Contact Lenses advice...

[holly sparkle]

So my optician wants me to get contacts. I have glasses but don't wear them. Hate hate hate wearing them...childhood trauma or whatever. Anyways, I really struggled with putting them in today. It was just my first day but I am shaking like a leaf after it. When they were in it was fine I just struggled putting them in and it was worse taking them out. He says it will get easier. I really need to get them as my eyes are getting pretty damn bad. I didn't know I was sooooo weird about touching my eyes.

I'm just hoping for was some advice. Does it get easier? Am I silly freaking out over this?

 

[soocool]

DD (1 has been wearing contacts for the past 3-4 years. She was like you at first, but after a couple of weeks popped them very easily. You just have to find the best way for you. BTW, she wears the dailies and likes them better than the ones you wear for 2 weeks.She says the dailies are much more comfortable since she wears them for just one day and no need to clean them.

 

[mrs jam]

You'll get the hang of it quicker than you probably think you will right now. I remember feeling pretty traumatized over having to touch my eyes, especially when taking the lenses out. We're told since we're small children to keep our hands and fingers away from our eyes, so it does feel pretty weird to start poking lenses in and then squeezing them out.

When I put my contacts in/take them out, I don't let my eyes focus on what I'm doing with my fingers, if that makes any sense. When I remove the lenses, I notice I tend to look toward the side, and that helps. Also, it really helps me to keep my fingernails short, especially when I'm taking my contact out.

You'll get used to it in no time at all!

 

[KittyGolightly]

Soocool and mrs jam are exactly right. You'll get used to it in just a few weeks. What you're going through is completely normal.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

It does get easier after time. The first time I tried to take my contacts out I pinched my eye and panicked that I was going to go blind Now I am able to easily take them out, rinse them and put them back in without a mirror.

 

[holly sparkle]

Thanks soocool, mrs jam & KittyGolightly!

I think I got such a shock because I wasn't expecting him to start fiddling with my eyes. I went in to discuss my options and how bad things were. I never thought he would bombard me with the lenses thing. The fact that it was him putting them in and taking them out made me feel very unsettled. I mean come on.....his finger is coming at my eyeball and he wants me to sit perfectly still and not react. All he kept saying was ''do not close your eye'' and what did I keep doing?? CLOSE MY EYE I left feeling like a child.


---- KittyGolightly I could not love that name or avatar more. It's fabulous

 

[holly sparkle]

Sparkly Blonde - You pinched your eye?????? Oh no no no no no....please say that was a joke and you were just trying to freak me out!

 

[soocool]

Thanks soocool, mrs jam & KittyGolightly!

I think I got such a shock because I wasn't expecting him to start fiddling with my eyes. I went in to discuss my options and how bad things were. I never thought he would bombard me with the lenses thing. The fact that it was him putting them in and taking them out made me feel very unsettled. I mean come on.....his finger is coming at my eyeball and he wants me to sit perfectly still and not react. All he kept saying was ''do not close your eye'' and what did I keep doing?? CLOSE MY EYE I left feeling like a child.


---- KittyGolightly I could not love that name or avatar more. It's fabulous

When DD got her lenses, the optometrist had her do it. It was a one on one instruction that lasted about 45 minutes.

 

[holly sparkle]

Thanks soocool, mrs jam & KittyGolightly!

I think I got such a shock because I wasn't expecting him to start fiddling with my eyes. I went in to discuss my options and how bad things were. I never thought he would bombard me with the lenses thing. The fact that it was him putting them in and taking them out made me feel very unsettled. I mean come on.....his finger is coming at my eyeball and he wants me to sit perfectly still and not react. All he kept saying was ''do not close your eye'' and what did I keep doing?? CLOSE MY EYE I left feeling like a child.


---- KittyGolightly I could not love that name or avatar more. It's fabulous

When DD got her lenses, the optometrist had her do it. It was a one on one instruction that lasted about 45 minutes.

