Anyone have experience with Contact lenses?

[Asthaloth]

Righty, as part of my "Sort yourself out you bum" outlook on life, I've decided a few things.
The most relevant to this actual thread is to get contact lenses, as my Glasses irritate me terribly, and they scratch up my (oddly shaped) nose something rotten.

Anyway, my question is how hard are they to put in?
And does having a scratch on the eye affect it in any way?

[MarchingDuck]

Righty, as part of my "Sort yourself out you bum" outlook on life, I've decided a few things.
The most relevant to this actual thread is to get contact lenses, as my Glasses irritate me terribly, and they scratch up my (oddly shaped) nose something rotten.

Anyway, my question is how hard are they to put in?
And does having a scratch on the eye affect it in any way?

I've been wearing contacts since 1998. It took me alot of practice to get the innitial putting them in smoothed out. Basically if you can touch your eye you'll have little problems at 1st. Its just training your eyes not to blink when your putting the contacts in.

and the scratch on your eye shouldnt be a problem, but ask your eye dr just in case.

My only beef w. my contacts is my allergies because they dry out my eyes really bad, this making them itchy and then me losing a contact lol.

[shapu]

I have a problem with constantly dry eyes and very oily tears (I've got the exxon valdez shoved into my skull somewhere, I just know it), but that is solved by drinking a lot of water - staying hydrated is the best way to avoid lens problems.

[Pickles]

I can't have contact lenses. I have a minor scratch in my eye, but I believe the eye doctor said I couldn't have 'em because my eye problems are 90% astigmatism (which requires weighted lenses). Basically, I'd lose 90% of my vision every time I blink while the contacts resettled, so my Optometrist won't let me have 'em.

Definitely check with your Optometrist - they'll be able to get you the prescrip, recommend types, and maybe even let you try some on to adjust the prescrip, etc.

[Asthaloth]

As ever talk to the doc
Yeah, I need an appointment anyway, Will ask then.

[MarchingDuck]

I can't have contact lenses. I have a minor scratch in my eye, but I believe the eye doctor said I couldn't have 'em because my eye problems are 90% astigmatism (which requires weighted lenses). Basically, I'd lose 90% of my vision every time I blink while the contacts resettled, so my Optometrist won't let me have 'em.

Definitely check with your Optometrist - they'll be able to get you the prescrip, recommend types, and maybe even let you try some on to adjust the prescrip, etc.

thats really weird Pickles. I am legally blind in one eye and have astigmatism in both. I wear a special kind of contact that compensates for both. My vision is never 20/20 but its as close as they can get it w.o me having to wear glasses.

[Pickles]

I can't have contact lenses. I have a minor scratch in my eye, but I believe the eye doctor said I couldn't have 'em because my eye problems are 90% astigmatism (which requires weighted lenses). Basically, I'd lose 90% of my vision every time I blink while the contacts resettled, so my Optometrist won't let me have 'em.

thats really weird Pickles. I am legally blind in one eye and have astigmatism in both. I wear a special kind of contact that compensates for both. My vision is never 20/20 but its as close as they can get it w.o me having to wear glasses.

Basically, my vision isn't very bad to begin with (I can still read my monitor without my glasses on, I just get a headache after a while of doing so, and I can still pass the driving eyesight test ). The type of contacts I would need would be fitted (and weighted) to the shape of my eyes. Basically, whenever I blink, they would shift slightly, and then resettle because of the weights. During that time, I'd lose most of my vision. My Optometrist basically told me it wasn't worth it. I could technically have 'em, but he strongly recommended against it, and I'd probably hafta spend quite a while convincing him that I really wanted to deal with them if I wanted them. But since I don't...I haven't bothered. So, easier to just say that I "can't."

[Mongrel]

Contacts are a little tough at first, but they're pretty easy to adjust to. After the first week or so, you should have a pretty good idea of what wearing contacts is like, and whether everything fits properly and feels right.
You'll probably have to hold your eye open with one hand while you you put the lens in with the index finger of the other hand, at first. Eventually you'll learn to control the reflexive blinking and you won't need to pull on the top and bottom of your eye to keep it open. You might need to use a mirror for a while, but if you're using soft lenses you don't need to put the lens on directly over the cornea--it'll sort of "slide" into place once you pull your hands away and blink a few times. I put mine on by looking up, pulling down on the lower lid, and putting the contact onto the white of my eye.
There are really only two recurring problems I've run into with putting in contacts: having them "fold up" on you when you're putting them in, or having them burn once they're in. For the first problem, just apply some contact solution to get the sides to unstick(if it's too dry to unfold) and to rinse off any residue of skin oils that may have come from your fingertip. The second problem usually occurs because something's rubbed off onto the lens, or something small like a dust speck or a stray eyelash has come between the lens and the cornea. If the burning doesn't subside after a few seconds, take the contact back out and rinse it with a few drops of solution, and try again.

[AngelAttitude]

I'd die if I didn't have my contacts. I've been wearing them since I was about 8/10 [but that was only for horse shows, and back then I had to make my dad put them in and take them out for me xD]. What kind are you thinking about getting? I have soft dailies atm, I tried monthlies a while back but I'd forget to clean them or rip them or something. But now, I wear them all the time, and I cant feel them at all. you just have to worry about making sure you clean your hands well, making sure there the right way round, dont flip over when your putting them in, not ripped or anything, and making sure you dont have wee air bubbles when you first start wearing them. Your eyes water and sting for a few moments, but thats normal.
Btw, this is just a random question, but what strength is everyones lenses? Mines -7.75. Yeah, thats awful for a 17 y/o, I know =p

[Mongrel]

-8.50 for the nearsightedness, and -2.75 for the astigmatism. I've never met anyone with a worse prescription than mine who wasn't legally blind(though having said that, I'm sure someone on the forum will come forward with a worse prescription).

[Cyanna]

-8.50 for the nearsightedness, and -2.75 for the astigmatism. I've never met anyone with a worse prescription than mine who wasn't legally blind(though having said that, I'm sure someone on the forum will come forward with a worse prescription).

-9.50 in both for nearsightedness.

No astigmatism though.

[shapu]

Wow, I'm a freakin' fighter pilot by comparison.

[theonlysaneone]

The absolute best kind of contacts to get, IMHO, are the day-and-night kind. You can leave them in 24/7 and you only have to change them once a month. It's the closest you can possibly get to not putting on contacts every day without getting surgery (which I plan to do when I'm old enough).

Basically, I hate having daily commitments like that that theoretically last forever. I stopped wearing my retainer as soon as the orthodontist said I was allowed to, even though he suggested I wear it every day for the rest of my life (yeah, right). If there's any way to lessen the hassle, I'm for it.

[Asthaloth]

Btw, this is just a random question, but what strength is everyones lenses? Mines -7.75. Yeah, thats awful for a 17 y/o, I know =p

No idea (Never asked) other than the fact that I can see all of a foot before the world goes blank, although I have had my entire family try my glasses and say they're the worst they've ever seen.

Not sure what kind of lenses to get, probably dailys, But who knows.

[Mongrel]

There are a lot of factors that affect your choice in contacts. My vision's so bad that some brands don't carry my prescription. The once-a-month kind is pretty good, but some people have a problem where their contacts build up protein deposits and they start feeling really "bleh" very quickly. I use monthly with overnight cleaning, and it's not a problem.