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Contact Lenses

(16 Posts)
Elless Mon 16-Jan-23 15:56:25

I've decided to bite the bullet and get contact lenses. I had an eye test this morning and was given some lenses to 'practice with' before going back next week. My problem is when I look online there are so many different ones and I don't know which to chose. I will be getting the daily disposables but can anyone give me any advice?

Pittcity Mon 16-Jan-23 16:06:22

The best person to advise you is the lens advisor at your opticians.
If the practise lenses are comfortable and give you good vision the optician will tell you the brand and you'll be able to buy them from wherever you choose. You'll need an up to date contact lens prescription which is different to your spectacles prescription.
It's best to stick to the recommended brand (or ask if there's a cheaper/more expensive) alternative as they will be prescribed to fit comfortably and suit your lifestyle. It's not a good idea to change brands without expert advice.

MrsJamJam Mon 16-Jan-23 17:13:03

I have daily disposables which I need because of nightly drops for glaucoma. I find them so comfortable that I don't notice them at all. I have a contract with a well known optician chain, just pay monthly and new supplies arrive automatically. All very easy

NotAGran55 Mon 16-Jan-23 18:36:14

I would never trust myself to choose something as important as contact lenses. I’m more than happy for my optician to select the brand best suited to my prescription. They arrive in the post every three months, paid for by monthly direct debit.

CanadianGran Mon 16-Jan-23 19:15:20

I have daily disposables and they are very comfortable. I wore one brand for years, and the optician suggested a different brand this last time, but I found them almost impossible to take out after trying them. He gave me back my old brand and they are just fine. I'm not sure what the difference between one brand and another, but I did notice a difference.

Mine are Acuvue. I have had weekly lenses as well, which was fine. No problem to rinse and reuse, and cheaper in the long run if you use them every day.

Sunnysideup Mon 16-Jan-23 19:53:06

At the age of 18 contact lenses changed my life. It turned me from an introvert to an extrovert almost overnight. I started with hard lenses, graduated to soft lenses and finally to daily disposables. I’m now 72 and about 7 years ago I paid to have a refractive lens exchange at the Centre for Sight and do away with contacts altogether. Now I just need reading glasses. Take the advice of your practitioner with regard to the brand of disposables and you won’t look back!

Arlme Mon 16-Jan-23 20:08:27

Has anyone here got contacts after wearing varifocals?

baubles Mon 16-Jan-23 20:14:56

Yes my specs are varifocals but I didn’t get on with varifocal contact lenses so I wear one reading lens and one distance lens.

It isn’t perfect but my vision is good enough so this compromise works for me.

glammagran Mon 16-Jan-23 20:20:42

Same as you Sunnysideup but started first on soft lenses aged 23. I ran into problems half way through pregnancy aged 38 when I developed a corneal ulcer caused by a pseudomonas infection and was admitted to hospital for 5 days. I had antibiotic eye drops administered every hour day and night before I was discharged as they didn’t want to risk intravenous antibiotics. I was utterly exhausted. At the time I’d been wearing continuous wear lenses which were only taken out and changed weekly. I believe they are now no longer available for obvious reasons. I’ve used comfortable daily disposable lenses for many years without any problems though I now have cataracts which are developing very slowly.

Arlme Mon 16-Jan-23 20:22:00

Thank you baubles, sounds like something I could enquire about.

Shinamae Mon 16-Jan-23 20:30:08

Sunnysideup

At the age of 18 contact lenses changed my life. It turned me from an introvert to an extrovert almost overnight. I started with hard lenses, graduated to soft lenses and finally to daily disposables. I’m now 72 and about 7 years ago I paid to have a refractive lens exchange at the Centre for Sight and do away with contacts altogether. Now I just need reading glasses. Take the advice of your practitioner with regard to the brand of disposables and you won’t look back!

Practically the same as me.. but I do only wear one lens in my right eye, because I am more or less blind in my left eye and the lens makes no difference.. because I have Cataracts coming, I am on the waiting list to have lens replacement..

Pittcity Mon 16-Jan-23 21:32:52

Arlme

Has anyone here got contacts after wearing varifocals?

I wear multifocal toric lenses. They don't give perfect vision and are expensive but give me freedom from specs and are very comfortable.
Ask your optician for some free trial pairs and give them a go.

Arlme Mon 16-Jan-23 23:11:22

Thank you Pittcity

Kate1949 Tue 17-Jan-23 10:37:08

I wear gas permeable lenses. I started with hard (glass) lenses back in the early '70s. I then changed to gas permeable. They are very comfortable. I don't know they're in. People kept talking me they were old fashioned and I should try soft. I couldn't get on with them at all. I mentioned it to my optician and he told me to wear what suited me, not what other people thought I should wear. They last for a year.

Elless Tue 17-Jan-23 11:13:33

Thank you for your advice, I have already had laser surgery because my angles were closing (Mum had glaucoma) and I am not confident with anything eye related but the one's I have been given seem to be great. My DH has scared me because his first wife had contacts (hard ones, years ago) and he said he was forever having to get them out for her because they'd moved. Are the new soft ones more reliable?

Pittcity Tue 17-Jan-23 18:04:06

Elless

Thank you for your advice, I have already had laser surgery because my angles were closing (Mum had glaucoma) and I am not confident with anything eye related but the one's I have been given seem to be great. My DH has scared me because his first wife had contacts (hard ones, years ago) and he said he was forever having to get them out for her because they'd moved. Are the new soft ones more reliable?

I've never had a problem with modern lenses.