Eye Sight

[Tha-Flash]

Hi, I am 16 years of age and my eye sight is pretty bad, I wear contact lenses and glasses but I dont like wearing glasses and contact lenses are a pain to put in. I do work/play with computers alot and friends/family think that has something to do with it. I'm not sure myself, its just really annoying, I wouldn't be able to goto the shops without somebody saying hi and i'd be like 'sorry, who are you'... Call me fussy, I just dont really like wearing glasses outside of house and say like I wake up late and have to hurry to get to school, then i'll have to spend 5 minutes getting my contact lenses in hoping that they dont sting, if they sting I have to wait some more. So I was wondering are there any like exercises to improve eye sight? Cheers

[woofgang]

There are exercises which are said to improve eyesight in younger people, where the lens is still flexible and the muscles may just be weak. Why don't you talk to your opthalmologist about this, I'm sure that he or she would be helpful

[coemgen]

You don't say which type of contact lenses you are wearing, soft contact lenses are the most comfortable. The solution you are using shouldn't sting. It could be that you have very sensitive eyes, could you ask for a different brand?

[Dave Potts]

I did such excercises when I was younger under the instruction of my optician. It involved holding your index fingers (your 'pointers') in front of your face in the direction of the ceiling so that the tips of your fingers are level with your eye. One finger should be about 6" from your nose, the other perhaps 12" away. Slowly bring the finger closest to your face towards your nose (keeping it in focus all the time) until you reach the point where you are just about to lose definition. Now focus on the finger furthest away for a second. Now the one closest to your nose. Alternate for 5 minutes. I can't tell you whether it did me any good as here I am age 35 and still wearing glasses but I wasn't the most disciplined of teenagers so perhaps it will yield better results for you if you stick to it. As always with anything to do with your eyes I'd recommend you consult your optician before trying this, as doubtless methods for dealing with this may have changed in the last 20 years. I'm surprised he didn't ask me to stick a bloody leech in my ear...

[Dave Potts]

Like.

[Tha-Flash]

Well firstly I want to thank you all for replying. I saw a TV program where there was like a group of people who had problems with their eyes, and they all did these exercises, but it wouldn't show you the actual exercises they did. Some of their sight improved quite a bit with it, and they must of been in their 20s. My contacts are actually hard contacts, i'm not sure why, though I was probably told. And the stinging usually depends on when I wash them, I mostly wash them like half an hour before I put them in. Once I washed them like the night before and they didn't sting as much. I will be going back to get my contacts renewed and my actual sight WITH the contacts has gone more blury. I'll probably get some more and I will ask my opthalmologist if there are any type of exercises to improve it a little. Dave, thanks for that, i'll try it. Nice one.

[Tat]

keep trying - you will get used to wearing contacts! mine used to hurt but i don't feel them now. i have soft ones i change every 2 weeks and they are really good. goo luck...

[Tha-Flash]

Thanks :)

[5029]

Or try monthly contacts that you put in one day and don't take out til 30 days is up?

[Tha-Flash]

5029, I haven't really heard about them. I'll ask about it though when I next goto the optitions. Thanks

[kalise25]

I'm one of those nasty opticians (boo hiss)! The exercises that Dave describe are really useful if you've got lazy muscles that need help, but by the sounds of it that isn't your visual problem. There are 2 reasons why your lenses might sting on insertion - first it could be the hard lenses. Some people find them really difficult to get used to and they will always be uncomfortable in them. Others have absolutely no hassle - it's a bit of a lottery. Secondly you could be mildly allergic to your cleaning solutions - that sounds most likely to me from what you've said. Speak to your own optician about it - that's why we're there! We'd prefer it if people came back and explained their problems rather than just giving up on their contacts and wandering about blind! They may not be keen to give you the ones you sleep in by the way (sorry to rain on your parade) because you're still relatively quite young and your eyes are still changing. They most likely gave you the GP lenses to try and slow down the changes in your prescription. Best of luck.

[Tha-Flash]

Its been a long time but you're right kalis, its the hard lenses which were really affecting me.

I have now got some brand new soft and pretty big contract lenses. They're SO much different.

When I first put them in, I couldn't believe how clear everything was. I could see people I knew from so far away, I was amazed.

Thanks for the support guys :]