Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.
Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!
Switching from glasses to contact lenses?
starlancerii
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've been wearing glasses for 10+ years now (I'm myopic), and I'm thinking of switching to contact lenses - too many mornings of "goddammit, where did I put my glasses". I'd like to make sure all my ducks are in order before getting contacts though - after all, I'd presumably have to put these things in my eyes every morning, which is also a scary idea. Does anybody have any advice on the the type of contacts to get / the best places to get them from?
starlancerii on
Posts
So, if you have the option to use soft contact lenses, use that option! Also, you're not completely liberated from using your glasses. You'll need them around during the evening, it is not recommend to have contact lenses on 24/7, something about bacteria.
The best place to get advice on contact lenses is your eye doctor, you can arm yourself with some info before hand, but they'll have the ultimate say on what they prescribe you. Also, you can take your prescription and order lenses at a lot lower cost (sometimes) online.
Duh, forgot about this website
www.allaboutvision.com
the most basic kind will require that you replace them every 2-4 weeks and every night put them in a little case with some cleaning solution after rubbing some of the solution on each lense.
you may require eye drops if your eyes get too dry during the day.
Get some rewetting drops to keep them comfortable during the day, wash your hands before you take them out and put them in, and don't sleep in them. That's literally all you need to know.
Putting them in and taking them out are easier than you'd think, but probably not something you'll do easily at first.
the appointment should be 25 bucks a years supply of contacts is probably 100 depending on how often you go through them.
This is also key to the reason why I'm getting contacts
Just hang in there until you get used to them; eventually, they'll get far more comfortable than glasses and you'll have to remind yourself to take them out at night and start forgetting whether you have them in.
(All of this is based on experience with soft contact lenses)
But yeah, you should see an eye doctor to get prescribed the right kind of contacts for your eyes.
Really, it won't even take you that long to get used to them. Two, three days tops, and you'll be putting them in and taking them out like a pro. I generally do need a mirror (or some reflective surface) to do these actions, but you might get good enough to not even need that.
Contacts are better for your eyes in general. They strengthen the eye, and, unlike glasses, you see better because the focal point of the lens is always in the centre of the eye.
One thing you have to think about is always having the lens case/solution for when you go to sleep. These are pretty easy to find though at your nearest convenience store, case included usually, if you sleep over somewhere different and forget.
Also! Soft lenses don't really need to be replaced every month. That's BS to make you buy more than you need. I'm wearing ones right now that I've had in for three.
Really? I have 30-day lenses and always throw them out every month. It gets quite expensive. How can you know how long you can actually use a set of lenses?
when they start to feel bad after you put them in or they break or you lose one.
Yeah, I do it when I start to notice spots or something while I'm wearing them. Usually around the 5th-6th month.
Give them a go and see how your mileage goes, but I found it a hassle to deal with putting them in if I was in a hurry in the morning, and having to make sure I had a case with me to store them if I didn't come home that night. Also, if you work with a computer on a regular basis, I found them to be murder on my eyes. Personally, I'm going to get laser sometime down the road if my prescription hasn't changed over the next 5 years.
Ironically, it was so much easier picking a good pair of glasses when wearing my contacts when I switched back, as you can't see what you look like with display frames.
Change your contacts however often it says to. I've now had two eye infections from wearing mine too long. You might get away with it for a while, but I hate my fucking glasses and getting an ulcer on your eyeball while on vacation really ruins your day...and then the next week while you wear glasses and put in steroid drops every 3 hours.
I haven't had an eye infection in the 12 years I've been over wearing my contacts. your mileage may vary but for me its never been an issue.
most people forget to rub their contacts every night or clean out their container (which should be done every 6 months) by boiling it. Thats where I'd bet the problem is.
After about a month I accidentally stained one pink when I removed them after Gram Staining in my micro lab so I switched back to glasses rather than spend $80 for a replacement.
Has contact technology improved in the last 6 years to warrant going back?
Sounds like you just got shitty lenses and probably needed a second opinion.
I tried the "Made for astigmatism" lenses at the doc's suggestion and they were incredibly uncomfortable, and this was after ~10 years of wearing regular soft lenses. To boot, they really didn't improve my vision that much over standard-issue.
For bright light = eye rape, you may just be photosensitive. On the upside, you can get a script that lets you tint the fuck out of your car windows.
Try regular monthly lenses. Most doctors should have a trial pack that you can get for free.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I started using a new cleaning solution called Clear Care about a year ago. It has honestly been the best thing I've done in the 16 years I've been wearing contacts. I wear the normal long term wearing contacts and have been wearing the same pair for almost 2 years now and they still feel like the day I got them. The system consists of a special lens container that reacts with the hydrogen peroxide mixture and bubbles like one of the enzymatic cleaners.
The only problem I have is that I still have to have a bottle of the normal saline solution for rinsing before putting them in my eyes, but a normal sized bottle of it will last me through 3-4 bottles of the clear care stuff. Aside from that I couldn't be happier with it.
In the last 6 years? Yes.
I have minor but non-trivial astigmatism in one eye, so I wear corrected (toric) lenses. They work okay, and you trade them out every month or so like normal semi-disposable soft contacts. They're sort of aspheric, as expected, but the problem is it might take a few minutes or more to get it in the right orientation. Basically, you put on the toric lens, gently rotate it so it's close to the right position, then just blink hard and move your eye around until it sits properly.
Keep in mind that compared to glasses, astigmatism-correcting soft contacts kind of suck. If you have really bad astigmatism, I'd go with hard contacts or just deal with glasses.
