I've been wearing glasses since i was about 15 so 10 years and i've decided i dont need to hide my eyes anymore. I dont wanna go laser because people say you end up needed glasses again anyway so contacts seem to be the best bet. i'd prefer something i don t have to take out every single day. what types are out there? what are the chances of them getting stuck inside your head? costs?
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Contact lenses. pluses and minuses, costs?
- Thread starter Barnimal
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Particle Physicist
between a quark and a baryon
Barnimal said:
yeah, lasers can cause some scars to come up (which are un-repairable) .. the procedure is relatively new, so thats something i would hold off unless really needed.
also: its not good to sleep with you contacts.. even with the breathable ones..it can cause damage to your eyes if done too often.
i personally wear focus dailies.. no maintenance needed, i put them on in the morning.. and toss them at night.. it really depends on personal preference though..
Meatpuppet
Member
In short, contacts are the best thing ever, at least until Laser treatment becomes universally applicable, and a little safer.
Avoid hard lenses like the plague though. However, I think they go high enough these days that it shouldn't be a problem unless you are nearly legally blind.
Avoid hard lenses like the plague though. However, I think they go high enough these days that it shouldn't be a problem unless you are nearly legally blind.
Particle Physicist
between a quark and a baryon
Barnimal said:
it might be a bit weird at first.. but you get used to it after a few weeks. about price.. i dont know. my mom is an Optometrist . so i get my shit for free.
Barnimal said:
How much they run is going to vary on what you need/get. I'd say $20-25 a month? I'm not real sure, I bought a years supply last time and don't remember what I paid.
I used to use the bi-weeklies for 7 years approx. They were better than glasses, but they would strain my eyes from too much wear. You were not supposed to sleep with them in, or use them for longer than 2 weeks (though many people do).
2 years ago I switched to these new monthly contacts. It's not necessary to take them out at all. I normally take them out one night every week or two. They are incredible! No removing, no cleaning or solution needed hardly ever. Wear them for a month then throw them away. They are of course more expensive is the downside
Oh, and yes it will take a bit for your body to get used to putting your finger in your eye without the flinch reaction.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Barnimal said:
I had to get glasses several months ago, and opted to go with contacts for primary usage. The optitian made it fairly, uh, "easy" to put them in, but it's a pretty different situation having someone jam their fingers in your eyes as opposed to doing it yourself. Once I was home, it was extremely difficult to put them in and take them out, and after about a week I just couldn't take it any more. The frustration and discomfort of fingering my eyeball for an hour or more every day (it was literally taking me 30 - 40 minutes in the morning to get them in) was more than I cared to put up with, even if I might've gotten better with time.
Granted, this probably isn't going to be such an issue for most people, but contacts definitely aren't for everyone, so it's something to keep in mind just in case. I didn't grow up with vision problems, though, so you might be more determined to ditch the glasses. I ended up loving mine and don't ever want to go without now.
tree fiddy
Member
Here's my experience with soft, 30 day contacts.
Pros:
- everything is sharper and clearer
- you'll look a lot better in them
- there's no frame around your eyes
- glasses kind of distort your vision. Contacts don't. ie Look in the mirror with your glasses on then look in them with just your contacts. Big difference.
- if you take care of them well, you can wear them past 30 days. Personally, I wear them until my eyes get irritated and turn red then I throw them out and get a new pair. Might as well make the most of them.
*Anytime longer than that and it's dangerous so if your eyes get red or irritated, TAKE THEM OUT.*
Cons:
- if your eyes dry up easily, you won't be able to wear them
- can't wear them while you sleep
- not as good as glasses if you're gonna watch tv or a monitor for an extended period of time. Your eyes blink less and will get dry quickly with the contacts in.
- text looks a bit fuzzy on tv's and monitors
- takes a few days to adjust to
- if you rub your eye while they're in, they can fall out
- it may take you a while on figuring out how to put them in. Once you figure it out, it only takes less than 30 seconds. Practice makes perfect.
There are also hard, gas permeable contacts but I've never tried them. Supposedly they're better in every way except they take a lot longer to adjust to.
