Contact Lenses

worben

Anyone here wear them?

I just got lenses for the first time on Saturday, I took nearly an hour in Specsavers putting them in twice. Tried at home again yesterday but couldn't get them in after trying for over an hour. Tried again this evening and managed to get the first one in after a few minutes but the second took half an hour.

If I could just stop blinking when the lens gets near my eye I'd be grand. Maybe if I had lizard eyes that would help with the blinking...

Anyone have any tips?

Stargal

I can totally empathise, it can be very difficult to get used to putting contacts in and taking them out again. Keep going with it though, it really does get easier and after a while you'll be doing it in a couple of seconds.

If you find that you're blinking a lot when you're putting them in then you need to starting focusing your eyes somewhere else - try looking at your nose as you're putting the lens in and you'll find that you (probably) won't blink at all.

AlmightyCushion

When I was in the opticians trying to put on my contact lenses I got them on in no time it was great. The next day though I couldn't do it for the life of me. Two and a half years later and they are still sitting in my room never been used. :mad:

Glowing

Yep - it doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl, put a bit of mascara on your eyelashes first, then you have much better grip on your eyelids!
Other than that, it's just practice, you'll be popping them in in seconds soon ...

Agamemnon

Can you not just hold your eye open by the eyelashes to stop the blinking? That's the way I was taught to do it in Specsavers and it works for me. It gets easier with time anyway.

Terry

Apparently there's a thread somewhere around here about laser eye surgery. Never saw it myself, but I'm told it's there.

Firetrap

Yep. I've had them for about 15 years. When I got mine first, the optician made sure that I could put them in properly all by myself before I could go away with them. I had a bit of trouble getting them in first and my eyes were gone a bit red so I had to come back in a couple of days later and try again. At the time, I was a bit disappointed but I know now that it was the right thing to do. The worst thing you can do is keep trying to put them in - your eyes will get all irritated and the lenses will be uncomfortable when they eventually go in. Even now, I sometimes make a mess of putting in a lens and I have to leave it be for a while.

Did the optician spend much time with you helping to put them in? I'm just asking because a friend of mine accompanied a pal of her's into Specsavers to get contacts and she thought the optician was a bit snappy because the girl had trouble putting in her lenses and was putting too much pressure on her.

There's a knack to it; I'm assuming here that you're right-handed. You put the lens on the index finger of your right hand, hold up your top eyelid with your left hand (I use the middle finger for some reason) and the bottom eyelid with the middle finger of your right hand. Look up towards the ceiling and drop the lens into the bottom of your eye.

I remember the optician telling me to aim for the white part of the eye when putting in the lens. It's not as sensitive as the iris. Also, if you're not looking straight at your finger heading straight for your eye, it makes things simpler. That's definitely the biggest part - having to learn not to blink like crazy when you put your finger in your eye. Believe it or not, you'll get used to it very quickly. Like I said, look upwards at the last moment when you're putting in the lens and it won't be so bad. Also, a mirror is very handy when you're a beginner at this lens lark

Make sure too that the lens isn't gritty when you put it into your eye. After a couple of failed attempts to put it in, funny eye gunge can get onto it and will irritate your eyes if it's not rinsed off.

Maybe either you're allergic to the contact lens solution (if you're not using disposables). I developed an allergy to the one I was using and what used to happen is that my eyes would sting like crazy for a few moments until the tears washed the solution away. The optician changed the solution and I never had that trouble again.

_blank_

worben wrote:

Maybe if I had lizard eyes that would help with the blinking...

Anyone have any tips?

:eek:

Lizard eyes you say, hmmmm?

http://www.davidicke.com/index.php/

Mint Sauce

exactly what fire trap said (post 7)

been wearing mine for 3 years or so, daily disposables

i usally where mine for goin out at night or of for the day somewhere, and for sports, where regular (designer) specs rest of the time

the first week it was taking me up to 15 minutes to remove them, when putting them in and out i would prepare everything, i would have a bottle of solutiuon, just i case it took a few attempts incase they tried out after a few failed attepts, i would have a few peices of kitchen or toilet roll near by, recomend that you gentle dab on your eyelid with the eye closed going from the inside out (starting nearest your nose), just to push any air bubbles from under neath your lens

even now, i can make a total hash of if it at times, and it could take a few failed attempts to put them in or out

Lurk

I used to put them in by gently holding my bottom eyelid down, looking up to the top left-hand corner and then pressing the contact into the bottom right-hand corner of my eye. I'd bring my eyes back down and jiggly my eyeball around a bit. Then I got laser surgery and now I've bionic eyes. :eek:

connundrum

Terry wrote:

Apparently there's a thread somewhere around here about laser eye surgery. Never saw it myself, but I'm told it's there.

