Contact Lenses

Zhane

hey, just wanted to know if contact lenses are worth getting? are they hard to put in? im sick of wearing glasses they are annoying.

RobertFoster

do you like/mind putting your finger in your eye?

Auburn

Originally posted by RobertFoster
do you like/mind putting your finger in your eye?

That's essentially what it boils down to.
Don't need glasses myself but some friends that use contacts seem to get conjunctivitis (sp?) a lot.

Lainey

Originally posted by Auburn
That's essentially what it boils down to.
Don't need glasses myself but some friends that use contacts seem to get conjunctivitis (sp?) a lot.

urggghhh.. didn't know that.. was thinkin of gettin some.. that put me right off..

Tazzle

Contacts are fine for short term use, ie. 7-8 hours a day, anything more and they can get a bit gooey. With proper care of the lens you shouldn't notice any side effects. It takes a bit of getting used to at the start, but after 3/4 days putting them in is pretty much taken for granted, it's trying to get them out and clean them while totally locked that takes a bit of experience and trial & error.

ixoy

I use daily disposable contact lenses, about three times a week. Initially I used to nearly scream with frustration when trying to put them in - they'd slip off my finger or, more likely, pop right out of my eye. At times I just gave up. Gradually however the process became quicker and quicker until now I can do it in a handful of seconds.
I have never got anything like conjuctivitis from them, and I have worn them for longer than 7-8 hours after which I still have little trouble popping them out. Of course it's all helped by the fact that I use daily disposables. If you're looking to use lenses full time it's probably more financially viable to purchase ones that you have to clean. And of those? I know not if they are very different.

Töpher

Been wearing them for years (monthly disposables - need to be cleaned daily), the only time I dont like wearing them is when playing games on a PC, they way I stare at the screen seems to make the lenses loose, but a blink puts em back in their place. I often wear them for 13/14 hours a day with no problem at all, and have slept with them in (accidentally!) without bother, but always took them straight out after that!

Really handy, if you really hate glasses!

Mercury_Tilt

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Spunog UIE

well i wouldn't worry too much about putting them in, YOU CAN DO IT, I have huge trouble when I got them first, I was advised to get hard lenses which are just evil for me. After moving to Soft lenses were much better but still took a few days to get used to putting them in and taking them out but ya pick it up.

Then when you have them you love the advantages, no fogging up, no cleaning, no scratches, no getting in the way, you can lie you head on a huge pillow and watch the tv no getting them knocked off ya to the amuzement of everyone in indoor soccer.

imirish

Do they keep falling out

Spunog UIE

I have never had them fall out, I honestly don't know how they fall out on some people.

Mercury_Tilt

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Stark

They're cool and you no longer have bitchy girls asking to try on your glasses in night clubs.

Don't worry about the finger in your eye thing, I used to panic at the thought of having something in my eye, but once you get contact lenses you become immediately desensitized to this. Try the daily disposable ones at first if you just want them for going out/sport. They're especially handy for going out because if they get uncomfortable (not as much a problem since the smoking ban) then you can just pluck them out and throw them away instead of worrying about trying to get them back into their case while drunk.

dangerman

the only time one of mine has ever fallen out is when i was stabbed in the eye by a girls finger.

They do take a bit of getting used to, but after a while there's no problems.

The only time i don't like them is putting them on really early in the morning; just when i getup and my eyes are all sleepy, annoys me.

seamus

Originally posted by Gideon
I have never had them fall out, I honestly don't know how they fall out on some people.

Very very rarely these days, one of mine can pop out if it changes position. I have one toric lens, so if it's dry, and I look in a weird direction, it changes position and gets stuck there, and then sometimes catches on my eyelid and pops out when I blink.

As I say, it hasn't happened in months, and they're so dry when it does happen that it's usually time to take them out anyway.

imirish

Can u get ones that make ur eyes look like a diff colour

Bacchus

I'v been wearing them for 2 years.
Only ever fell out once when I was playing soccer... got a belt with the football to the face, knocked one out.
Get them they're worth it. You'll get used to putting them in/out after a week or two.

SantaHoe

Originally posted by Zhane
hey, just wanted to know if contact lenses are worth getting? are they hard to put in? im sick of wearing glasses they are annoying.