Pros:
- everything is sharper and clearer
- you'll look a lot better in them
- there's no frame around your eyes
- glasses kind of distort your vision. Contacts don't. ie Look in the mirror with your glasses on then look in them with just your contacts. Big difference.
- if you take care of them well, you can wear them past 30 days. Personally, I wear them until my eyes get irritated and turn red then I throw them out and get a new pair. Might as well make the most of them.
*Anytime longer than that and it's dangerous so if your eyes get red or irritated, TAKE THEM OUT.*
Cons:
- if your eyes dry up easily, you won't be able to wear them
- can't wear them while you sleep
- not as good as glasses if you're gonna watch tv or a monitor for an extended period of time. Your eyes blink less and will get dry quickly with the contacts in.
- text looks a bit fuzzy on tv's and monitors
- takes a few days to adjust to
- if you rub your eye while they're in, they can fall out
- it may take you a while on figuring out how to put them in. Once you figure it out, it only takes less than 30 seconds. Practice makes perfect.
There are also hard, gas permeable contacts but I've never tried them. Supposedly they're better in every way except they take a lot longer to adjust to.
buck naked
Member
Been using bi-weeklies for 3 months now and I really recommend them. You have to put up with taking them in and out, and if you have a stigmatism, sometimes they don't sit right. But as soon as your used to them, its hard to imagine going back.
I'm looking forward to trying monthly disposables when my supply of bi-weeklies is up.
I'm looking forward to trying monthly disposables when my supply of bi-weeklies is up.
Cold Shadow
Member
Meatpuppet said:
Hard lenses = The Awesomeness
You can do with a pair for 3 years or longer, so no need to get your lenses every week/month
You don't even need to use your hands to take them out!
Only problem is getting used to them, takes a couple of weeks before you get really used to them. They let air through so your eyes don't dry out so fast as soft contact lenses.
cloudwalking
300chf ain't shit to me
I wore contacts for 5 years, and just ditched them a couple of months ago for a few different personal reasons.
One thing that should be mentioned -- if you smoke, do NOT get contacts. Cigarette smoke really screws with them, makes them dry, itchy, sometimes they even fall out of your eye. My mom smokes and I couldn't even go near her when I had my contacts on and she had one lit up.
One thing that should be mentioned -- if you smoke, do NOT get contacts. Cigarette smoke really screws with them, makes them dry, itchy, sometimes they even fall out of your eye. My mom smokes and I couldn't even go near her when I had my contacts on and she had one lit up.
I'd go with soft, disposable lenses (I have monthlys myself).
Contact lenses are great.
There really aren't any major drawbacks.
+easy to put on (<1 minute)
+easy to take off
+can't really 'feel them' (you'll get used to them in a couple weeks)
+great for sports
-might make your eyes dry after a long day, especially if you stare at a monitor
Contact lenses are great.
There really aren't any major drawbacks.
+easy to put on (<1 minute)
+easy to take off
+can't really 'feel them' (you'll get used to them in a couple weeks)
+great for sports
-might make your eyes dry after a long day, especially if you stare at a monitor
I wore contacts for about 12 years, and when I first got them thought they were the best thing ever. After awhile though they really became annoying, putting them in and taking them out ever night, irriatation when wearing them anywhere near sand, dry eyes, irriatation when getting dirty, etc. This past November, I had had enough and had Lasik surgeory done. I couldn't be happier. There's nothing greater than waking up in the morning and being able to see clearly. I'm now have more or less 20/20 vision (at my last checkup my eye doctor said there's a slight hint of stigmatism) and my eyes are still in the healing process. My eye doctor is also amazed because she really can't see any scaring from the surgeory. Also the procedure comes with a lifetime warranty, so if my vision does slip, then I can go in and have the procedure done again free of charge.
Laser surgeory has definietly come a long way and is a viable option IMO. The key is choosing the right surgeron. I was luckly to find a doctor with deep experience in the procedure, who has performed over 50K procedures in his career. If I wear you I would do alittle more research on Lasik before writing it off completely.