Har har

OP always remember to have clean hands when putting the lenses in and taking them out! I've just had a weeks worth of an eye infection thanks to taking the contacts out with undue care... i.e. I had spilled Heineken all over meself and then immediately decided to take the contacts out. Beer can be such a cruel master

worben

Thanks for the replies, I guess it's just a matter of getting used to touching my eye and finding a technique that works. The staff in Specsavers were very helpful and patient, but I didn't know if I was taking too long or what.

I've taken them out again now and they came out just fine. I''l try them again tomorrow. I think it's easier to practice at home without people watching...

beezkneez

hey - ive had them for nearly ten years and havent had much bother.
i would recommend however that if you are trying to put them in or take them out for more than about 5 minutes you should leave it for a while as your eye will get sore and it will be even more difficuly. give it a break for a while and maybe get some of them "refresh" eye drops. i carry them around with me and use them regularly as it is great for tired or irritated eyes, especially if you are wearing them for hours on end, like if you are wearing them all day and then head out for the night. very handy and small enough to carry in wallet.

Kali

Hold your eyelids down (and up), look up and stick 'em in.
Then get some O2 Optix.. comfiest lenses ever.

Reku

Stargal wrote:

try looking at your nose as you're putting the lens in and you'll find that you (probably) won't blink at all.

Instead you'll develop an obsession with needing rhinoplasty.;)

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

are they soft lenses or hard lenses? if they're hard lenses then I haven't got any advice for you.. I got them years ago, tried them for a month and went back to glasses until I could afford soft ones again


what I did, when I was beginning to use soft lenses was to hold my finger out above a mirror, flat out on a desk. just bvalance the lens on your finger, over the mirror and slowly bring your head down until the lense just fits on to your eye.

it will feel weird for a while, i don't remember what it felt like at first but I'd be sure it didn't feel as natural as it turned out. Stick with it for a while, try not to let whatever irritation you feel at first turn you off.. cos once you get used ot them, they're brilliant.

although laser eye surgery is better.

--edit

I haven't tried this but it strikes me that you might want to practice "touching" your eyeballs regularly (just make sure your hands are scrubbed "clinically clean"!).. that way you don't have the added pressure of getting the lenses in/out and your eyes get a bit used to the interference.

good advice, but make sure your nails are cut and your fingers are very clean..eye infections are nasty. don't be too rough either, you probably won't burst it but I think you can bruise it.

DaDa

I've been wearing lenses (social & for sport) for about 15 years too and I've been lucky... never really had any problems except for the first day or two when it was completely alien to be placing something onto my eyeballs!

I haven't tried this but it strikes me that you might want to practice "touching" your eyeballs regularly (just make sure your hands are scrubbed "clinically clean"!).. that way you don't have the added pressure of getting the lenses in/out and your eyes get a bit used to the interference.

Then when you get used to that go back to the actual lenses.
Just a thought.

Good luck.. stick with it!

dade

it takes time to get use to them, 8 years on and i still have trouble with them from time to time.

Any use teh monthly disposable ones? teh ones you can wear for 30 straight sleep with them in and all.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

I got them in the last 5-6months of my lense wearing, they were wonderful.

Really, just the simple things like being able to fall straight into bed without having to worry about taking them out. Being able to see first thing when you wake up.. it's just ****ing awesome.

I'd have payed alot more money than they cost for that.

hotnipples

Yeah im wearing those, I dont leave them in for 30 days at a time though, usually take them out every 2 or 3 days and give em a rinse because, when you think of it.. leaving something in your eye for 30 days is kinda disgusting. They're dead handy when your out on the piss and want to pass out on someones couch and not have to worry about em though!

dade

any issues with showering, swimming etc with them in?

hotnipples

Not at all. They feel identical to dailys and regular monthlys.

dade

sweet, ineed new daily disposibles might try these instead

the_syco

hotnipples wrote:

Yeah im wearing those, I dont leave them in for 30 days at a time though, usually take them out every 2 or 3 days and give em a rinse because, when you think of it.. leaving something in your eye for 30 days is kinda disgusting. They're dead handy when your out on the piss and want to pass out on someones couch and not have to worry about em though!

