What should i know about contact lenses?

[what..the?]

I have never worn them I dont know what types there are and what the advantages are of differnt types. I have worn glasses for about a year after getting my first glasses about a year ago at vision express.

I dont know if i need my eyes testing again, how often do you need your eyes testing?

Have contacts ever been none to cause eye problems?

Do the prices varey if bought at different places vision express/ boots etc and do they stock lots of types because I have an oval eye what ever that means?

Thanks for your help I am 28 healthy and would like to wear contacts some of the time for consmetic reasons as apposed to wearing glasses all the time.

Thanks in advance

[CAJ1]

Hi,

You usually need your eyes tested every few years.

Contact lenses are hard to get the hang of for a little while but you'll get there! You have to cut your nails too as you can't have long nails while trying to remove a contact lens from your eye.

You opticians will be able to provide you with the appropriate lenses following an examination. If they do not have any in store I expect they would be able to order some in for you I was told by my opticians the more expensive they are, the better but I get monthly ones at £10 and they are fine. You can get either daily, weekly or monthly contacts. Monthly ones are the cheapest.

[CAJ1]

Oh and as long as you clean your contacts properly and wear them for the specified amount of time you shouldn't have any eye problems.

[what..the?]

cool great, thanks for all that its really helpful to find out all these things from people who wear them

[CAJ1]

No problem...let me know if there's anything else you need to know.

Meant to tell you as well that the test they do for glasses and contacts are different, mine was at Specsavers and the test for contacts was free and I also got a months supply of contacts free to try them out.

[what..the?]

Wow that sounds cool, I will try and get an offer then if they have one, I will see how it goes, I have seen them advertise free trials before, hey were running one when I first got my eyes tested but they said get used to glasses first before you get contacts.

[donegal]

Dont get monthy ones !!!!
Get dairly ones as far better. you dont have to clean them , you just bin them after use. so there are a not better

[donegal]

can you believe it my left contact has just fell out now . if i had monthy one i would have to clean it and put it back in, but dairy ones are better cos i just will put new one in now. Just take spaces with you ever where you go as they do fall sometimes ,not offen but it has happened to me there now !!!!!!!!!!

[ChuckFickens]

What on earth is a "dairy" contact lens??

Contact lenses made from milk?

[mccfluff]

chuck i thought you knew everything, dairy lenses are the latest thing, you can even get cheese ones now

[mccfluff]

sorry what the, i get my eyes tested every two years but i stick to glasses, can;t stand the thought of sticking my finger in my eye!

[ChuckFickens]

I'm must try to keep up more with the latest developments in milk based corrective ophthalmic appliances.

[what..the?]

lol milk lenses I have cryed milk before quick call ripleys lol

Yes I am not sure either about sticking my finger in my eye? But I suppose it is something you get used to, my glasses slip on my nose, cause rubbing behind my right ear and effect my general vision as they are small but wide frame so there is limited vision through them. You might think change the glasses then but these glasses look better on my shape face and I fancy going naked with a lense to see how it goes I might just go back again if it doesnt work out. Thanks for all these answers

[4getmenot]

I have long nails and have no problems with my contact lenses. You need a certain strength to be able to start using contacts too but dont know what that is. I get monthly ones now, I used to have dailys but it is cheaper as caj says. I have also been tried out for ones you sleep in as I didnt want to have to change them when I went to festivals but they wernt good for my eyes.

[Androcles]

Contact lenses are great probably for most people, but there are some they just do not suit. My eye reaction was such that the Optician told me to forget it, so my suggestion would be to ask for a quick test first to make sure you are likely to be OK with them.

[york310]

If you only got your first pair of specs a year ago and they say you have 'oval' eyes I will presume you just have a mild prescription with a degree of astigmatism.
If you don't wear your specs full time and you just want cl for social/sports use then daily disposable lenses may suit you best. Standard dailies may cost between £20-30 whilst daily lenses for astigmatism may cost £30-40. Both of these values are for thirty pairs so you could say they will cost about £1 each time you wear them.

If you would wear them more than 2-3 times per wek it becomes more cost effective to use monthly lenses that you look after as stndard lenses would be approx £8-15 (including solutions and follow up check ups) and astigmatism ones £15-25.

The main thing you need to decide is what you want to use them for and how often. This will let your contact lens optician decide which lenses will suit you best. There are loads of different types but the more modern lenses are called silicon hydrogel lenses and are designed to be more durable, more comfortble and less prone to drying out. This drying issue is most relavant to those who wear them for long hours, VDU users (who blink less frequently) and people with poorer tear quality.

Discuss these factors at your initial visit and it's a good starting point.

I would say though if you don't wear your specs full time and you decide to wear your lenses full time you will probably become more dependant on the vision correction as you will get used to having clearer vision more often.

Good luck

[_sophie_]

i got contact lenses about 2 years ago now, and i LOVE THEM! when i first wore them, i felt that my vision was much clearer with contacts as opposed to what they were with glasses. i would really recommend them.
i wear monthlys, but im thinking about going to daily's because the monthly ones do tend to dry up a bit, but always keep a spare pair with you! i would go and see your optician and ask them about it, im sure they will give you all this information.
good luck!!

[what..the?]

wow these answers are great thanks so much everyone it really has helped me trying to decide what to do. All the information and personal experience from your guys is great, thanks again