Laser surgeory has definietly come a long way and is a viable option IMO. The key is choosing the right surgeron. I was luckly to find a doctor with deep experience in the procedure, who has performed over 50K procedures in his career. If I wear you I would do alittle more research on Lasik before writing it off completely.
cloudwalking
300chf ain't shit to me
Society said:
Well, technically it depends what kind of contacts you have... I know that with the ones I had the optometrist told me that if you slept with contacts in (the kind I used, anyway, 30-day soft) it'd bump your chance of getting corneal ulcers by a large percentage.
Jonnyboy117
Member
Another option you might want to look at is Intacs. They are crescent-shaped slivers of plastic, basically the same stuff that soft contacts are made of. They are surgically placed just barely under the surface of your eye, on either side of the iris. The point is to physically reshape your eye so that it focuses properly. It is a safer operation than Lasik, because the lens is never touched at all. They are a bit more expensive than Lasik, but the (huge) advantage is that you can have them altered or removed later on, and your eyes will go back to exactly the same shape as before you ever had the implants. So it's basically risk-free. Lasik removes tissue, which is an irreversible process. I was strongly considering Intacs, but I learned that it was not allowed by a certain branch of the government that I want to work in eventually (neither is Lasik).
This is what I wear: monthly night and day
http://www.allaboutvision.com/nightanddaycontacts/
They are approved to wear night and day for 1 month. I normally take them out overnight once every 1-2 weeks just in case, but I have worn them the whole month without removing them a few times. The only time I really know they are in is when I wake up in the mornin.. it takes a second to adjust when I first open my eyes.
I generally wear them longer than 1 month, until my eyes start to get irritated by them. They are a TON more comfortable then the bi-weeklies I used to wear. My eyes would get very irritated and dry sometimes at the end of long days, or as someone mentioned at a bar type setting where people would be smoking etc. These are much easier on my eyes, and I never have to mess with them.
http://www.allaboutvision.com/nightanddaycontacts/
They are approved to wear night and day for 1 month. I normally take them out overnight once every 1-2 weeks just in case, but I have worn them the whole month without removing them a few times. The only time I really know they are in is when I wake up in the mornin.. it takes a second to adjust when I first open my eyes.
I generally wear them longer than 1 month, until my eyes start to get irritated by them. They are a TON more comfortable then the bi-weeklies I used to wear. My eyes would get very irritated and dry sometimes at the end of long days, or as someone mentioned at a bar type setting where people would be smoking etc. These are much easier on my eyes, and I never have to mess with them.
tree fiddy
Member
There is a procedure called corneaplasty that sounds awesome, but isn't available on the market yet. It's still in the testing phase and the people behind it are very hush hush about it.
Basically the procedure involves injecting your corneas with a chemical that makes it more malleable(this won't affect your vision), fitting your eyes with a special contact lens to reshape your cornea for a few weeks/months, then injecting a different chemical into your cornea making them not malleable anymore. When all is said and done, your corneas were basically regrown/reshaped permanently.
I know it sounds risky but if it's ever deemed safe and effective, it will give lasik surgery a run for its money.
Basically the procedure involves injecting your corneas with a chemical that makes it more malleable(this won't affect your vision), fitting your eyes with a special contact lens to reshape your cornea for a few weeks/months, then injecting a different chemical into your cornea making them not malleable anymore. When all is said and done, your corneas were basically regrown/reshaped permanently.
I know it sounds risky but if it's ever deemed safe and effective, it will give lasik surgery a run for its money.
Foreign Jackass
Member
Society said:
Reminds me of that story I heard about a woman who didn't know she had to take out her dentures and clean 'em. She had weird itchings in her mouth. Went to the dentist, turned out worms were eating her gums under her disgusting, filthy dentures.
Forget it dude, YOUR EYES ARE DEAD.
Meatpuppet
Member
Cold Shadow said:
Try playing fucking contact sports extensively with them, and then get back to me.
Brian Fellows
Pete Carroll Owns Me
I really only use mine to play basketball and when I go out on weekends. They were a bitch to put in at first. But once your eyes get used to being touch it only takes a minute or two. Mine cost me about 25 bucks every 6 weeks.
