Shake it Baby

If you feel any pain from wearing your contact lenses there is something seriously wrong. Contacts shouldn’t be felt at all, there shouldn’t even be the slightest feeling that there is something in or on the eye.

What’s Causes the Pain?

If you’re once comfortable contact lenses suddenly become noticeable, whether it’s the feeling that there’s pressure on the eye, sharp gritty feeling or a localised pain, then the reason is generally dirt. Sometimes debris can become lodged between the inside surface of your contact lens and the surface of your eye.

If this is the case then finding relief is simple. Because it’s always best to avoid touching your contacts, you can first of all try adding a few drops of your lens solution or lubricant to your eye. Hopefully this on its own will be enough to rinse the debris away. If it’s not, then remove the lens and take a closer look. You might find protein deposits accumulating on the lens surface. If that’s the case, it’s time to pay more attention to your cleaning routine. If you’re experiencing pain with disposable lenses then you’ll probably want to have them replaced.

Always take that uncomfortable feeling as a warning sign. If you allow protein deposits to build up it can become a much more serious problem.

A Tear in Your Contact Lens?

If you have carried out the above advice and still found that wearing your contacts is uncomfortable then it may be that they have developed a tear. Remove the lens, place it on your fingertip and hold it up towards a light source. Look around the edges for what appears to be a tiny fibre. If one is found, investigate further. It could just be something sitting on the surface of the lens however if it doesn’t come away then it’s probably a tear. There’s nothing you can do about that.

What Else Might be Wrong?

Other reasons contact lenses can become uncomfortable include wearing the wrong prescription, a problem with dry eyes, allergies or other medical problems including eyes that aren’t healthy and eye strain. Talk to your optometrist about your problems, they may want to have your eyes tested so that proper corrective measures can be put into place.

That might include a new, properly-fitting contact lens prescription or possibly a different brand of contact lens, one that allows more oxygen to flow to the cornea. The optometrist might recommend using lubricants and/or artificial tear drops when dry eyes are causing the uncomfortable feelings. You might even be given other medical treatments depending on what the problem is. It might surprise you to find out that hormonal and thyroid problems can interfere with the wearing of contacts.

No Comments » Posted by April / Health

Lots of people underestimate the importance of contact lens maintenance. Think about it, is it natural for people to place foreign object in their eyes? Absolutely not! So why is it that some people allow themselves to place dirty contact lenses in their eyes?

Clean Your Lenses or Buy Disposable

If you’re one of these people then you must stop this awful habit now. Either replace your normal contacts with disposable ones or ask you optometrist for advice on how to properly care for your lenses. Following the optometrist’s recommendations is the key to success because contact lenses and cleaning products are not created equally.

Buy Commercially-Available Multi-Purpose Solutions

As a general rule, caring for your contacts requires using one of the commercially-available multi-purpose solutions which deal with each aspect of cleaning, disinfecting, rinsing and storage. After removing a contact lens, with hands that have first been washed using non-moisturising soap, shoot the lens with a steady stream of the multi-purpose solution for a minimum of 20-seconds (or as directed), making sure that both sides of the lens are sprayed.

With some of these solutions you need to rub the contacts between the palm of your hand and your fingertip. This is to help loosen dirt, protein, cosmetics and other debris. Just make sure that your hands are clean otherwise you could be doing more harm than good. Also, rinse each lens as directed as this is an important step in helping rid the lens of foreign matter.

Clean the contact Lens Storage Too

Then, fill a clean storage unit with the same solution and place the cleaned lens into the appropriately labelled storage container. When your contact lenses aren’t being worn, the solution you store them in will disinfect them. Repeat these steps for the other lens.

Normally these maintenance steps are the same no matter if they’re soft or gas permeable lenses. Because people often view maintenance as a chore, make sure you devise a way to make it as quick and simple as possible. Again, your optometrist is the person who should advise you on a suitable maintenance routine and to whom you should turn when questions arise.

Those wearing daily contact lenses that aren’t disposable usually need to add an extra step to their maintenance routines, especially if they wear soft lenses or older styles of gas permeable lenses that are more prone to protein build-up. To be extra safe, also use an enzyme cleaner weekly.

• Everything that may come into contact with your contact lenses must be kept clean. That includes fingers, hands, tips of solution bottles and storage containers.
• Never use water for cleaning. It may contain contaminants and it’s too harsh for some lenses.
• Develop a cleaning routine and stick with it. Never change without first checking with your eye doctor or specialist.

If this sounds all too much of a bother then buy some disposable ones instead. That’s what they were created for!

No Comments » Posted by April / Health

Gone are the days when only people with poor eyesight wore contact lenses. Now people are wearing them just to change the colour of their eyes and make a fashion statement! They come in an assortment of amazing colours and some are even designed to be worn for Halloween.

What’s sad is that most people who wear lenses even realize that they’re available or if they do, they’re too scared to give it a try. But don’t worry. The colour change can be subtle or it can be dramatic and that’s part of the fun of wearing them.

Do I Have to Get a Prescription?

If you want to buy coloured lenses purely for fashion purposes you’ll still need to see an optician to obtain a prescription. A prescription for contacts that doesn’t include vision correction is called a plano prescription. You need a prescription to make sure that the lenses are the correct width and curvature to your eye. If they don’t fit right you’ll know in a moment because the pain will be persistent and irritating.

Don’t Share Your Contacts

Be careful, just because you’ve got fashion contact lenses doesn’t mean you can share them with your friends. It’s not just the size and shape of the contacts that can cause problems, it’s also germs that can be transferred from one person to another.

When buying coloured contacts make sure you understand the options available to you.

Coloured Lenses – You’ll want to buy opaque lenses if you want to change the colour of your eye. Coloured lenses are actually tinted, and besides changing colour you’ll find other types of tints, some of which aren’t necessarily designed to change eye colour.

Tinted Lenses – One great benefit of making contacts tinted is that you can see them easier. When you drop a clear contact lens you’ll have great difficulty finding it again. But the coloured tint on the lens will help pinpoint their location. Enhancement tints have a deeper tint that will enhance and intensify a person’s eye colour.

Sun Protection – If you spend a lot of time outdoors in the sunshine then buying lenses with a UV/UB protection is a must. The tints help to reduce glare which improves vision and hopefully the game if you’re playing sports. And speaking of sun protection, there is a brand of coloured contact lenses that darken to a colour that resembles that of sunglass lenses when exposed to light. When you’re indoors, the colour transitions back into clear.

No Comments » Posted by April / Fashion and Health