He's making me come back in next week and he's going get me to do it....I think he thought I'd had enough trauma for one day I bet I'll beat your DD's 45 mins no problem!! He's gonna hate me

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Sparkly Blonde - You pinched your eye?????? Oh no no no no no....please say that was a joke and you were just trying to freak me out!

I did, but, keep in mind that I was also 11 years old at the time. Huge difference!

 

[mary poppins]

It's unnatural at first, but you will get used to putting the lenses in and taking them out after a while.

At first, I had trouble (wanted to blink/close my eyes) because I was looking at my finger(s) come towards my eye. It is natural to want to blink or close your eye when something is coming towards it. It became a lot easier when I changed my focus to looking at my finger in the mirror instead and watching the back of my finger(s) go towards my eye. Does that make sense?

For example, when I'm putting a contact in my right eye, my left eye is looking in the mirror at the back of my index finger (lens is on the front of it) approaching my right eye. The contact goes in and my right eye didn't even see it coming! Bahaha. Easy peasy.

 

[holly sparkle]

It's unnatural at first, but you will get used to putting the lenses in and taking them out after a while.

At first, I had trouble (wanted to blink/close my eyes) because I was looking at my finger(s) come towards my eye. It is natural to want to blink or close your eye when something is coming towards it. It became a lot easier when I changed my focus to looking at my finger in the mirror instead and watching the back of my finger(s) go towards my eye. Does that make sense?

For example, when I'm putting a contact in my right eye, my left eye is looking in the mirror at the back of my index finger (lens is on the front of it) approaching my right eye. The contact goes in and my right eye didn't even see it coming! Bahaha. Easy peasy.[/quote]


I'm definately going to try this, thanks Mary Poppins!

 

[manderz]

I had a lot of trouble the first few times. The first time, it took me an hour to get them in. Then, I every day after that, the time was cut in half, until it was just in and done. You'll get used to it so quickly! I don't know what I'd do without my contacts now

 

[sunnyd]

It will take a bit to get used to. When I first got my contacts, it was so frustrating because they wouldn't stay in! I had to find a technique that worked, but it would take me 10-15 minutes to get the damn things in my eyes at first! Now it's a just a few seconds.

Holly, I've pinched my eyeball too! Ouchie!

 

[holly sparkle]

Thanks Manderz! I don't mind how long it takes to adjust. I will happily dedicate an hour to it each morning and evening I just really want to learn to do it and stop freaking out!

Sunnyd........... No more pinching eyeball stories I can't take it

 

[MonkeyPie]

It does take practice, but I do it in a way that doesn't require putting it right on my retina. I put it on the very tip of my finger, then turn my eye away - if it's on my right eye, I look far to my left so lots of white is showing, and then put the contact on the white part. I then turn my eye to look at the contact lens (so back to the right) then grab my eyelid and pull it over the contact lens and then pat my eyelid to get any bubbles out. Does that make sense? Lol I do it very convoluted, but it works and it keeps me from touching my eyeball.

 

[charbie]

It does take practice, but I do it in a way that doesn't require putting it right on my retina. I put it on the very tip of my finger, then turn my eye away - if it's on my right eye, I look far to my left so lots of white is showing, and then put the contact on the white part. I then turn my eye to look at the contact lens (so back to the right) then grab my eyelid and pull it over the contact lens and then pat my eyelid to get any bubbles out. Does that make sense? Lol I do it very convoluted, but it works and it keeps me from touching my eyeball.

I sort of did the same thing (before my Lasik surgery ) only would look up instead of to the side. So i was putting the lens in at the very bottom of my eye, holding the bottom lid down. This helped a ton. Youre going to be a pro in no time! And please please please remember to wash your hands before handling them. I got lazy after years of wearing contacts and know I did damage because of this.

 

[Echidna]

Holly, I promise you it will get easier. You will develop your own technique that will make it more comfortable for you.