TheQueen'sOwn
insert blank space here
I've been wearing these contacts for... 3 weeks and I haven't taken them out :lol. No problems though.... Ah hell *takes contacts out*
quadriplegicjon said:
I use the dailies, too.
You can also use the night lenses. So, you put them in when you go to sleep, and when you get up you can ''see''
You have to do this everyday, but I heard it works. Plus, your eyes get more oxygen this way, 'cause you're not wearing lenses when you're up.I'm thinking about getting these.
lachesis
Member
Good:
1. People would look at your eyes, not your glasses. Girls tend to like ones w/o glasses in general. (I had more luck scoring in my single days w/o glasses)
2. If you get one day Acuve, it's good. Slip the new one in the morning, and get rid of it at the end of the day. No hasstle, clean and convenient.
3. It's good to see wider view w/o the limitations of your frame and focal range.
Bad:
1. I've been wearing contacts for 5 years. I took care of my contacts pretty well, but I still get the irritations and red eyes easily, so I went back to glasses. (Also, having a job which requires me to look at computer monitors for very long time and having videogame as my favorite hobby didn't really help much.)
2. Expensive. Eversince I changed to Acuve 1day, I'm having a second thought putting it on.
3. When the contacts flips to your backside of your eyeball - a freaky experience + tons of panic.
4. When dust gets into your eyes - prepare to cry like a girl. It's very irritating, and it's hard to get out.
5. While playing or doing something outside and your contacts pops out - another very uncomfortable moments. Always carry a spare.
It has very good side and very bad side. I hardly ever wear contacts anymore, unless I'm going out and meeting someone. It's good to give your eyes a break once in a while...
lachesis
1. People would look at your eyes, not your glasses. Girls tend to like ones w/o glasses in general. (I had more luck scoring in my single days w/o glasses)
2. If you get one day Acuve, it's good. Slip the new one in the morning, and get rid of it at the end of the day. No hasstle, clean and convenient.
3. It's good to see wider view w/o the limitations of your frame and focal range.
Bad:
1. I've been wearing contacts for 5 years. I took care of my contacts pretty well, but I still get the irritations and red eyes easily, so I went back to glasses. (Also, having a job which requires me to look at computer monitors for very long time and having videogame as my favorite hobby didn't really help much.)
2. Expensive. Eversince I changed to Acuve 1day, I'm having a second thought putting it on.
3. When the contacts flips to your backside of your eyeball - a freaky experience + tons of panic.
4. When dust gets into your eyes - prepare to cry like a girl. It's very irritating, and it's hard to get out.
5. While playing or doing something outside and your contacts pops out - another very uncomfortable moments. Always carry a spare.
It has very good side and very bad side. I hardly ever wear contacts anymore, unless I'm going out and meeting someone. It's good to give your eyes a break once in a while...
lachesis
OpinionatedCyborg
Member
LASIK is a great procedure that'll have you seeing great in no time. Unlike previous forms of surgery (radial keratotomy, PRK), LASIK does very little damage to the eye, which means recovery times are extremely fast. You will experience very little pain, and you will be able to drive within 1 day. The weeks following LASIK can be annoying, since you need to apply a gel to your eye that's essentially a steroid to help the tissue completely regrow. Avoiding bright light and get foreign material in your eye is also a must. Besides that, the success rate for LASIK is above 99% and getting higher everyday. I have known 6 people who've had my surgery - my father is one of them - and they've all experience a great leap forward in vision. My father still needs to wear reading glasses, mainly because he received the treatment at an advanced age, but people who get the surgery in their mid 20s will often emerge with vision better than 20/20.
LASIK might not be for everyone, but it certainly is worth looking into. I plan on having the procedure when age permits. Contacts are great...unless you live in a dry ass climate, which makes them dig and damage your cornea. I used to wear them daily, but now I find myself wearing them only to special events and the like.
LASIK might not be for everyone, but it certainly is worth looking into. I plan on having the procedure when age permits. Contacts are great...unless you live in a dry ass climate, which makes them dig and damage your cornea. I used to wear them daily, but now I find myself wearing them only to special events and the like.
