Can some explain contact lenses to me?

[Spaghettio]

I've recently become a full time glasses wearer after only needing them for reading previously. My teenage DS is also a full time glasses wearer and has been since he was 6 years old.

He REALLY wants contacts now that he's a teen and he spent most of the summer holidays just not wearing his glasses.

I have no idea how they actually work though.

People talk about daily or monthly lenses. Does that mean a new pair of lenses every day, or you wear them for 30 days (and nights?) and then throw them away?

Is there a downside to them versus wearing glasses instead?

Do you have to poke yourself in the eye? 👁 (I can't bear the thought of this, but DS seems happy with the idea!)

Do I get them from our normal optician? Or is it better to get them online? Does he need another eye check, or can I go to the opticians and ask for them?

I feel quite stupid about this, now that I've put all those questions down....

I have monthlies that I wear none stop for a month then throw away, no taking out every day to store. So I sleep in them etc. love it! Feels like I've perfect vision

Big YES for gas permeables here. I’ve worn them since the late 1980s, I always have a pair of glasses on the go, but I’m very short sighted so they’re for trips to the loo etc.

The biggest problem I’ve had (apart from getting something in my eye which happens to non contact lens wearers too) is when my contact lens fluid was discontinued and I had to move to a different one. I’m a creature of habit with stuff like that and it was traumatic 🤣.

Started wearing contacts from 15, used monthlies when I was wearing them daily but now just have a supply of dailies for as and when. My biggest issue was wearing them too long at a time, I worked late nights at uni so it was 16 hours some days, not really an issue on occasion (although not recommended and it did get uncomfortable dry eye by the end of the day), but over the years it did do something to the blood vessels in my eyes which earnt me a telling off from my optician.

Only other thing, it took trying a few different brands to find one that suited my eyeballs, you shouldn't be able to feel them in, so if he does, let the optician know and it might just be another brand suits him better. Contacts were a game changer for me, as long as he uses them responsibly, go for it!

@DatingIsDifficult I had the problem with my solution too. I'd used mine for years and it was discontinued. I tried Specsavers own brand for a while but it was very thin and I always had to put eye drops in afterwards to make my lenses comfortable. I've now changed to Boston which is much thicker and more comfortable and a bottle lasts much longer - win win!

I have monthly disposables that I take out at night and cost around £13 per month.

One thing I would say is that the optician has said the last few times I've been that I need to wear them less as they're starting to see changes to my eye to a slight black of oxygen to the eye. Although the lenses do let air through, it is still a bit restrictive. I tend to wear mine from 7am ish until I go to bed at 10.30ish, so I've been making an effort to take them out earlier and wear my glasses more at the weekend.

Personally, I like the disposables because I seem to tear mine every so often, so if I'd paid £150 for a pair, I'd be annoyed (although perhaps to non disposables are more hard wearing!).

@RaraRachael I moved to Boston soaking fluid too, I’m very happy with it.

@Oojamaflipp I was always told (years ago) that gas permeables are the best in terms of letting oxygen into your eyes. I’ve no idea if it’s still true, but maybe worth checking?

Yes, this is my understanding too. Part of the issue I had with dailies is that they're so big, they cover so much more of the surface of the eye than the RGPs do. For reference, a soft/daily contact lens is usually about 1.5cm in diameter, whereas an RGP is about 9mm.

I have used Boston solutions for years. I had to swap to a different brand during the Great Boston Shortage of 2020 but I never found anything quite as good.

Contact lenses are amazing. I’ve had them for about 30 years since I was 14/15.

Depends on your prescription/eyes, sometimes you have to play around until you find what works.

I’ve had dailies - great for hols, little thought required, thin so super comfy. I do worry about the waste generated although Boots etc have package recycling bins.

Also continuous wear - put them in and take them out 30days later. You wake up being able to see!

And monthlies - best for my eyes now I’m old. Great vision but you do have to clean, store etc.

You get separate vision and contact lense checks, my prescription is slightly different but not everyones is.

Eye health is excellent - modern lenses are super breathable and moisture retentive.

Utter game changer 😀

All fab info. Just as an aside, you can take both the lenses and the little cases they come in back to Boots opticians and they recycle them.

I started wearing them in lockdown (because of the constantly steamy glasses from wearing masks) and it's no exaggeration to say they changed my life. They are absolutely brilliant. Took me a while to get the hang of putting them in but taking them out is easy. I was so determined to wear them that I got there in the end and pretty sure I could put them in while driving now (I don't!). I wear dailies which are more expensive but didn't get on with the washable ones as they are thicker. And as for age- i know a consultant ophthalmologist (?) who prescribed them for a 9 month old baby with an eye condition and the baby wears them, goodness knows how! My advice is to go for it!

