Thinking about contact lenses and need some advice

Fighting Irish

My eye sight has been pretty bad all my life and i've never used glasses, i only bearly passed the eye test for the driving license

I'm thinking of maybe giving contact lenses a try and just want to know the pros and cons etc


ps i'm going to the opticians something this week, i just want to find out general info now

Thanks

Hamiltonion

Contacts are really good overall, not sore, quick and easy after u get used to putting them in and perfect results. What i like is u just forget that ur wearing them. Cons are prob price, e130 for 3 months, takes a while to get used to touching ur eye, poss infection if u dont wash ur hands before application etc. Better aesthetiacaly tho and beats losing/cleaning/breaking glasses. I wouldnt go without them

Fighting Irish

Hamiltonion wrote: »

Contacts are really good overall, not sore, quick and easy after u get used to putting them in and perfect results. What i like is u just forget that ur wearing them. Cons are prob price, e130 for 3 months, takes a while to get used to touching ur eye, poss infection if u dont wash ur hands before application etc. Better aesthetiacaly tho and beats losing/cleaning/breaking glasses. I wouldnt go without them

Thanks mate

DingDong

You could have a look at getting extending wear lenses. I buy them online for around $90 for 6 months(www.aclens.com). They are grand you can leave them in for a month, it nice waking up in the morning and being able to see the alarm clock. I think they feel more comfortable than normal soft lenses too.

BC

Hamiltonion wrote: »

Contacts are really good overall, not sore, quick and easy after u get used to putting them in and perfect results. What i like is u just forget that ur wearing them. Cons are prob price, e130 for 3 months, takes a while to get used to touching ur eye, poss infection if u dont wash ur hands before application etc. Better aesthetiacaly tho and beats losing/cleaning/breaking glasses. I wouldnt go without them

130 for 3 months sounds very expensive?
My contacts (monthly disposable) cost 80 euro for a 6 month supply (bought from VHI website). That doesn't include solutions but thats not too expensive.

I got laser eye surgery done so don't need to lenses anymore but the biggest issue I had with them was dry eye. I was fine with contacts for the first 3 or 4 years but then i started to suffer a lot of dry eye to the extent that i could only wear contacts 1 day a week.

SligoBrewer

Before you get lenses you should get some glasses first. That way is there's any problems with your eyesight, the optician will know if it's the lenses or the prescription giving you trouble.

Misticles

ya need to have glasses aswell. if you get an infection in your eye ya wont be able to wear lenses.
if you want them for occ use- dailies, prolonged use- monthlies.
dailies are more expensive but no cleaning involved.

for extended wear: you have to be fitted with other contacts 1st, cant go straight into extended wear.

BC

You should always have glasses and contacts. Its bad for your eyes to wear contacts all day every day.

Fighting Irish

DingDong wrote: »

You could have a look at getting extending wear lenses. I buy them online for around $90 for 6 months(www.aclens.com). They are grand you can leave them in for a month, it nice waking up in the morning and being able to see the alarm clock. I think they feel more comfortable than normal soft lenses too.

My eyes aren't that bad that i can't see the alarm clock. Does wearing glasses/contacts make your vision worse over time?

andrewh5

BC wrote: »

You should always have glasses and contacts. Its bad for your eyes to wear contacts all day every day.

With modern lenses that is not strictly true. I have worn soft lenses for over 23 years without issue. For the last two years I have worn extended wear lenses. It is more down to the individual than the lenses TBH. Some people are far more suited for long wear periods than others.

ian_m

andrewh5 wrote: »

Some people are far more suited for long wear periods than others.

Completely true.

Fighting Irish wrote: »

Does wearing glasses/contacts make your vision worse over time?

No, but they can affect the condition of your eye over longer periods of time (ie years) when worn for longer periods of time (ie more than 8 hours per day)

DingDong wrote: »

You could have a look at getting extending wear lenses.

Your optician will be able to determine which are best for you.

I highly recommend contact lense use to you. Its worth going to your optician and giving them a try. They will give you a disposable set to take away and try for yourself. They will assess the condition of your eye to determine which lense would be best for you. They are extremely comfortable, your never taking any risks on a par with laser surgery.

