Contacts

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:16 am

Ok, I went to the eye doctor and I got some good news. My prescription hasn't changed since last year! So, that means I dont need to get a new pair of spectacles and I think Im going to try contacts. I tried them once when I was 16 or so but I couldn't hardly keep my eye open. I got one in but I couldn't get it out and it took the poor lady about 20 minutes to get it out. She said my facial muscles were too strong for her to hold my eye open. lol I feel a bit more comfortable now but Im still a bit worried... Has/does anyone ever had this issue? To those who wear contacts, can you provide me with some wisdom? I know that I shouldn't sleep in them.

I guess Im excited about getting them mainly has to due with sports. My friends and I play quite a bit of football during the warmer months and it'll be great to be able to see the ball for once!! It was sooo hard being nearsighted and trying to zero in on a blur and watch it into my hands and it really hurt me on defense. =) I can't wait now!

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:24 am

Chris, as a contact lens wearer for 10 yrs now, I recommend disposable lenses. They get dirtier more frequently, but you can be sure that, at the beginning of the month (or whenever the month of daily wear is up) you will have a brand spanking new pair of lenses.

Playing football, you'll love them. It sounds like you'll be the "'Wild Thing' Vaughn" on the field when you and your buds get together to play next time. You'll be unstoppable.

As for tips, here's what I've learned over the years:

1) COntrary to popular opinion, saliva is not a good "emergency" fluid to moisten lenses when you don't have solution around.
2) Always wash your hands before inserting or removing lenses. Far too many times I've burned my eyes while touching my contacts, following a delicious meal where I ate spicy food.
3) When you play sports, carry around an extra pair, just in case you lose a lens if you're accidentally raked across the face.
4) Always carry eyedrops with you. Contacts can cause dry-eye, which'll turn your eyes red, and you don't want people thinking you've been smoking up or something. Plus, there are soothing like a mug!!
5) I'm not sure if this is the case with everyone who wears contacts, but I find my eyes more sensitive to light when I wear my lenses. Get a nice pair of shades to offset this side effect, if applicable.
6) Get used to the unwaranted attention you'll garner now that the ladies will see you sans spectacles. The attention is nice, but Shenia might have to beat some of them off with a stick!!

(trust me, it'll give you a more " grown" appearance.)

Best of luck...

I will continue to add tips as I remember them.

Blessings. O:)

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:39 am

Great, great, great, thanks Ree. I'm definately getting more and more excited. I can't wait until they come in. I can't wait to get out on the field.

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:42 am

No prob. Glad I could help.

By the way...LASIK is for sissies. :lol:

Don't give in to the hype!!!

Real men can take getting dirt under their contact lenses. :twisted:

vtfootball07 · Post by **vtfootball07** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:47 am

I definitely agree with Redeemed on all of his suggestions. I experienced a tremendous amount of burning during my first week of wearing contacts and went through many bottles of eyedrops. Although it is a very uncommon problem, my eye was allergic to a certain contact lense solution, which killed some cells. I ended up having to experiment with several brands of solution and determine which one provided the greatest comfort level. Like I said, it probably won't be an issue for you, but hope this helps. I can't emphasize avoiding your contacts after eating spicy food enough, as it is excruciatingly painful.

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:49 am

Ooh, I just remembered another tip:

1) Avoid using a handtowel to dry your hands when you wash them. You might get cotton fibers on your fingers, and inadvertently put that in your eye. That hurts like two mugs!!! Use paper towel instead.

1a) Make sure you rinse off the soap from your hands real well, too.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:24 am

Man...Im going to need to keep a check list on me.

I want to get the laser surgery but Im afraid of whats going to happen to my eyes 40 years from now.

Skinsfan55 · Post by **Skinsfan55** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:39 am

Chris Luva Luva wrote:Man...Im going to need to keep a check list on me.

I want to get the laser surgery but Im afraid of whats going to happen to my eyes 40 years from now.

You're worried about that Simpsons episode aren't you?

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 12:16 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:Man...Im going to need to keep a check list on me.

I want to get the laser surgery but Im afraid of whats going to happen to my eyes 40 years from now.

Im in the same boat as you, Chris. I think the technology is too new, and I'd give it a little time. Unless your business demands it, it might be one of those cosmetic things you can do without.

If you invest the $1000+ cost of the surgery, at your age, it will reap more dividends (literally) than LASIK would -- enough that yo could pay for LASIK many times over.

