• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Frustrated with Contact Lenses

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DEO3

Member
I've worn glasses for close to twenty years, but for some reason yesterday when deciding to update my prescription with an eye exam, I told them I wanted to try contact lenses. So after the exam they sat me down at a table to teach me how to put them in and take them out - fifteen minutes into this I was frustrated, stressed, sweating even, because I still hadn't been able to insert even one of the lenses.

They told me everyone has trouble at first and to stick with it, eventually they were right and thirty minutes later I had put both in, as well as having to take one out and due to it not sitting right, taken one out and placed it back in due to it not sitting right. After an hour of adjusting to the new prescription I really started to fall in love with them. Later that day when it was time to remove them it took me only 10 minutes to get both out, and I was feeling pretty good about myself.

So now today I wake up and decided before doing anything, before eating cereal, before taking a show, I was going to put in my contacts. I knew it was probably going to be stressful so I loaded up some chill music on my MP3 and got to it. FORTY MINUTES later and I still haven't been able to insert even one of the fucking things. In my frustration I started punching walls and screaming at shit around my house.

Every time I make contact with my eye they either stick to my finger as I pull it away, or just fall out and need to be rinsed off in solution. I can't even tell if they're inside out or not, they're supposed to have a noticeable lip when inside out but I've flipped them both ways and they have the exact same bowl-like shape. I've been watching these how-to videos of people putting in contacts and just watching those is stressing me out - fuckers never even blink.
 
M

Mr. B Natural

Member
I had similar issues with contacts. I also had a hell of a time keeping my eyes moist and keeping the contacts from running up and in the back my eyeball, which was very very painful. A few months of pain later, I was back to eyeglasses.

I got laser eye surgery about 5 years ago and it's fantastic. One of the best decisions in my life.
 
Weapxn

Weapxn

Mikkelsexual
I first got contacts when I was little. Maybe 5th grade? Somewhere around there. They pissed me the fuck off because I had the same problem as you. It would take me like...an hour to just get ONE in let alone both. Eventually you just get it though. I don't know how else to explain it.

Just keep using them. It'll click.
 
B

beje

Banned
It's completely normal. First time I put them by myself at home I needed 30 minutes. You'll get better with time. Also, don't look forward (your eyelids will automatically shut down when the finger approaches), but try to look at a corner of your mirror instead so you don't actually see the contact coming.

You'll get used to poke your own eye pretty quickly.
 
moniker

moniker

Member
Some tips:

Place the lense at the tip of your index finger. The lense should have as little contact with your skin as possible. Bring the lense close to your eye and pull down the lower eyelid with your middle finger. When you put it in, don't try to push it onto the eye. Just bring the lense really close to your eye and it will "jump" over from your finger to your eye. In the beginning you will probably blink and mess it up, but it will get much easier as you practice.

When taking them out, look up slightly, again, use your middle finger to pull down your lower eye lid, then press your index finger lightly against your eye and drag down. This moves the lense off of the cornea and makes it much easier to get out. Without letting go with the index finger, gently pinch your index finger and thumb, and hopefully you should get a hold of the lense.

Once your used to it, it's the easiest thing in the world.

Some lenses are really hard to see if they're inside out or not, but it should be possible to see a difference. If nothing else, you will feel it when you put them in the wrong way :)
 
C

Confused101

Member
I remember trying contacts and the eye doctor put them in for me. So when it was time to get them out it took me FOREVER. I said screw it and got some nice low profile glasses and I don't think I'll ever shelf them.

My mother and brothers have no problems with them at all, but I have some psychological block when it comes to touching my eyeballs or having stuff on or around them.
 
turnbuckle

turnbuckle

Member
Getting Lasik was the best money I've ever spent. Had it done about 3 years ago, and the morning after the surgery I literally cried from happiness/surprise when I could very clearly read my alarm clock from across the bedroom. There was some haziness mainly from light/monitors for a few weeks, but beyond that everything's been perfect.

I wore contacts for about 10 years and absolutely hated it.
 
N

navanman

Crown Prince of Custom Firmware
Everyone has the same problems when starting out wearing them.
I've worn lenses for nearly 10 years and had the exact same problem, now I can do with my eyes closed but obviously my eyes are open as I'm putting the lenses in them ;)

Good suggestions as above are to place them at the tip of your finger and make sure they are the right side round.
 
H

hermit7

Member
I have worn them for a few years now, and can out them in in like 15 seconds flat. It is definitely an adjustment, but over time it gets a lot easier.
 
N

NaughtyCalibur

Member
Ahaha, dude you'll get used to 'em. I switched to contacts about 3 years ago, and the first week was fucked. I couldn't get them to stick, and trying to get them in was a 30-45 minute ordeal that would irritate my eyes so much that I'd be tearing up and my nose would start running really bad, essentially making it look like I was mourning the death of my entire family.

But it only got easier over time. Now I can typically pop 'em both in within no more than 5 minutes, and sometimes as quick as 45 seconds. I usually keep mine in until they begin to bother me, however, as taking them out every night before bed and then popping them back in in the morning just feels like too much of a chore to be bothered with. I know your eye doctors will tell you otherwise, but I've yet to have any issues, plus it makes your order last longer.
 
S

samus i am

Member
I had a very similar experience the first time I got contacts.

