risking stomach flu isn’t the same thing as risking a blinding eye infection.
I think microbiology should be mandatory in high school.
How to swim with contacts: two different pair, regular and swimming. Take your swimming pair out as soon as you are done with the pool and disinfect it with Optifree or ClearCare. Wear out of the locker room your regular pair.
I personally wear daily disposable contacts for swimming/hot tubs. If I loose it in the water then it’s no big deal because I was going to toss it anyway.
When you are talking about Night and Day, are you talking about the old one or the new one? Cause’ i’ve heard that the new one (Night and Day Aqua) is supposed to be bad but the old one is good.
@ Mathilda I’m talking about both. The cosmetic redesign of the Night and Day packaging, and the blue handling tint, plus the “OK” inversion indicator, and the “Aqua” additive in the saline of the blister pack are the only differences between old and new Night & Day.
I’ve only ever heard one patient tell me they could tell a difference between the new Night & Day vs. the old, and I’m skeptical that they are discernible. The only reason I like the old better is because it’s clear instead of the blue handling tint. I dislike having a faint blue ring on the whites of my eyes, and it’s one of the few contacts that come perfectly clear.