Plus, if you get burned on the field while wearing contacts, you can always say something like "you're so lucky my lens moved and I was temporarily blinded, otheriwse, I'd have picked it off and taken it to da house." With LASIK, you'd just be an eagle-eyed piece of toast on the gridiron. :lol:

You gotta keep the mental edge!!!! :wink:

NikiH · Post by **NikiH** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:32 pm

I have one suggestion. I was wearing Accuvue 2's with no issue what so ever, then this new eye dr. convinced me to try new Accuvues that are made of silicone gel and all the sudden my left eye is irritated. I am switching back to the kind I had no issues with. One day I will learn that the most modern and expensive version isn't always worth it. So my suggestion is to find something that works and stick with it.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:36 pm

Skinsfan55 wrote:
Chris Luva Luva wrote:Man...Im going to need to keep a check list on me.

I want to get the laser surgery but Im afraid of whats going to happen to my eyes 40 years from now.

You're worried about that Simpsons episode aren't you?

I never saw it, what happens?

Kentucky Fried Hog · Post by **Kentucky Fried Hog** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:03 pm

I've been wearing contacts for about 14 years now. For the last few years, I wore Acuvue 2's and they were constantly drying out. At my eye exam a couple weeks ago, my Doc suggested that I try out a pair of Acuvue Oasys contacts. They are absolutely the most comfortable contacts that I've ever worn. Plus, they're supposed to allow more oxygen to your eyes.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:18 pm

Kentucky Fried Hog wrote:I've been wearing contacts for about 14 years now. For the last few years, I wore Acuvue 2's and they were constantly drying out. At my eye exam a couple weeks ago, my Doc suggested that I try out a pair of Acuvue Oasys contacts. They are absolutely the most comfortable contacts that I've ever worn. Plus, they're supposed to allow more oxygen to your eyes.

Is this why she told me to wear my glasses in the evening, to allow oxygen to get in?

NikiH · Post by **NikiH** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:25 pm

WOW those are the ones I'm pretty sure I've having trouble with. I guess it depends on the person but I just talked to the eye dr. who said it's likely that I am having an allergic reaction to the silicone, guess that is a useful piece of information. HA

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:40 pm

No more sports goggles for me! :twisted:

My older brother is in the black shorts and white A-shirt, my older cousin has on the black and white striped sweats and the cat with the grey shirt and green lettering is really good but Im better :wink:

.

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:08 pm

NikiH wrote:WOW those are the ones I'm pretty sure I've having trouble with. I guess it depends on the person but I just talked to the eye dr. who said it's likely that I am having an allergic reaction to the silicone, guess that is a useful piece of information. HA

I had trouble with them, too, Niki. As soon as I put them in my eyes, I couldn't see, even though they were my exact prescription. I threw them away immediately (they were samples from my eye doc) and I went back to my old ones. So, you're not the only one walking around without silicone in their eyes.

CLL - "Church of the REDEEMED of the Lord"? Do y'all allow outsiders to play? I can probably put together a team, and I'll call them, of course, "REDEEMEDSKINS".

Nice pic. I think you should still wear the goggles, though, sans the RX. It's kinda the equivalent of CP wearing the dark visor. It makes you look mo' dangerous.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:12 pm

REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:
NikiH wrote:WOW those are the ones I'm pretty sure I've having trouble with. I guess it depends on the person but I just talked to the eye dr. who said it's likely that I am having an allergic reaction to the silicone, guess that is a useful piece of information. HA

I had trouble with them, too, Niki. As soon as I put them in my eyes, I couldn't see, even though they were my exact prescription. I threw them away immediately (they were samples from my eye doc) and I went back to my old ones. So, you're not the only one walking around without silicone in their eyes.

CLL - "Church of the REDEEMED of the Lord"? Do y'all allow outsiders to play? I can probably put together a team, and I'll call them, of course, "REDEEMEDSKINS".

Nice pic. I think you should still wear the goggles, though, sans the RX. It's kinda the equivalent of CP wearing the dark visor. It makes you look mo' dangerous.

If you're ever in the area you can surely come and play. We play tackle but nobody is out to intentionally hurt anyone.

I lost a lense out of those goggles that day, it pissed me off to no extent. They really aren't made for the contact.

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:16 pm

Great! I'll make sure to pack extra contact lens solution. :wink:

tazlah · Post by **tazlah** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:57 pm

Contacts are definitely an individual preference. I personally love wearing contacts; the problem is, my eyes don't like them at all. They dry out my eyes, make them itchy, blurry, red. A couple of years ago, I had to stop wearing them all together because I was wearing them too much and ended up not being able to see anything in focus, especially at night -- all the lights (cars, traffic lights, street lights) just all blended together.

