The Trouble with Contact Lenses

03 Nov 2013

The very first time you were issued with your prescription contact lenses, your optician went through a very specific routine of how to care of them and how to wear them correctly – but can you honestly say that you still follow that regime every time you put in or take out your contacts?

What are your bad habits?

Be it wearing your daily or monthly contacts for longer than you’re supposed to or storing your contacts in water when you run out of solution, it’s easy to become complacent with your contact lens care…

1. Sleeping in your contact lenses

It can happen to the best of us - nodding off watching TV, falling straight into bed after a night out, or simply forgetting that you are wearing contacts. But the next morning you experience that horrible grating feeling as you peel your eyes open and the world takes on a cloudy appearance.

 

When you sleep in your contacts, your eye becomes starved of oxygen, nutrients and moisture which can lead to a tightening of the cornea and breaks appearing on its surface. If bacteria get into any of these breaks, an infection can develop.

 

There is no simple solution of this problem; all you can do is try to remember to take out your contacts before you hit the pillow. If you feel yourself getting drowsy, pop out your contacts and put on your glasses instead.

2. Using water or saliva to clean your contacts

Sometimes your contact seems clean but when you put it in your eye, you experience the sensation that there’s a piece of grit on the lens and it causes your eye to tear and redden.

 

The temptation is there to remove it and rinse it in water or your saliva before reinserting it into your eye. Well, putting it simply: DON’T!

 

Water isn’t salty like your natural tear film and contact lenses tend to absorb it and swell, which means it won’t fit correctly over your eye. Furthermore, tap water isn’t sterile and can contain bacteria that can cause infections to develop. The same goes for saliva – it’s a bacteria breeding ground!

 

It’s best to use eye drops suitable for contact lens wearers, or else carry an emergency stash of spare lenses and solution.

3. Re-using your solution

The bacteria and build-up that form on your contacts is removed by the solution you store them in, but if you don’t change it or change your lenses case for that matter, you are essentially storing your contacts is a concoction of dirt and bacteria.

 

Use fresh solution each time you use your contacts and change your lens case every three months – replace it as you would your toothbrush.

Why Not Try Laser Eye Surgery Instead?

If you’re tired of all the hassle involved with contact lenses, why not go for Laser Eye Surgery from Optilase?

 

It’s much easier to have your cornea reshaped permanently by laser, so that you never have to rely on glasses, contacts or corrective eyewear ever again!

 

Give Optilase a call on +353 1 223 8821 to organise a free consultation or find out if you are a candidate for laser eye surgery. It will change your life!

 

Read about the Laser Eye Surgery Journey.

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August 9, 2023

I have been wearing glasses for over 20 years. I always hated wearing contact lenses and I got to a time in my life that I needed a change. A friend recommended optilase, I went for the free consultation and the person that did all the exams was really nice and I felt safe and confident enough to go ahead, I was recommended the PRK. I Put on a piece of paper how much I spent and would still spend on glasses for the next 10 years, and the surgery was for sure cheaper than that. My prescription was very high, both eyes, myopia and astigmatism Optilase provided all the information I needed, in clear manner. And they always made clear that there was nothing wrong with my eyes, it was my own choice to go for the surgery. The day of the surgery I was a bit nervous, who wouldn't? But then, from the reception to the surgeon, they were all so nice and welcoming. Hernandez performed the procedure, lovely surgeon, again all information was provided the way it should. I was instructed in what I should and should not do. The actual procedure took less than 15min, I felt nothing, no discomfort or anything. The whole process is very well done by the team, if I remember well around 3 people supporting the surgery plus one other girl providing pos surgery instructions. Right after the procedure I could already see much better than before without glasses! I couldn't believe it, I cried, thanked everyone and left the clinic knowing that I made the best choice. The recovery for PRK is a bit longer, I stayed for 2 full days no phones, or any screens. In the dark. If you have a little one, I would recommend to have someone minding them, as you are very limited in what you can do for the day of and day after surgery. It is hard to open the eyes, the second day after surgery was the toughest, I thought all went wrong as the vision got worst, but again I was advised it could happen. Note that this was my experience and could be different for other people. The 3rd day I felt nothing and could see much better already. Light sensitivity was very high, and still, 6 days after surgery, but nothing that a sun glasses would not help. My vision still blurred, but I need no glasses to see, my eyes feel dry sometimes, but the eye drops provided helps with it and and am very happy with the results already, even knowing it takes a bit longer to fully recover the vision. I'm back to work (screen at 200% to make sure I dont force my eyes too much) and I have had no headaches or anything, which I would have all the time looking at screens for most of my day. I cannot recommend Optilase enough, they are amazing! If you want to do something for your self and want a place you can trust, go for it, choose Optilase. Thanks to the whole team for one of the best things I did for my self!

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