Taking care of contact lenses.

[amdhunter]

This weekend I got a pair of contact lenses for the first time in my life. I have to say, I have been enjoying them immensely, but went back to my glasses today to work. I plan to use them for mostly weekend driving or hanging out after hours.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help a bit.

1) I can pop them in and out easily enough, but it takes me like 5 minutes or so to get them in. Am I damaging the contact by missing my eye so often? (I have an astigmatism and the contacts are really curvy.)

2) I don't feel the contact in my right eye at all, but my left eye, I can feel them if I look extreme left or extreme right. It doesn't hurt, but I know something is there. Normal? If I look straight on, I don't feel it.

3) When I put the contacts away at night, in the morning the cleaning solution is messy with bits of dirt and tiny hairs. I throw the solution out, and clean the contacts, but I think I am wasting too much solution when I do this. Will those bits of dirt scratch my eye or anything? I plan to buy a ton of solution later on.

Any other recommendations? Are contacts good to wear every single day? Will they roll into the back of my eye if I am not careful?

I have to see the doctor in a week to make sure I am not damaging my eye, but I am tempted to not wear them until I know a little bit more about it.

 

[kamper]

This weekend I got a pair of contact lenses for the first time in my life. I have to say, I have been enjoying them immensely, but went back to my glasses today to work. I plan to use them for mostly weekend driving or hanging out after hours.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help a bit.

1) I can pop them in and out easily enough, but it takes me like 5 minutes or so to get them in. Am I damaging the contact by missing my eye so often? (I have an astigmatism and the contacts are really curvy.)

I dunno, but you will get better at it fairly quickly so I wouldn't worry too much.

2) I don't feel the contact in my right eye at all, but my left eye, I can feel them if I look extreme left or extreme right. It doesn't hurt, but I know something is there. Normal? If I look straight on, I don't feel it.

3) When I put the contacts away at night, in the morning the cleaning solution is messy with bits of dirt and tiny hairs. I throw the solution out, and clean the contacts, but I think I am wasting too much solution when I do this. Will those bits of dirt scratch my eye or anything? I plan to buy a ton of solution later on.

Solution is pretty cheap, I wouldn't worry about wasting it if it means keeping that stuff out of your eyes. It is weird that dirt and hairs appear overnight though. You do put the covers on the lens case right?

Any other recommendations? Are contacts good to wear every single day?

I do. But I actually rarely take mine out.

Will they roll into the back of my eye if I am not careful?

I was scared of that in the beginning, but they never go past a point where most of the lens is still visible and easy enough to grab. I'm not sure, but I think your eyeball is attached to your head all the way around not too far back from where you can see.

 

[amdhunter]

Yeah, the dirt things got me worried. I did a lot of driving with the window down this weekend, and spent time in a friends house with AC. I also have a dog.

I wonder if its just picking these things up randomly.

 

[kamper]

Do you clean them at night when taking them out? When I take mine out, I scrub them in solution, rinse them off with water and then put them in the case and cover them with fresh solution.

 

[MJinZ]

This weekend I got a pair of contact lenses for the first time in my life. I have to say, I have been enjoying them immensely, but went back to my glasses today to work. I plan to use them for mostly weekend driving or hanging out after hours.

I have a couple of questions if anyone can help a bit.

1) I can pop them in and out easily enough, but it takes me like 5 minutes or so to get them in. Am I damaging the contact by missing my eye so often? (I have an astigmatism and the contacts are really curvy.)

2) I don't feel the contact in my right eye at all, but my left eye, I can feel them if I look extreme left or extreme right. It doesn't hurt, but I know something is there. Normal? If I look straight on, I don't feel it.

3) When I put the contacts away at night, in the morning the cleaning solution is messy with bits of dirt and tiny hairs. I throw the solution out, and clean the contacts, but I think I am wasting too much solution when I do this. Will those bits of dirt scratch my eye or anything? I plan to buy a ton of solution later on.

Any other recommendations? Are contacts good to wear every single day? Will they roll into the back of my eye if I am not careful?

I have to see the doctor in a week to make sure I am not damaging my eye, but I am tempted to not wear them until I know a little bit more about it.

Oh yay, it took ATOT to find you somewhere that didn't cost $400 for a contact lens fitting right? :awe:

1) It depends on your contact. I've had ones that tear with poor handling and others that do not. But you should be taking your time and not "missing".

2) If your left and right eye are different significantly, then you might feel something different. Again, it also depends on the contact itself. I don't feel mine no matter what I do.

3) No, you're not wasting solution. That's what the solution is there for. Toss out your solution each night before putting your contacts in. Pour in new solution and put cap on.

 

[MJinZ]

Do you clean them at night when taking them out? When I take mine out, I scrub them in solution, rinse them off with water and then put them in the case and cover them with fresh solution.

Water?