I've been wearing them for years.
They're definitly worth getting... taking the pressure off the bridge of your nose and being able to have full peripheral vision is veeery nice.
Also being able to scratch your eyelid without having to reach around your glasses... so many small bonuses.
They can be tricky to put in (and take out) at first, and there's the whole finger-in-eye phobia that I think most people have in their instincts that makes putting something like a contact lens into your eye - a big ordeal.
It becomes second nature after a while though, and it ends up as a 10 second job.
Avoid using them infont of the computer though, since they dry out of you don't blink enough.

If your optician is any good, and you've got soft contact lenses, they should never fall out under day-to-day conditions... since the contact lenses subscribed to you will match the curvature of your eye, so they'll stay on by the power of suction.

Also, don't fall asleep with them in, I know someone here said they were grand after it, but it can be very painful to remove them... I only needed that lesson once :eek:

I'd reccomend starting off on daily disposables, that way you won't have to worry about cleaning or storage, and you can decide wether you like them or not before you buy more expensive lenses with all the cleaning solution malarky.

The first time you put them in, they'll sting... but I guarentee you won't even know you're wearing them after a while.

digitaldr

I used to wear soft non-disposables for a few years. They needed to be cleaned a lot - became a real pain. Unfortunately I wasn't that careful and wore them for too long at a stretch/didn't clean them as often as I should etc. Ended up getting very mild neovascularusation - the cornea gets its oxygen supply from the atmosphere - if you block it off - eg by wearing lenses for too long (some lenses are more oxygen permiable than others) - tiny blood vessels start to grow into your cornea to supply it with oxygen - not a good thing! Also got a few corneal abrasions - very painful.

I'm now older and wiser (I like to think so anyway) and now just wear daily disposables for a few hours a few evenings a week - mainly going out to the pub/swimming and have regular eye checks - no problems and have been using them for a few years.

My fiancee got LASIK surgery and is very pleased with the results (Mater Private). It's very pricey though.


Here's a link about lens complications:

http://www.alanoptics.per.sg/cl-prob.htm#Corneal%20neovascularisation

koneko

I've been using lenses for years now and I haven't had a single problem with my eyes.

I use daily disposables aswell. They're really easy to put in once you get the hang of it.

[edit] For the others that wear the soft daily disposables, if you ever have a prob where they annoy your eye after you put them in and you have to take them out, clean them and put them back in try this tip (if you don't know about it already).

Put the lens on the crease of your palm (on the side of your hand, say where your pinky is) and fold your hand slightly. If the lens folds easily with it, it's the right way round. If it doesn't, then just flip it over and get it the right way round.

Nala

Originally posted by Auburn
That's essentially what it boils down to.
Don't need glasses myself but some friends that use contacts seem to get conjunctivitis (sp?) a lot.

If your eyes go red while wearing contacts you should go to your optician, it could be an eye infection that can result in loss of sight.

seamus

Originally posted by koneko
Put the lens on the crease of your palm (on the side of your hand, say where your pinky is) and fold your hand slightly. If the lens folds easily with it, it's the right way round. If it doesn't, then just flip it over and get it the right way round.

I can do it from sight, but I also find it handy if: You put the lens balancing on the tip of your middle finger. Then with your other hand, very gently push on the edges of the lens. If it's inside out, it'll 'collapse' onto your fingertip, i.e. it'll revert back the right way around.

I also find it very handy, especially in the morning, if you put a drop of solution in the lens, say so the lens is half full, before putting it in my eye. Seems to wash out any crap and creates a very comfortable lens.

Woden

i've been wearing them on and off for about 6 years. decided to get them when i was in transition year or something. i've always used montly disposables and havent' really had many problems with them. i don't clean them though or look after them well or at least these days as i don't typically wear them as it doesn't bother me about the glasses at all.

there was a stage though where i was wearing them 7 days a week i seem to go from one extreme to the other. they are handy enough though when you get used to them. don't worry to much about the length of time you have them in unless it is irritating you. i've fallen asleep drunk with them in. its definetly not recommended but the main problem you have is wondering why you can see so well when you wake up the next day and your eyes will be real dry and crusty.

i use the general clean them before i put them in trick and like seamus mentioned kinda have the lens half full of the solution as you put it in your eye.

i also find it possible to determine if its inside out by putting it on the tip of your finger if the lens is completely convex then its fine but if its inside out you'll find at the very tip of the lens it should start to curve out and thats not the way forward.