Oh, and I wear my contacts for 4 to 5 weeks at a time. Usually I just swap them out when I can't remember the last time I swapped them out. The two weeks thing is a little conservative. I've never had an eye infection, but I've only worn contacts for 4+ years.
"Contacts are better for your eyes in general. They strengthen the eye, and, unlike glasses" this is a total myth. in some cases you can see better with lenses but it depends on your priscription. they do not strenthen the eye
"Soft lenses don't really need to be replaced every month. That's BS to make you buy more than you need. I'm wearing ones right now that I've had in for three" this is extreamly bad advice. lenses pick up all kind of dirt and protine and start to deterate as soon as you take them out of the sterilised packageing. over wareing your lenses is like reuseing a condom
there are lots of new toric lenses on the market. but it realy dose depend on the amout of astimatisum and the fit of the lens. id go to a good contat lens fitter for a chat about what they can do for you. ther a lots of new 1 day lenses that may fit well in your lifstile
If you use normal long-term contacts absolutely use the two-step solution. The difference in comfort is amazing.
Just for the love of fuck do not put the red stuff anywhere near your eyes D:
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
But what really sucked is that the contacts really improved my vision. I giggled like a girl when water splashed at me and I saw the individual water drops approached me. I'm willing to give contacts another go once the technology gets there (cant do laser due to thin corneas).
Don't get hard contacts, make sure you get the soft gas permeable type. Also, don't sleep in them. It'll suck trying to get them in and out at first like people have said, and when you're first starting out it's easiest to sort of ramp up to wearing them all day, start with a few hours and then slowly work your way up to full day.
I'm interested in switching to contacts, but I've always had this weird eye-phobia. For as long as I can remember, the concept of touching eyes, seeing other people touch eyes, etc. really freaks me right out. As in, gives me that whole gross sinking/nausea feeling. Is this the kind of thing anyone else has had? Can it be overcome?
Currently I use chemically cleaned lenses. I basically put them in this little vial along with some hydoperoxide and a little tablet that does... something or the other. Neutralizes the PH and blah blah blah. I have a weekly tablet that I also use and before I put the contacts in my eyes I have to liberally apply saline solution.
Couple of problems.
One, after about seven or eight hours the contacts become very uncomfortable. The second is that if, for some reason or the other, the tablet that I must put into my little vial doesn't dissolve correctly, then when I place the contacts in my eyes it feels like my eyeball is being destroyed by a hot, firey, poker. Like in Under Siege II on the train... right after the gratuitous boobie shot.
Third is that the only way for me to tell if my contacts were cleaned properly and thus the only way for me to actually avoid scalding painful death is to look at the liquid. Is the liquid pink? Fuck, I dunno. I'm colorblind. A slightly pink liquid isn't going to tell me shit from chocolate.
And finally it's just too damn cumbersome. My friends have contacts that basically seem to be contacts, case, saline, bag, go do your thing. Where as I have to keep my vial upright. Have to carry saline. Pills. Hydroperoxide. And then hope and pray that I can use them when I need them.
I think the reason I have these ungodly abominations is because I may be allergic to some form of contacts for some reason. I had what I would deem a "normal" pair of contacts when I was in the third grade, but I remember them making my eyes red and falling out. To be honest, I think my "allergies towards contacts" was basically Ralph Wiggum sydrome, meaning I just couldn't keep my finger out of there. My mother says that I have super terrible eyesight, and while it's bad, I don't think it's something like Milton out of Office Space. Sadly, when God created me, instead of fixing my father's eyes he just copied and pasted the same horrible blueprint of failure.
So. Can anyone make anything of this?
I haven't gone to see my contact guy in a long time because, quite frankly, he's a dick and reminds me of Hannibal Lecter in that he's a genius. But a dick. And I'm worried that any act of insubordination may result in him simply plucking my eye out to enjoy with a nice selection of wine.
You'll get over it.
I can put in and take out contacts within seconds.
I had the same issue, but I managed to overcome it for lenses. It took me 3 visits where I spent between 30-45 minutes just trying to put on / remove lenses before I was able to do it by myself without too much trouble. It was worth the effort.
Yeah, you get over the whole "eye touching=gross" thing pretty quickly. It'll suck the first week, and you'll have lots of trouble putting them in, but that's it. I had the same phobia at first, a lot of people do.
if you do it right you should almost never actually touch your eye except with the lense.
Hijack x3:
1. What was your vision beforehand? I was getting told I only have 80% chance of 20/20 since my vision is "shit", -6.00/-5.75 L/R with a mild astigmatism debuff.
2. Did you lose any of your night vision, and how was it before?
3. How much?
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I started with hard lenses and ended up tearing my cornea at a certain point. The doctor was like "Oh your eyes must be sensitive, you should switch to disposables" Yeah thanks asshole for the little experiment that ended with me crying bloody murder in order for you to make that assessment.
With soft contact lenses, the disposable kind, I've been able to stretch the length of time I can wear them so they last 6 months and over. All you need to do is take them out at night and put them in regular solution. Once you notice they're becoming a little dry or your vision is suffering, switch to the next one. Also, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before handling them. In your palm, imbibe them in solution and then put it in your eye. Then put a bit of solution on the corner of your eye to moisten and you're gold.
I'm thinking of getting contacts once my benefits kick in at my new job, but I don't want to deal with the hassle of taking them off before I hit the gym.
I
Wait
what
... Why exactly wouldn't it be?
You might get dry eyes after you hit the shower, but just bring a bottle of saline with you.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
I was thinking sweat getting in my eyes and what not.
I've never had a problem with it. The only time I've been worried about anything like that is when painting with a sprayer, so I just end up wearing goggles. Which is probably a good practice anyway