Contacts

[TexasF355F1]

Who all wear contact lenses?

I just got my first pair, O2 Optics, last Thursday. I'm having someone difficult time getting use to them. Right now my eyes are watering like crazy. I go back on Thursday for a follow up.

What kind of solution do you use to clean your contacts with? What kind do you were?

[00accord44]

I've worn contacts since I was 13. All different brands. Now I have Frequency 55. The excess watering should stop after a couple days. Basically your eye thinks something is in it and producing tears is the only defense it has to get it out.

Saline solution, I've probably used at least 60% of the available brands on the market. Now I realized the cheap stuff is just as good as the name brand. Just like generic allergy or headache medecine, the ingredients are the same, you just pay extra for the name.

Contacts can be great, especially if you're self-conscious about how you look in glasses, but you gotta take car of em. After about a year of wearin contacts I started gettin lazy and not takin em out every night. After a while I would go over a week without givin my eyes a rest and some air. This eventually led to me having a stye (a bump underneath the skin of the eyelid) wich had to be taken care of. I'll spare you the details, but it wasn't pleasant. And ever since then, I've had eye allergies... TERRIBLE eye allergies. Watery, itchy, dry, everything. So now contacts are a chore for me. The moral: take em out every day unless you have the kind that don't require it or you have extrenuating circumstances where you can't easily take em out. Your eyes will thank you for it.

[knorwj]

hmm I haven't taken mine out since may... don't tell my eye doctor!

When I used to have the permanent ones I would take them out every night and do all the proper stuff, but then I went to college and got disposables. I like the disposables much better. I buy the cheapest ones they offer where I go. I tried those fancy breathable ones for about two weeks and had nothing but problems with them.

I usually put mine in and wear them/sleep in them/ do everything in them. After about 2-3 months when they start to bother me I pull them out and pop in a new pair. Keep in mind these are supposed to be 2 week disposables. I have been doing this for about 5 years now and never had a problem. I have been in some filthy dirty nasty situations with mine in also. I've touched my contacts dirty etc. I have never had a infection or a stye. Guess I have resiliant eyes. I even got punched once at a bar and lost a contact... found it on the floor rinsed it off in the bathroom sink and popped it back in. That probably wasn't smart but its better than being blind all night.


Only things I find annoying with my contacts is that swimming can be a pain. water in your eyes might wash them out into the pool/ocean. Sometimes wind in my face will dry them out, sometimes it won't bother them. I recomend carrying around one of those little bottles of rewetting drops for awhile till your eyes get used to keeping them moist.



edit: I just checked out what brand I have. The box says UltraFlex II. My doctor told me they are his "workhorse" brand, meaning they are cheap and durable. Like I said he tried switching me to those overnight breathable ones and I hated them. My vision was constantly "clouding over" and they just felt dirty after the first day of wearing them. They were very uncomfortable for me. I couldn't even make it the full week trial and when I went back I had him switch me back to the ultraflex II. I've been wearing this brand for about 3-4 years and they are great.

[TexasF355F1]

Thanks for the info. It's good to know my eyes should stop watering after a while. I got them mainly because my distance was becoming blurry. The damn big E in the office was blurry. I use to be able to read the bottom line. Not uncomfortable wearing glasses, they become annoying to me. I'm also bad about using them.

I have fairly bad allergies so I think it'll take a little while for my eyes to get use to them. I tried my dads solution this morning and think it doesn't bother my eyes like Renu. But we'll see. He said the exact same thing about solutions are all the same.

I forgot, mine are the ones you throw out twice a month.

[knorwj]

I don't think all the solutions are the same, I always used the Alcon Optifree and liked it but it got pricey so I switched to wal-mart brand. I was fine for about a year or so and then outta no where the shit started burning like a mofo. It was like pouring soap in my eyes. It also happened at the same time they changed all their labels so I don't know if they changed their formula or something but I couldn't take it and switched back to the optifree. That was back when I used solution, I rarely need it anymore. 1 bottle lasts me almost a year, if I don't lose it haha. I usually lose the bottle before its even half gone.