I second MaryPoppins' suggestion to use a mirror and watch what your finger is doing rather than losing your focal distance watching it coming towards you. This will be second nature in no time and you'll be a pro

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

You'll get the hang of it. I've been wearing contacts for almost 10 years. These days, I don't need a mirror and I can get them in/out in a matter of seconds. You will find that different brands fit more comfortably, breathe better, etc. which (to me) also helps with putting them on and taking them off.

Good luck!

 

[luv2sparkle]

It does take some getting used to. Did you have trouble touching your eye before? My DH has tried contacts but he has a hard time
touching his eye so he gave up. I think he is kind of a fluke when it comes to contacts. and I really don't understand his problem
but glasses don't bother him so he went with that.

For most people it is a pretty short about of time before it is second nature. My son had a hard time the first few weeks and now
he is a pro. If you really want to wear them, don't be discouraged. One day you will wake up and find that you didn't even give it a
second thought and you just put them in no problem!

 

[holly sparkle]

It does take some getting used to. Did you have trouble touching your eye before? My DH has tried contacts but he has a hard time
touching his eye so he gave up. I think he is kind of a fluke when it comes to contacts. and I really don't understand his problem
but glasses don't bother him so he went with that.

For most people it is a pretty short about of time before it is second nature. My son had a hard time the first few weeks and now
he is a pro. If you really want to wear them, don't be discouraged. One day you will wake up and find that you didn't even give it a
second thought and you just put them in no problem!

I have always been slightly eye sensitive. I had eye surgery when I was younger and the recovery was very tough. Think it made me a little anxious after that. I am determined to get used to them though.

Thanks for all the encouragement girls!!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Holly, I know exactly what you're going through! I got contacts a little over a year ago. I had never worn contacts/glasses before, so it definitely took some getting used to! I have glasses as well, but I prefer to wear my contacts because I can't stand the feeling of something sitting on my face like glasses do. (I rarely even wear sunglasses because of this!) So contacts were almost a must for me.

There's definitely a learning curve, but I promise you'll get used to it and it will be a piece of cake in no time! Everyone's advice to try not to look at the contact while you're putting it in is spot on. I actually did pretty well with putting them in, but taking them out is where I had the most trouble. The mistake I made was this: I would sit at our dining room table and look DOWN into a compact mirror sitting on the table. I got myself SO FRUSTRATED because I just couldn't get them to come out that way! So then, I started using a wall-mounted mirror (the one over our bathroom sink). This enabled me to look UP while taking them out, and it made all the difference! You want to look upward, use your fingertip to gently drag the contact downward onto the white of your eye (below the iris, near your lower eyelid), and then pinch it between your index finger and thumb (trying not to use your nails). It should kinda "fold" and just lift off of your eye. Hope that makes sense!

I promise, it really will get easier! Good luck!

 

[pennquaker09]

At first I had a hard time with them, but now I put them directly on my eye without an issue. And i take them off by literally pinching or grabbing them thumb and finger.

 

[mrswahs]

Oh my gosh I was such a wreck my first time. I almost cried in the store I was so flustered (I was 15). But I did eventually get them in... and then freaked out when it came time to get them out, but the girl sitting with me was oh so patient and just pep-talked me until I got the guts to do it myself.

I remember the first day I put them in at home I was so freaked out about touching my eyes I couldn't take them out. I was about to drive myself to the eye doctor to have them take them out for me and then I told myself I had to do it.

It's easy to get out if you have short nails, just use your pointer finger and thumb and pinch. If you have long nails (like I do now) you can use your index fingers of both hands, use the pads of the finger and just turn your fingers towards each other and it will pinch the contact out.

It definitely takes some time to get used to but I wear my contacts about 90% of the time. I have very sensitive eyes and I need to wear sunglasses outside (even when its overcast most of the time) and I hate my prescription sunglasses. You'll love them once you get used to them

 

[zipzapgirl]

It gets easier for sure!

Another tip is not to keep trying until your eyes water and get puffy. If the eye starts tearing up, take a 5 minute break to let things calm down and not get yourself too riled up. Then you can try again fresh and it will go better.

Good luck!