Now, I only wear them occasionally. I wear them to yoga, once a week for 2 hours; and some various other times. If I wear them for a full day, I feel like scratching my eyes out.

When I told my eye doctor this, he suggested a different type, and had me sample the ones Niki mentioned. I couldn't see anything. My vision was as blurry with the contacts as without, and they were my correct prescription. I was sitting about 4 feet from a poster and couldn't read any of it (I'm near-sighted).

One trick when putting contacts in your eyes is NOT to look at the finger coming toward your eye. Look into the mirror. I usually place them on my eyeball just to the side of the iris, then move them in place -- it's easier for me then watching my finger come straight for my pupil.

Also, as someone mentioned, DO NOT, under any circumstance, take contacts out or put them in when you've cut jalapeno peppers or had any hot pepper flakes/powder/liquid on your fingers. That stuff is oily and will remain on your fingers even after washing with soap. And as soon as your finger goes in your eye -- well, imagine someone sticking a hot poker in your eye... :shock:

I speak from experience here -- not something I ever want to repeat!

Yes, wash your hands before inserting or removing contacts, and dry with paper towel. Even a tiny bit of lint from cloth towels will be bothersome.

Best of luck Chris -- remember, contacts should be comfortable. If ones you try are not, try different ones until you find the right ones.

Skinsfan55 · Post by **Skinsfan55** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:50 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:
Skinsfan55 wrote:
Chris Luva Luva wrote:Man...Im going to need to keep a check list on me.

I want to get the laser surgery but Im afraid of whats going to happen to my eyes 40 years from now.

You're worried about that Simpsons episode aren't you?

I never saw it, what happens?

You really never saw it, that's so strange, you sort of took a line from it accidentally.

It's one of the ones that's a flash-forward to the future, and Bart is a bum who goes to borrow money from Flanders.

He gets there and Ned has dark glasses and a cane and says something like "That laser eye surgery was great for a few years, but who knew at the 40 year mark your eyes just fall out?"

Kentucky Fried Hog · Post by **Kentucky Fried Hog** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:10 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:
Kentucky Fried Hog wrote:I've been wearing contacts for about 14 years now. For the last few years, I wore Acuvue 2's and they were constantly drying out. At my eye exam a couple weeks ago, my Doc suggested that I try out a pair of Acuvue Oasys contacts. They are absolutely the most comfortable contacts that I've ever worn. Plus, they're supposed to allow more oxygen to your eyes.

Is this why she told me to wear my glasses in the evening, to allow oxygen to get in?

Yes. I never wear my contacts for much more than 12 hours at a time. When I get home from work, I put on my glasses. It looks like others here have had trouble with the contacts that I recommended. I'm sure you can get some different trial pairs from your Doc to see what works for you.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 6:10 pm

Well, I got my contacts yesterday and I love them. Its like Im seeing for the 1st time. I have them in now but it seems kind of hard to look at the screen. Its kind of bright and a bit too blurry. Maybe I wont wear my contacts to work if its going to be like this. This white text is killing me! :lol:

I have a stigmatism so Im locked into one brand of contacts but they feel fine. My contacts have a weight in them so that they right themselves when I put them in my eye. Sometimes if I move enough to make them move my vision blurs a tad until the weight rights itself.

I almost threw a fit last night because I didn't think I was going to be able to take my contacts out. :lol:

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:41 am

Chris Luva Luva wrote:Well, I got my contacts yesterday and I love them. Its like Im seeing for the 1st time. I have them in now but it seems kind of hard to look at the screen. Its kind of bright and a bit too blurry. Maybe I wont wear my contacts to work if its going to be like this. This white text is killing me!

I have a stigmatism so Im locked into one brand of contacts but they feel fine. My contacts have a weight in them so that they right themselves when I put them in my eye. Sometimes if I move enough to make them move my vision blurs a tad until the weight rights itself.

I almost threw a fit last night because I didn't think I was going to be able to take my contacts out.

COngrats, Chris!!

I, too, have an "astigmatism", so I can only wear " Frequency 55s" made by Coopervision.

Yes, it is quite nice to feel that "seeing for the first time" feeling. One of the first things I noticed when I first wore contacts, was that my eyes are actually bigger than I thought. :lol:

What does Shenia think of you with the contacts?