Just be aware that not all contact lenses are like this. Mine, I can only leave them in for 8 to 10 hours (eyes dry up if I wear the 12 to 14 hour ones).

As for your optician, it took me several vists before I could put them in. Got them in once, but couldn't take them out. I shudder to think what would have happened if this had happeneed at home, late at night! I'd be f**ked!

I put them in by putting the lense on the middle finger, pulling the eye lid down with the finger next to the thumb, and pull the top eye lid up using the other hand, reaching around my head. See diagram.

Once you put it on, leave it settle for a moment, and then let go of your bottom lid, and then slowly let go of your top lid.

For the record, I did this in McGivneys, on Henry Street.

baztard

dade wrote:

Any use teh monthly disposable ones? teh ones you can wear for 30 straight sleep with them in and all.

Yeah I used to use them, until one of them fused with my eyeball and took a nice chunk of my cornea out with it when I took it out. They can be quite dry in the morning when you wake up also.

hotnipples

baztard wrote:

Yeah I used to use them, until one of them fused with my eyeball and took a nice chunk of my cornea out with it when I took it out. They can be quite dry in the morning when you wake up also.

I agree about the dryness in the morning. It's not as simple as waking up with perfect vision, cause your eyes do feel alot more tired than usual I find, but after 10 mins this goes away. As far as 'fusing with your eyeball' is concerned, that sounds to me like a bit of a freak accident. In all my time of wearing any sort of contact lense, including times where ive accidentally spent the night asleep in ones when you arent meant to, ive never experienced anything like that, and so far theres been no lense/eye fusing going on with the month ones, just a bit of positive feedback incase you were put off by that comment.

faceman

We could do with a forum for those of us visually challenged and all things related.

When i first got contacts many years ago, i can remember how slow i was at putting them in. It was like the lunar landing - took ages!

Rob_l

When i started wearing contact lenses I never really had a problem putting them in taking them out when drunk was painfully stupid kept sticking fingers in eye then when id get one out and forget which eye i took the lense out of and start trying to take a lense off an eye that wasn't there oh the joy

now i wear the thirty day ones i think i ahve been wearing them 14 days now i usualy take them off ever once in a while to clean but for some reason haven't bothered in two weeks

Firetrap

It's amazing how things have changed though. When I first got my lenses in the early 90s, I walked out of the Opticians with one pair of lenses (supposed to last a year) and a bag with two bottles of solution (Oxysept 1 & Oxysept 2), a bottle of saline solution and protein tablets. Every night when I took the things out it was like playing with a chemistry set. Oxysept 1 had peroxide in it and had to be neutralised by Oxysept 2 after a while. I think if you left your lenses too long in Oxysept 1, they'd be boiled into oblivion :eek:

hotnipples

Sounds like an absolute pain in the hole! The only annoying thing I find nowadays is that you have to squeeze the solution out of the bottle and the container takes around 10 seconds to fill to the desired level, so annoying

Thats 10 seconds of my evening I want back specsavers, you bastards!

baztard

You can also get ones that you wear only at night. They're made of plastic I think, and over time they reshape the front of your eye. You wear nothing during the day, and your perscription is corrected. I don't know if they're widely available in Ireland though.

Rob_l

baztard wrote:

You can also get ones that you wear only at night. They're made of plastic I think, and over time they reshape the front of your eye. You wear nothing during the day, and your perscription is corrected. I don't know if they're widely available in Ireland though.

I had heard these were in research stages i have not heard they had been developed yet

baztard

Rob_l wrote:

I had heard these were in research stages i have not heard they had been developed yet

I got the impression from the article I was reading that they were in use. It was a year ago I read it though.

hotnipples

I'm -5.50 in both my eyes, so i'll probably have to wear those until im 90 to get 20/20 vision again.

Rob_l

baztard wrote:

I got the impression from the article I was reading that they were in use. It was a year ago I read it though.