Space Age Playboy
Banned
Does anyone have experience wearing contact lenses with mascara? Does it cause any problems?
lachesis
Member
Space Age Playboy said:
Whoa, hold on there.
I don't wear mascara, so I have no idea - but I've had plenty of girl friends who would die rather than showing her face to me w/ glasses still wear mascara. Only thing is if something goes wrong like above reasons I've listed, their eyes become like american racoon. lachesis
Eww. I've been wearing contacts for about about 7 years and have probably only slept in them 5 times (all by accident). Unless you have the special ones that can stay in your eyes for days, you really shouldn't be keeping them in that much..
And putting on my contacts literally takes about 15 seconds. Taking them off takes just as long (especially because I'm lazy and use no-rub solution...).
And putting on my contacts literally takes about 15 seconds. Taking them off takes just as long (especially because I'm lazy and use no-rub solution...).
D
Deleted member 4784
Unconfirmed Member
I wear contact lenses and I actually find them preferrable to glasses. Whenever I pick out glasses I usually end up getting the kind that are wide/geeky looking because I hate having to turn my head to look at something due to the lenses being so small. Contact lenses solve this problem the most for me.
I don't know much about Lasik, but one of the reasons I've never entertained the idea of surgery personally is that I use computers a lot; the consequence being that continual damage is done to my eyes. Every two years or so I end up getting a new lense prescription because of it. My dad is the same way more or less as well. I don't know if this is a genetic trait or just the nature of eyesight/computer use in general, but the idea of having irreversible surgery done on my eyes (that holds a slim chance of being repeated) is scary when considering that 10, 20, 30+ years from now my eyesight could be damaged again.
I don't know much about Lasik, but one of the reasons I've never entertained the idea of surgery personally is that I use computers a lot; the consequence being that continual damage is done to my eyes. Every two years or so I end up getting a new lense prescription because of it. My dad is the same way more or less as well. I don't know if this is a genetic trait or just the nature of eyesight/computer use in general, but the idea of having irreversible surgery done on my eyes (that holds a slim chance of being repeated) is scary when considering that 10, 20, 30+ years from now my eyesight could be damaged again.
Son of Godzilla
Banned
lachesis said:
The first time this happened to me I was drunk and totally freaked out. I woke up the next day in tears of pain. Got me off contacts for a good while.
I wear soft monthly disposables now, but for a while I tried those hard, overnight lenses that reshape your eye while you sleep so you don't need lenses or glasses the next day.
Hard overnights:
Pro's:
6 hours of wear while you sleep, no need for lenses or glasses the next day
Con's:
Expensive
A bit more care required
Very uncomfortable the first week
Night vision was less than perfect
Soft disposables:
Pro's:
Cheap
Comfortable
Easy
Perfect night vision
Con's:
Protein builds up fast, so you need to dispose of them on time or else use extra cleansers
tend to dry out your eyes with long term wear (for me over 8 hours)
Either option is preferable to glasses IMO
Hard overnights:
Pro's:
6 hours of wear while you sleep, no need for lenses or glasses the next day
Con's:
Expensive
A bit more care required
Very uncomfortable the first week
Night vision was less than perfect
Soft disposables:
Pro's:
Cheap
Comfortable
Easy
Perfect night vision
Con's:
Protein builds up fast, so you need to dispose of them on time or else use extra cleansers
tend to dry out your eyes with long term wear (for me over 8 hours)
Either option is preferable to glasses IMO
OpinionatedCyborg
Member
Waychel said:
I'm assuming your neasighted (myopic), which means your eye is longer than it should be. As you get older, your eye will continue to grow longer and longer until you're in your early to mid 20s. Once you've reached this age, further ocular degeneration slows dramatically, and usually won't rear its ugly head until much later in life when you become at risk for corneas or faulty lenses'. Laser eye surgery corrects irregularities and smooths the surface of your cornea so that you're eye can properly focus the light onto the retina. While it's possible that you'd need to go in for surgery again in the future, it's unlikely your eyesight woudl degrade signifigantly unless you contracted a disease because your eye stops growing, and therefore getting worse, in your mid 20s.
