I pay money to poke myself in the eye (Contact Lenses in general)

Member Name: freespirit1402

Product:	Contact Lenses in general
Date:	16/07/02 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Convienience, Confidence

Disadvantages: Occasional Dry eyes, Having to pay extra for cleaning solution

I was diagnosed with a lazy eye when I was about seven and prescribed glasses for it. Being a typical seven year old my mum had a struggle on her hands to get me to wear them but she fought gamely and for the most part I did.

However despite this I have ended up with my left eye being long sighted and my right short sighted. This meant having to permenantly wear glasses and with only one long sighted eye, having one eye appear bigger than the other.

About a year ago I decided to give contact lenses a try. I was struggling with sparring at kick boxing due to not being able to wear my glasses.

I started out with the lenses you wear for a month and take out to clean every night. The first solution I was given to clean them I turned out to be intensely sensitive to meaning that I could only wear the lenses for half an hour at a time. This was the all in one solution for cleaning, disinfecting and rinsing. The second solution I was prescribed was a hydrogen peroxide solution which seemed to work better. The barrel it was poured into and the lenses placed into contained a catalyser that broke the peroxide down into harmless water.

This monthly package cost me £12 per month which is for a pair of lenses, a case and a large bottle of cleaning solution. It also included after care appointments.

Despite the new solution working out I went back after six months of wearing lenses to change the type I used. Getting up at six am for work means that putting the lenses in was a big hassle in the morning and more often than not I would go to work without them. Also after work in the afternoons I sometimes fall asleep. If this happens with my glasses on I generally rouse myself enough to pull them off. However, with lenses in I have no such stimulus and just fall asleep. These lenses are not designed for this however, as they do not let enough oxygen in and I would wake up with very dry and itchy eyes. Not good!

I deci
ded to try the all day and all night lenses which are put in and kept in for a month at a time. These lenses are designed to be much more oxygen permeable so you can sleep with them in. They cost me £25 per month which basically covers the lenses and the after care. However, while it is a godsend to only have to do this once a month and wake up with perfect vision it is not perfect. I have fairly sensitive eyes which means that in the morning they are often a bit on the dry side - not as badly as the one a day ones but enough to annoy me. So I pay extra for a case and an all in one cleaning, disinfecting and lubricating solution. This enables me to have drops to put in my eyes in the morning to make them wet again and also to take them out every now and again to clean and give my eyes a rest.

This is why I only gave contact lenses a four star rating. If I were to change my lenses again I would probably consider disposables over going back to the one day ones you have to clean. The inconvieniences of lenses, however, to my mind are far offset by the benefits I feel. I am more confident in myself without glasses and enjoy nights out more. If you decide to go for lenses weigh up all the pros and cons and consider what you want and what you want to pay for before you do so.
Happy Hunting

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