Yeah No I was very interested in the idea of them myself but as I said I have not heard they have reached prodiction stage the theory behind them seems sound enough I would hope they are about if anyone knows of anythign mroe I would be very interested to hear

Rob_l

hotnipples wrote:

I'm -5.50 in both my eyes, so i'll probably have to wear those until im 90 to get 20/20 vision again.

yeah your probably better just poking out your eyes and getting a guide dog. :eek:

they should be effective for you too 5.50 isn't the worst of it

hotnipples

Rob_l wrote:

yeah your probably better just poking out your eyes and getting a guide dog. :eek:

they should be effective for you too 5.50 isn't the worst of it

I dunno.. guide dogs are expensive..

One Cold Hand

OP it sounds like your not used to touching your eyeball. My optician told me that the best thing to do before getting lenses was to make sure your comfortable touching your eyeball. If your not used to it you won't be able to help blinking when you try to put your lenses in.

She said that to get used to touching your eyeball, just forget about the lenses initially, and get used to touching your eyeball with your finger. The steps were roughly as follows:

1. Leave your eyelid closed and just poke and touch your eyeball through the lid.
2. Open your eyelid and try and just tip your eyeball for a split second.
3. When your comfortable doing this, start to leave your finger on your eyeball for longer. Try and build it up to 4/5 second.

I think if you can manage this, it will help you a lot.

Rob_l

hotnipples wrote:

I dunno.. guide dogs are expensive..

Ah white sticks are cheap though:cool:

Magic Pips

Lurk wrote:

I used to put them in by gently holding my bottom eyelid down, looking up to the top left-hand corner and then pressing the contact into the bottom right-hand corner of my eye. I'd bring my eyes back down and jiggly my eyeball around a bit. Then I got laser surgery and now I've bionic eyes. :eek:

+ 1 (or as much +++ as i can)

worben

One Cold Hand wrote:

OP it sounds like your not used to touching your eyeball. My optician told me that the best thing to do before getting lenses was to make sure your comfortable touching your eyeball. If your not used to it you won't be able to help blinking when you try to put your lenses in.

She said that to get used to touching your eyeball, just forget about the lenses initially, and get used to touching your eyeball with your finger. The steps were roughly as follows:

1. Leave your eyelid closed and just poke and touch your eyeball through the lid.
2. Open your eyelid and try and just tip your eyeball for a split second.
3. When your comfortable doing this, start to leave your finger on your eyeball for longer. Try and build it up to 4/5 second.

I think if you can manage this, it will help you a lot.

Excellent idea, I'm definitely a bit squeamish about touching my eye but it seems to be a matter of getting used to it.

the_syco wrote:

I put them in by putting the lense on the middle finger, pulling the eye lid down with the finger next to the thumb, and pull the top eye lid up using the other hand, reaching around my head. See diagram.

Once you put it on, leave it settle for a moment, and then let go of your bottom lid, and then slowly let go of your top lid.

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/3532/45582.jpg

This worked, just put them in again this evening and they went in straight away. Must have been the diagram ...

bounty_hunter

My tip is to keep practising, it gets easier the more you try. Also you need to hold your eye wide open with your fingers and just learn to NOT LET GO until you've got the lense placed properly.

andrew

keratoconus is crap. either i wear hard contacts for the rest of my life... or i get new corneas. If anyone has a cornea or two to spare i'll have it thanks

SligoBrewer

hotnipples wrote:

I'm -5.50 in both my eyes, so i'll probably have to wear those until im 90 to get 20/20 vision again.

i work in an opticians and trust me, -5.50 isnt as bad as some of the things ive seen. -19.00 in specs :eek::eek:

although i am -5.00 myself and it is a f*ckin pain in the arse.
its a disability when you think of it. only thats its very easily corrected

cazzy

Your optician should have made sure you were happy with them before he let you leave i.e. put them in taken them out etc. I got them in school and they are great. I now wear monthly disposables which mean I only have to put them in once a month and can wear them non stop day and night for the month (no need trying to take them out after the pub like those daily ones - could poke my eye out with them!)
Only thing I remember from my first pair many years ago is that if you look up, down, side ways etc after putting them on your eye they will move into place. Make sure your finger is clean before attempting to put it in so dust doesnt irritate your eye. Hold down bottom eye lid with thumb and use next or middle finger to tip lens on to you iris then do the looking around thing. (up at the ceiling down at the ground etc so the lens falls in place)
Good luck with it

uniquechic

cazzy wrote:

I now wear monthly disposables which mean I only have to put them in once a month and can wear them non stop day and night for the month (no need trying to take them out after the pub like those daily ones - could poke my eye out with them!)