Oh, and staring at a computer screen/tv/the paint dry on the wall for hours on end won't signifigantly speed up the rate of eyesight loss. It will, however, damage your eyes lenses' and muscles, because they're being strained by looking at one object for too long. Old people often suffer from shitty lenses that prevent them from looking at one object, then switching their gaze to another quickly because their lenses have become worn out.
Aruarian Reflection
Chauffeur de la gdlk
I've been wearing prescription hard contacts overnight for almost 6 years now, and contacts in general for 10 years. I personally didn't enjoy wearing contacts during the day, as I had all sorts of problems with them. Prescription hard contacts have corrected my vision from 250 degrees to about 50, so even if I miss a couple nights, it's no big deal and I can still see well.
The bad thing about contacts overall is that it wears down the epithelium layer of the cornea, but it's only minor damage, and the stem cells of the limbus regenerate it pretty quickly.
The bad thing about contacts overall is that it wears down the epithelium layer of the cornea, but it's only minor damage, and the stem cells of the limbus regenerate it pretty quickly.
norinrad21
Banned
Heck i should get contacts too, i'm sick of wearing glasses all the time
Space Age Playboy
Banned
Don't get ripped off buying lenses from your doctor. You can get them for much less if you order them online.
tree fiddy
Member
Can you tell us more about hard contacts? Like price, pros/cons, brand, experience with it, etc.Cold Shadow said:
I'm considering them in the near future.
D
Deleted member 4784
Unconfirmed Member
OpinionatedCyborg said:
OMG that is EXACTLY what I have!! How did you figure that out?! LOL
If what you say is true, then maybe I should consider getting the surgery someday. All I knew was that my eyesight would continue to get worse; but I didn't exactly give much thought as to why (other than in attributing it to my environment). May I ask if you happen to know whether ocular degeneration actually stops in mid-20's or does it simply slow down? I didn't realize it was from my eyes growing.
That's kind of freaky...OpinionatedCyborg
Member
Waychel said:May I ask if you happen to know whether ocular degeneration actually stops in mid-20's or does it simply slow down? I didn't realize it was from my eyes growing.
Generally, once your body stops growing (this completely depends on the individual, but girls usually stop growing faster than guys since they get a headstart) your eyesight stabalizes. Using my parents as an example, each had signifigant deterioration in their eyesight until their early 20s when their prescriptions completely stopped moving. In fact, my mom is less nearsighted now than she was earlier on in life (other vision problems associated with a desktop job--focusing, cloudiness, etc--have reared their ugly heads however).
There are other conditions which can affect your eyesight, but if we're talking strictly in terms of nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (hyperopia)--conditions dependant on the size of your eye--once you stop growing, they will stop augmenting.
While you're too young to have the procedure done now, it wouldn't hurt to ask your optomestrist whether you'd be a good candidate for it in the future. If you have a pre-existing eye condition or severe myopia then things get a bit more complicated. But still, never hurts to ask.
I knew the grade 9 project I did on laser eye surgery would come in handy one day. Hope that helps!
Oh, and while my cyborg skills give me the ability to peer deeply into other peoples' souls, I guessed you have nearsightedness because it's the most common eye problem.
i hate it when i forget that i have my contacts in and rub my eye.
happend a couple of time that it thought i lost my contacts but instead it went somewhere way high up on eyeball only to fall out the next day or sometimes i can kind of slide it gently down by touching my eyelids.
i'm still missing one from a long time ago, wonder if it's still up there :lol
but except these rare events i prefer my contacts to glasses, i'm using soft monthly contacts i tried hard contacts but my eyes coulnd;t handle them.
happend a couple of time that it thought i lost my contacts but instead it went somewhere way high up on eyeball only to fall out the next day or sometimes i can kind of slide it gently down by touching my eyelids.
i'm still missing one from a long time ago, wonder if it's still up there :lol
but except these rare events i prefer my contacts to glasses, i'm using soft monthly contacts i tried hard contacts but my eyes coulnd;t handle them.
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