Modern contacts do not need to be cleaned or rubbed.

 

[kamper]

Water?

Modern contacts do not need to be cleaned or rubbed.

Meh, it's what the doc told me to do when I got them. I don't know if he said water specifically, but it's the easiest way to get the used solution off. I also give them a little rinse in the morning when putting them in so that I don't get solution in my eyes.

 

[amdhunter]

Do you clean them at night when taking them out? When I take mine out, I scrub them in solution, rinse them off with water and then put them in the case and cover them with fresh solution.

How do you scrub them? I am scared of rubbing them at all. I didn't know if you could use water on them either.

 

[MJinZ]

Meh, it's what the doc told me to do when I got them. I don't know if he said water specifically, but it's the easiest way to get the used solution off. I also give them a little rinse in the morning when putting them in so that I don't get solution in my eyes.

WHAT? Solution is made FOR your eyes. It is designed to not only clean but emulate the characteristics of your tears. D: They aren't there as eye drops obviously, but they are made to be perfectly fine for your eyes.

 

[amdhunter]

Oh yay, it took ATOT to find you somewhere that didn't cost $400 for a contact lens fitting right? :awe:

Yeah...lol. Lenscrafters are scammers.

1) It depends on your contact. I've had ones that tear with poor handling and others that do not. But you should be taking your time and not "missing".

It's funny cuz I can get them out very fast. I just can't put them in. lol

2) If your left and right eye are different significantly, then you might feel something different. Again, it also depends on the contact itself. I don't feel mine no matter what I do.

I mentioned it to the doc when I put them in, she said it was normal to feel it because I have an astigmatism, but to look out for stinging or burning.

3) No, you're not wasting solution. That's what the solution is there for. Toss out your solution each night before putting your contacts in. Pour in new solution and put cap on.

That's what I been doing. As soon as I drop the contact in clean solution, I'll cap it, shake it up a little, and then look at all the tiny specks and go wtf? I wonder if it is because I got a close haircut and those are hair flakes.

...

 

[rcpratt]

1) I can pop them in and out easily enough, but it takes me like 5 minutes or so to get them in. Am I damaging the contact by missing my eye so often? (I have an astigmatism and the contacts are really curvy.)

2) I don't feel the contact in my right eye at all, but my left eye, I can feel them if I look extreme left or extreme right. It doesn't hurt, but I know something is there. Normal? If I look straight on, I don't feel it.

3) When I put the contacts away at night, in the morning the cleaning solution is messy with bits of dirt and tiny hairs. I throw the solution out, and clean the contacts, but I think I am wasting too much solution when I do this. Will those bits of dirt scratch my eye or anything? I plan to buy a ton of solution later on.

You're not going to hurt your eye without realizing it. If your eye becomes too irritated to handle the contacts, then stop trying to put it in for the day. Usually 24 hours without a contact will be enough for your eye to recover.

As for your left eye, the comfort will probably come around eventually. If not, you may have to adjust that contact a little bit. Are both lenses toric, or just your left? Usually toric lenses (for astigmatism) are slightly less comfortable.

Cleaning solutions vary widely by the type of contact, but I assume yours are regular soft lenses? Simply dump the solution from the case every night and clean it out every few days. You shouldn't need to rub regular soft contacts. Rinse them quickly with the saline solution before you put them in the case if you wish.

WHAT? Solution is made FOR your eyes. It is designed to not only clean but emulate the characteristics of your tears. D: They aren't there as eye drops obviously, but they are made to be perfectly fine for your eyes.

Not all storage solutions are safe for eyes. There are several that aren't, and they all have red caps to identify them. I have to use one of these for my large RGPs unfortunately, so I have to first rinse the solution off with water, dry, and then rinse and fill the contact with regular saline solution before putting it in my eye. I don't think that's the case here, though.

 

[MJinZ]

You're not going to hurt your eye without realizing it. If your eye becomes too irritated to handle the contacts, then stop trying to put it in for the day. Usually 24 hours without a contact will be enough for your eye to recover.

As for your left eye, the comfort will probably come around eventually. If not, you may have to adjust that contact a little bit. Are both lenses toric, or just your left? Usually toric lenses (for astigmatism) are slightly less comfortable.

Cleaning solutions vary widely by the type of contact, but I assume yours are regular soft lenses? Simply dump the solution from the case every night and clean it out every few days. You shouldn't need to rub regular soft contacts. Rinse them quickly with the saline solution before you put them in the case if you wish.


Not all storage solutions are safe for eyes. There are several that aren't, and they all have red caps to identify them. I have to use one of these for my large RGPs unfortunately, so I have to first rinse the solution off with water, dry, and then rinse and fill the contact with regular saline solution before putting it in my eye. I don't think that's the case here, though.

^ All I ever use..

