the eyes (don't) have it

[anotheranon]

After seeing that my eyesight was still bad on vacation and little computer use, I finally decided to go back to the eye doctor and my appointment was today. They did the whole deal - pressure, dilation, fitting, measuring, etc.

Turns out I've been doing my vision several disservices: wearing daily lenses instead of disposables was an economic move I made in an effort to not have to buy new lenses every year; turns out that in order to have clean "breathable" lenses I'm going to have to replace them every year anyway, and disposables are actually cheaper and wetter (part of my blurry vision has been dry eyes). Also, I wear my contacts every day, all day, and the doctor gave me a stern talking-to about wearing my glasses more often :P

My prescriptions for both have changed; they had disposables at my new prescription for me in stock (the difference between old and new is remarkable) and I'm having my old glasses fitted with new lenses at their lab, complete with UV/Anti-glare filter so hopefully I will wear them more often. D. has promised to tell me what a cute geek girl I make so I won't feel bad about spending more time as a "four-eyes" ;)

So, all better, but I wish I'd done this sooner. I always preach that one shouldn't take chances with their vision, and here I was skimping on new, clean lenses in the hopes of saving a buck, when disposables are not only healthier but turn out to be cheaper :P

Comments

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

Bad optometrist!!!! Should have scared you silly at that time. Soft contacts aren't oxygen permeable and eyes NEED oxygen (interestingly, the old hard lenses were oxygen permeable, but we're traded breathability for flexibility and better fit). I was told that there should be at least a half hour between waking and inserting lenses and about an hour between removal and going to sleep (I'm under orders to try not to exceed 14 hours of wear, so that's not too difficult to follow ... if I stick to that, then it's okay to wear 'em longer once in a while). These lens-free times not only let the eyes get some oxygen exposure, they also give you a chance to clear the protein accumulations on your eyes that are caused by lens wearing.

A tip that makes for really happy eyes ... try to give them a lens-free day once in a while (I do it on the occasional Sunday when I have no intention of setting foot outside my front door, so don't care whether I can see or not) ... you'll be amazed at how rejuvenated those li'l orbs feel after a day of freedom. :-)

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

D. is encouraging me to leave the lenses off all together on weekends, unless we're going out somewhere. I am considering it. Ultimately it will depend on how strong and comfortable my newly-refurbished glasses turn out to be - I'm wearing my old prescription right now and I have to shove them right up next to my eyes for my vision to be sharp enough!

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

D. is a very wise man. :-) You'll find that those weekend "vacations" help make your eyes less prone to tiredness and dryness when wearing the lenses during the week, even after staring at the blinkin' monitor all day. I, too, loathe wearing glasses and having "a frame around my world" (very apt ... my frames are fairly large and I still find it distracting to be able to see the edges in my peripheral vision. But I'd rather put up with that for a couple of hours a day than not be able to see the edges at all. =o