You will most likely need to have a pair of glasses to use with your contact lenses. But you can keep your old glasses.

Go and talk to your optician. I've been using contacts for about 15years and never had any problem.

Firetrap

Your optician will be the best person to advise you on what suits you best. I've been wearing contacts for 15 years and the optician has changed the type of lens a few times along the way as my needs, and the technology of the things, have changed. Some types of contacts suit some people but don't suit others. Every person is different.

I find they're great. I'm as blind as a bat and need to wear glasses so that I don't do myself an injury or step on the dog. I love being able to go around with "normal" eyesight for a few hours.
Pros
Has to be that you can see properly without having to deal with the disadvantages of glasses
With modern lenses, you don't have to lug around massive bottles of solution with you anymore. The daily disposables are great I find.
You can cut onions galore without them making your eyes water

Cons
Can be expensive, especially the daily disposables. I buy lenses online which helps defray the cost but you'll still need to visit your optician for check-ups.
You can't wear them all day every day. When your eyes are tired and you've had them in for several hours, they can be a bit irritating.
You can't wear them swimming. Also, you need to careful in dusty environments.
You will have to be scrupulously clean. I need to keep my nails short for them. It doesn't bother me but I can see how it would bother people who love their long nails.

entropi

I just happened to get lenses (daily disposables) 2 weeks ago and I'm finding the difference amazing really...:D:D I got a 5 day trial in Specsavers, the opticians gave me lessons on how to put them in (i wasnt allowed to bring them home unless i could put them in, and take them out of both eyes twice) but the lenses are highly recommended from me too, 35e for a months supply in the opticians but i'm sure i could get them cheaper on the net.

On a side note, how bad does R -7.5 L 7.0 sound in terms of vision? i'm not really sure

littlebug

Master of Nothing wrote: »

On a side note, how bad does R -7.5 L 7.0 sound in terms of vision? i'm not really sure

.

That's pretty bad. Have a look at the "how bad is your eyesight" thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055183103 and you'll see how few of us there are:D I assume you've been wearing glasses til now?

entropi

littlebug wrote: »

.

That's pretty bad. I assume you've been wearing glasses til now?

Not nice to hear it was that bad, but the optician said she's seen people as low as -18 or so lol...and yeah i've been wearing glasses since i was 11 (16yrs now) so i'm gonna use lenses for a while until i can firstly afford the laser surgery, and hopefully i'll be accepted for it at that time too haha:D:D

IpreDictDeatH

I've been wearing glases now for just over a year. basically just around the house, i dont really need them when im out. Well i do, but i cant wear them because of the work i do. I need contacts, but for the life of me i cant put my finger to my eye:) For me its just wrong to be poking at your eye and my body just wont left me do it. Id probably be able to get the hang of it if i was to do it at home by myself, but i hear that you have to put put them in on your first visit to the opticians. Thats just not going to happen for me.:D:mad:

kayos

IpreDictDeatH wrote: »

I need contacts, but for the life of me i cant put my finger to my eye:) For me its just wrong to be poking at your eye and my body just wont left me do it. Id probably be able to get the hang of it if i was to do it at home by myself, but i hear that you have to put put them in on your first visit to the opticians. Thats just not going to happen for me.:D:mad:

I’ve been wearing glasses since I was around 7 or 8 and only got contacts when I was 29 I had avoided them for years as the idea of poking around at my eyes just put me off. Yes when you go in for contacts they get you to pop them in and out a few times to get the hang of it. TBH better that than being able to get them in and going home to find you can not get them out without taking your eye ball with them.

I decided to give them a go purely for occasional use be that a night out or when sun glasses are required. I have attempted more than once to use them while working (software dev) and not a hope in hell could I stick looking at a screen for a full day. Have also found as soon as your eyes get tired they just have to be popped out, maybe that’s just me.

As for cost mine are ~€60 for 30 pairs of focus toric dailys but 30 pairs can last me about 6months for the amount I use them