 

[rcpratt]

Sure, that's all most people ever need. Although I use the Opti-Free "express", whatever the difference is...

 

[MJinZ]

Sure, that's all most people ever need. Although I use the Opti-Free "express", whatever the difference is...

Replenish is newer and has some other shit in it that Express doesn't. Costs a bit more I think.

 

[SJP0tato]

3) When I put the contacts away at night, in the morning the cleaning solution is messy with bits of dirt and tiny hairs. I throw the solution out, and clean the contacts, but I think I am wasting too much solution when I do this. Will those bits of dirt scratch my eye or anything? I plan to buy a ton of solution later on.

Any other recommendations? Are contacts good to wear every single day?

When I wore contacts, every few days I'd place a few drops of the solution into the palm of my hand (after washing my hands with soap of course), and lightly rub the lens in a clockwise/counter-clockwise motion for a few seconds, flip, and rub the other side. This seemed to do a good job of "scrubbing" off extra junk.

The best way to rinse the lenses without using a ton of solution for me, is to hold the bottle 3-4 inches above the contact, and "drop" one or two drops at a time into the lens. This gave enough force to wash away debris without having to squeeze out half the bottle.

I wore my contacts every day for 7-8 months, but by the end I was tired of always having my eyes feel "dried out" at the end of the day, and I switched back to glasses. Next time I get fitted for a new prescription I'll probably get both and wear the contacts every other day or so for work.

 

[kamper]

How do you scrub them? I am scared of rubbing them at all. I didn't know if you could use water on them either.

This:

When I wore contacts, every few days I'd place a few drops of the solution into the palm of my hand (after washing my hands with soap of course), and lightly rub the lens in a clockwise/counter-clockwise motion for a few seconds, flip, and rub the other side. This seemed to do a good job of "scrubbing" off extra junk.

 

[kamper]

WHAT? Solution is made FOR your eyes. It is designed to not only clean but emulate the characteristics of your tears. D: They aren't there as eye drops obviously, but they are made to be perfectly fine for your eyes.

Hmm, well, I never liked the feeling. It was a very slight stinging sensation. I guess it would have been fine if I'd just gotten used to it. I don't have one of these red-cap bottles that rcpratt mentions.

 

[SJP0tato]

Hmm, well, I never liked the feeling. It was a very slight stinging sensation. I guess it would have been fine if I'd just gotten used to it. I don't have one of these red-cap bottles that rcpratt mentions.

Agreed, the solution stuff didn't exactly burn but it definitely was never comfortable like the "re-wetting" eyedrops are.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Sure, that's all most people ever need. Although I use the Opti-Free "express", whatever the difference is...

I use the Express too, and it's great. I don't think I've even seen Replenish in the stores.

 

[boardsportsrule]

DONT USE WATER. Only solution. ALWAYS. They are your eyes. your ONLY EYES. Don't fuck with them

1) you will get way better at putting them in. I can usually get them in ~ 5 seconds per eye, with no mirror.

2) i can feel mine occasionaly if they get dried out, or if i look @extreme angles

3) clean your hands before you take them out. occasionally clean the container out with water then solution when it gets dirty, and ALWAYs put the cover on the case during the day when your contacts are in your eyes.

Should be fine. your eyes will tell you if you're doing something wrong, they are pretty damn sensitive and respond accordingly.

 

[kamper]

DONT USE WATER. Only solution. ALWAYS. They are your eyes. your ONLY EYES. Don't fuck with them

Please provide evidence that a drop or two of clean water is dangerous.

 

[Gothgar]

Please provide evidence that a drop or two of clean water is dangerous.

:awe:

 

[boardsportsrule]

How clean is clean? If you're getting it from a chemical supply store, sure! but anything less... It's not worth the risk there's some strand of some thing in there. I mean sure, take a risk, use some aquafina or some shit. Hell go use some mexican tap water for all I care, but I make it a habit to NEVER use water. just wanted to pass on my advice/opinion.

EDIT:
Watch your bottle of aquafina be the one in a googleplex with some nasty defect. Not worth the risk. Always use the product specificly made for eyes, as I'd be willing to wager there are higher standards and QC in effect...

 

[cliftonite]

Buy dailies. I use Acuvue Moist and love them.

 

[mchammer187]

How clean is clean? If you're getting it from a chemical supply store, sure! but anything less... It's not worth the risk there's some strand of some thing in there. I mean sure, take a risk, use some aquafina or some shit. Hell go use some mexican tap water for all I care, but I make it a habit to NEVER use water. just wanted to pass on my advice/opinion.

EDIT:
Watch your bottle of aquafina be the one in a googleplex with some nasty defect. Not worth the risk. Always use the product specificly made for eyes, as I'd be willing to wager there are higher standards and QC in effect...

what would be the difference between using tap water and getting water in your eyes during a shower or even at the pool which is probably much worse.