How much do they cost?

kinaldo

After one failed attempt at getting contacts 5 years ago I've been trying again with a bit more determination.

At first I was too freaked out at touching my eye but having gotten past that it was keeping my upper eyelash out of the way.

So at the 4th attempt (teach) I finally managed to slip it in, almost by accident. It was surprisingly comfortable although it gave slightly inferior vision to my glasses, as I have astigmatism as well as -5.

Unfortunately I couldn't manage to get it out. After prodding and pinching my eye for 5 minutes it was getting very red and she told me to stop. One of their opticians had to physically remove it with her hand.

I can't believe I used to think contacts could fall out! Thank **** I have a very lazy left eye and only have to do this with my right. Much cheaper too

So anyway, I have to go back tomorrow for the 5th time. If I succeed on getting it in again (some good advice in this thread btw, thanks) any tips on getting it out would be much appreciated.

Every time I go there I feel under terrible pressure to perform...

monkey tennis

dade wrote: »

Any use teh monthly disposable ones? teh ones you can wear for 30 straight sleep with them in and all.

I used to wear these, but I found they got a bit scratchy after a couple of weeks, even if I cleaned them. It wasn't that bad (and I wore them for over a year), but it was only when I tried out daily disposables that I realized the difference.

hotnipples wrote: »

I dont leave them in for 30 days at a time though, usually take them out every 2 or 3 days and give em a rinse

According to my optician, it's safer if you leave them in - less chance of any infection or foreign material getting on the lens or in your eye.

kinaldo wrote: »

I can't believe I used to think contacts could fall out!

I believe hard ones can, modern soft lenses don't.

missmatty

lol @ performance pressure!

I have mine 12 years all the way from the oxysept and tablets days to now wearing long-day wear monthly disposables. Mostly no hassle, never any infections luckily but i'm scrupulous about washing hands, etc before touching my eyes or the lenses. I tried the wear-for-a-month ones but they didn't like me at all

My personal tips: use very clean hands, try to dry them on a towel that's been well washed as they will have less fluffy fibres, as if they get in your eye they hurt and you can't see them like an eyelash to get them out.

Then i fill up my eye with the afore-mentioned refresh eye drops (specially for contact wearers). This is hard but DON'T BLINK. I can control my blink reflex now as i've been doing this so long!

When picking it up try to let it touch your skin as little as poss. Place in palm and rinse in soln then pick up. Nails are useful if very clean but touch lens gently. Position lens on middle or second last finger tip.Then i use last finger of left hand to pull eyelashes up and a finger from the right to pull other one down. Just let lens touch your eye and in a sec, the eye will suck it on properly. When in place blink and eyedrops will wash out any dirt/fluff. The mascara helps but only use contact-friendly stuff. Hth someone

Once i forgot the neautralising tablet for the oxysept solution and burnt the eye outa myself. Thank god those days are gone! You wouldn't mind, but i wasn't even drunk.

Also once (but when v drunk) a friend caught me trying to squirt my shampoo into the lens case :D

cson

It's a mental thing more than anything I think. You're just not accustomed to touching your eye. I find that taking them out, the best way is to hold you eyelids open with one hand, while looking into a mirror so that you can see the lens, and then pinch quickly.

dame

monkey tennis wrote:

I believe hard ones can, modern soft lenses don't.

Actually modern soft lenses can fall out. I used to use Daily Disposables (Johnson's) and a couple of times I blinked hard (when something unexpected was coming towards me) and a lense fell out. Another time I rubbed my eye (eye was closed) and the lense curled up and stuck out of the corner of the eye.

I now wear the 30 day Extended Wear lenses (Bausch & Lomb) and haven't had any problems. I put them in and leave them in for the month, then take them out, wear the glasses for a day or two (give the eyes a rest), then pop in the new pair.

I think the reason the extended wear lenses don't fall out is because they are tougher and larger (as in they cover more of the eye). The daily disposables are so tiny they barely covered the iris but the extended wear ones are a mm or so wider all around. Semms to give them a better grip. Also, they're a bit drier so maybe that helps too.




I've said it before, but all you folks wearing lenses should check out prices for lenses online. You can ask the optician for your prescription and then order away. I've saved a small fortune over the years buying mine online.