I wore contact lenses daily since aged 11.
They've changed a lot now, but I wore them so much the blood vessels in my eyes became enlarged due to lack of oxygen!
By the time I was forty I couldn't tolerate them any more.

The blood vessel growth can be reversed.

Contat leses are ideally worn for a maximum of 12 hours a day...

He will need glasses as a back up ideally wear them first thing in a morning ideally also have a day or morning off. If he/you sign up to the contract lense.plan at Boots he will get 50% of his glasses. He can have a free teach and trial.

I haven't rtft but I started wearing lenses at the age of 14 and I'm still wearing them now in my 40s. Life changing. Mine are fortnightly so wear them in the day only for 14 days then throw away. I'm with boots.

I wear my monthly ones for the whole month, sleep in them too, then bin them at the end of the month and pop a new set in. It's like having perfect vision! Been doing this for over 10 years now, my optician is happy with my eye health.

I've been wearing rigid gas permeable since the late 70s. My optician recently suggested moving to soft lenses but when I worked out the cost - no way. I buy mine from America. They cost £34 a lens. So a pair for £70 and they last me about 2 years.
I recently lost one and couldn't find my spares so had to wear my glasses out and about. I didn't realise how conscious I was of seeing the frames out of the corner of my eyes. Lol.

If he's responsible, definitely let him have them. They really boosted my confidence.

I have used Boston solutions for years. I had to swap to a different brand during the Great Boston Shortage of 2020 but I never found anything quite as good.

My RGPs are Boston and I've always been instructed to use Boston solution. I didnt realise how good it was until I went on holiday and I needed a new bottle but the supermarket had run out so I bought another brand. We were cruising and the skin round my eyes just went bright red and swelled up so much. I had to try and put them in with just water. After visiting Norway we eventually landed in Lerwick in the Shetlands and they had a Boots. With Boston. The swelling went down straightaway and my eyes restored to comfort. So now, especially after the Boston shortage. 😱, I always have plenty of bottles stashed away, just in case!

How can you get easier to clean than GP’s , unless you get daily’s that have no cleaning?
Also less infection risk as they aren’t glued to your eyes and you don’t need to put your grubby fingers all over your eyes like soft ones.

I rub my GPs with some solution before putting them in the case then take them out in the morning and put them in. Could be simpler.

As an aside I have a recurring dream where I'm trying to put a disposable sized GP lens into my eye - very odd!

As an aside I have a recurring dream where I'm trying to put a disposable sized GP lens into my eye - very odd!

My recurring dream is almost the opposite. Putting in a broken half a RGP lens so I don't need wear my glasses!

I soak mine in Boston, plus do an overnight soak in Boots protein tablets (and Boots saline) then rub with Boston before putting them in. I’d say I use the tablets monthly???

@RaraRachael I also have a dream about putting soft lenses in, but they are bigger than my actual eyeball and I can feel them along the inside of my eyelid, all around. Ewwwww.

I clean my RGPs with Boston cleaner - not as often as I should! 😔
Then they soak overnight in Boston soaking solution.
I put them in with a drop of soaking solution on each.

Soft lenses since 1983, on dailies for last 10 yrs. Never had an infection or any problems at all. High water content protects the eyes and allows oxygen through - the technology just keeps getting better & better.

I started with gas permeable lenses when I was 14, they were tricky to get used to and had a tendency to flick out and get lost.
I’ve since had daily soft lenses, monthly lenses and now have silicon hydrogel ones (biofinity torics) which I wear for a week at a time and then remove to clean and give my eyes a rest.
Yearly contact lens checks are a
must but buying lenses online is so much cheaper. I buy lenses and solutions from Vision Direct.

My contacts are life changing. I jave poor eyesight -6.5 and used to get panicky driving in glasses as no peripheral vision when checking over shoulder etc and had a habit of putting then down as not finding them as eyesight so poor.

I know have monthly continuous wear contacts so pop in on 1st of month and forget about them until end of month, sleep one night without them in and then syatt a fraah pair on the 1st again. No solutions, no taking them out at night to clean and no waking up not being able to see.
£15.00 per month with 2 annual checks included and my sight test plus rwduced price designer glasses and upgrades included too.

I had them for about 10 years now and never any eye problems.