Buying contact lenses via the net!

[eastyy]

Wow, I'm surprised!

I always thought if you wore lenses too much your blood vessels would grow into your eyes and all kinds of weird ****, so it was important for your optician to check you weren't abusing the lenses or something.

Guess I bought into the hype

you can still go to the opticans to get the eyes checked out....but dont have to get the lenses from them

[xist]

Geo...no you're fine by doing what you describe...you're probably wearing Night and Day or Purevision lenses and 10 hours a day is probably a less than average daily wear time. Falling asleep in the extended wear Silicone Hydrogel lenses is fine now and again, since that's what they're intended for. I would just discourage wearing them continuously day in, day out, as they're a little more rigid that other materials and stuff tends to collect behind them, plus there's the build up of protein deposits on the front surface which can either degrade your vision slightly, make the lenses less comfortable, or give bacteria something to grow on.

[Hohum]

This thread reminds me why I stick with glasses. Besides, they make me look more sophisticated!

[Dazzyman]

I wouldnt be without my contacts since getting em last summer. You can get weekly ones bi weekly ones and monthly ones from specsavers (as thats where I go) that you where day and night so its probably one of them. Im on daily disposables as they thought it was least risk with me gipping and being badly all time.

You can order on net if you want from plenty of places in UK but Id want the checkups. I had to have my eye washed out and not use em for about a week at xmas as I had something stuck in right eye what had to come out naturally. Apart from that doesnt feel like I have anything in.

[Richard.John]

Contact lenses are one of the greatest advances in 'cosmetic' medicine ever I feel. I know many who wouldn't even even try them due to the fear of putting things in the eye, but once overcome I think most realise the benefits straight away. For me, I tend to use them sparingly as increased use = increased risk of eye complications, that's obvious. Luckily in my 17 years, I have only had cases of soreness, nothing seemingly more severe, due to over wear, as in 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. That's too much no doubt as the eyes need a break, I would suggest.



xist knows what he is talking about, being a pro. The fountain of knowledge. Am I right in saying that the eye is the only part of the body that draws O2 from the air directly (cornea) rather than via blood? Excluding the lungs for a moment.

[xist]

Yes....your cornea is transparent so it needs to be an avascular tissue. It if had loads of blood vessels growing through it then they'd get in the way of your vision. That's why not over-wearing your lenses, and wearing the correct type is very important. If you don't get enough Oxygen through to the front surface of the cornea then it needs to find an alternative source, and so prompts new vessels growth.....which is bad. Trust me that you don't want to get new vessels growing across your cornea and interfering with your vision.

As a Hospital, rather than a High Street Optom, i get to see loads of things that are unpleasant. Your eyes only really protest when they get directly damaged or dry, so just going on without anyone monitoring ocular health is inadvisable.