[Oz]

I would second what was said above - you should do a final rinse using Saline solution before inserting them into your eyes. Saline is the same fluid your tear's are made from, therefor putting it straight into your eye isn't a problem. A lot of contact cleaner's / solutions feel funny when you use them to rinse.

And it will probably take about 2 weeks to get used to them.

I use gas permeabe "hard" contacts which are much smaller and more fragile than soft contacts. After 8 or so years of wearing contacts, they take about 2 mins of maintenance a day and I rarely, if ever, have a problem with them. And they only have to be replaced about every year to 18 months. In effect, this brings the total cost of ownership down to stuff all compared to disposable ones. I think they're about $220 for a pair and I would use $15 worth of cleaners / fluid per month.

[skibum1111]

I have worn contacts for 18 years, never got an infection or anything. I wear the disposable accuvue 2. Tried the accuvue advance, supposed to be breathable, couldn't keep them in after a day, they have issues holding shape for me anyway. Solution I use alcon optifree as well, tried other brands and liked the alcon best. As for getting used to them, try gradually extending the time you wear them, 4 hours the first day, 5 the second, etc.. It really worked for me.

[quteasabutton]

a word of caution about sleeping with your contacts in for an extended period of time. i used to do that since my eyes would burn and sting and tear up something fierce when i put my contacts in the next morning after leaving them out.

i started sleeping with them in and only taking them out every week or two. i sure am paying for that now i have multiple ulcers in my cornea cuz of this. they were so severe i couldn't be in any form of light, i couldn't keep my eyes open, and keeping them shut was just as painful. my eyes constantly watered, it looked like i was crying for like a copule weeks straight. i couldn't wear my contacts for 6 weeks cuz of this *got some pretty cute dolce & gabbana glasses tho*. the doctor said they might come back now that i've had it once and he was right..it's been about 4 or 5 weeks and they're back already.

idk what sort of solution i use now, i used to use that stuff from bausch and laumb *sp?* but it got taken off the market so i have something in a green bottle..

another good thing to do is every few months, stick your contact case in a pot of boiling water for 2-5 minutes, that'll kill the germs that could've gotten on there and help keep your eyes healthier.

[Oz]

I wouldn't suggest boiling your contacts - who knows what they will do to dissferent sorts of contacts :o

[bluevp00]

I just got contacts not too long ago too. The same brand, O2 optics. I actually took really well to them, no watering or irritation of any kind. I use 'Complete Moisture Plus' solution made by Amo. It's the only kind the doctor recommended - seems to work very well.

It might take a while to get used to your new contacts, so just give them time. Also, make sure your hands & towels are very clean & free of lint when handling contacts; nothing is worse when you get lint on the inside of your contacts, stings like crazy.

[YogsVR4]

I've worn contacts for about twenty years. I use the cheap saline to store and rinse mine daily. I don't use any cleaning solutions - ever because these are soft disposable contacts that are supposed to last two weeks. As I do take them out every night, I get about two to three months use out of them.

[pickle]

I've had my contacts for about a year. Had to get them so I could drive. Mine get changed every 30 days. I don't know how I survived without them. I use that Complete Moisture Plus stuff too. Super good and you get a free contact lense case woohoo

[knorwj]

Originally Posted by quteasabutten

another good thing to do is every few months, stick your contact case in a pot of boiling water for 2-5 minutes, that'll kill the germs that could've gotten on there and help keep your eyes healthier.

As far as I know you shouldn't boil soft contacts. Boiling is the old school way of cleaning the hard contacts. By old school I mean like 1970's-80's.


edit: oops just noticed you said case....

[BP2K2Max]

i had contacts but i couldn't get used to them. my eyes were always dry and bothering me, espcially if i was smoking or riding my bike. i gave up and went back to glasses. now i'm looking into lasik.

[Andydg]

I've had contacts for about a year now. I like them a lot more than my glasses, which get in the way a lot and get dust on them, then my eyes focus on the dust and I get all pissed off and throw them and bend them.

My eyes watered for the first 2 or 3 days and the contact for my left eye was a bitch to get in and would pop out all the time. Now they never fall out and are real easy to get in.