Just keep at it and they will eventually get so easy it will be automatic.
 
O

operon

Member
I tried them to wear for my wedding day. Could get them ok but could never get the hang of taking them out, always had to get the wife to do it. On the day of the wedding she was wearling false nails so we had to get my sister to take our lenses out. Never really bothered with them after that, but I did enjoy the freedom from glasses.
 
S

Sir Garbageman

Member
It took me probably 15 - 20 minutes the first time I ever put in contacts, now I can do it in 20 seconds. Just takes time to get accustomed to both putting them in and wearing them, don't give up just yet.

Like some have suggested, make sure it's at the tip of your finger, your hands are clean and that its the right side around (a bowl, not a saucer as my doc told me originally).
 
P

painey

Member
I couldn't get them in or out at first, but now I can take them out without even looking in a mirror.. I still hate them though. Sometimes I get bad vision with them, sometimes perfect, sometimes dry eyes.. sometimes they are painful and even at close range vision is often messy...they are just too inconsistent. I have to wear them for football (im gunna put some in, in an hours time) because after getting hit in the face a few times glasses were not an option (since i've been hit in the face a few times that would have destroyed my glasses/face .. even got drop KO'd from a close range shot :lol ) I'll never go full time with lenses.
 
K

kaskade

Member
The beginning is a challenge. After a while you should get used to it. That usually happens when you get used to touching your eyeballs.
 
J

Jamesfrom818

Banned
Took me about 5-10 minutes before I could get over the fact that I WAS TOUCHING MY EYES. I mainly wear glasses now but I keep contacts for whenever I exercise. I have been thinking about sporting goggles like James Worthy.
 
R

R2D4

Banned
Make sure to keep them moist. They dry out fast sitting on your finger. Just like anything else the more lube the better.
 
T

Triple U

Banned
Jamesfrom818 said:
Took me about 5-10 minutes before I could get over the fact that I WAS TOUCHING MY EYES. I mainly wear glasses now but I keep contacts for whenever I exercise. I have been thinking about sporting goggles like James Worthy.
Click to expand...
Go for it
:lol
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
You'll get used to it. I can touch my eye and move my finger around on it right now. They're worth it, but the first few times are a pain.
 
A

Alcoori

Member
The worst thing is when they kinda "fold" and then get lodged at the periphery of your eyeball. It fucking hurts, tears roll down your face and it's really hard to see where they are/touch them to get them out.

My tip would be to not have your index wet before you take the contact from its case. Otherwise it'll stick to the finger and not your eye.
Wash your hands, dry them off with a clean towel and then just pick the lense up.
As for taking them out, middle finger to keep the lower lid out of the way, look upwards and open your eyes wide. Then "pinch" the surface of your eye with your thumbs and index and here goes the contacts.
 
skyfinch

skyfinch

Member
Never used contact lenses before but they sound like a major pain in the ass.

I had laser eye surgery about 3 months ago. 20/15 vision now. I can see better than when I had my glasses. No more "oh shit, where'd I leave my glasses?"

If you can afford it, it's the best money you'll ever spend.
 
A

Auron_Kale

Member
Just started wearing contacts last year and like everyone else has said, it's rough the first couple of times, but keep at it and you'll get it done without any problems.

Strangely, as much as I would love to have lasik done, I don't really mind my glasses or my contacts at all. But maybe I'll have it done - it's still really expensive though.
 
V

VeryGooster

Banned
I started wearing contact lenses in high school, about nine or ten years ago. I found it a horrible process at first, but eventually in due time putting them in becomes second nature. The trick for me is to put the lens at the very tip of the index finger.

I still get annoyed when I pour the solution, pick up the lens, and the lens molds itself into my finger.

I still wear my eyeglasses as kind of a style choice (especially since I bought a new pair after my last pair broke), but when spring rolls around, or especially when it's really freaking hot outside, in go the lenses.
 
Sanic

Sanic

Member
It took me, literally, months to be able to get my contacts in under 15-20 minutes time, and much much longer than that for the first several weeks. It is extremely frusterating, but you'll get it.
 
T

Tenks

Member
I had to wear gas permeable hard contact lenses when I was a kid. Think I got them 7th or 8th grade. It literally felt like I was shoving a shard of glass into my eye. If you have never worn hard contacts consider yourself lucky. It's hell. It took me like 30 minutes to get them in, 30 minutes to get them back out. After maybe 3-4 weeks I finally was quick about it and the pain subsided. It never really got great. Just last year I switched to Acuvue Oasis contacts and they're much better.
 
L

Lionheart1827

Member
Everybody has the same issue when they are first starting out, including myself. I had such a terrible time trying to put them in, taking them out weren't that bad. As for the curvature, if its inside out, it should have a defined lip on the edges, if its correct, it should be almost a perfect bowl shape. I use acuvue oasis lenses and they are great, almost like you're not even wearing contacts.

Keep at it man, you'll get it.
 
L

LogicStep

Member
DEO3 said:
I've worn glasses for close to twenty years, but for some reason yesterday when deciding to update my prescription with an eye exam, I told them I wanted to try contact lenses. So after the exam they sat me down at a table to teach me how to put them in and take them out - fifteen minutes into this I was frustrated, stressed, sweating even, because I still hadn't been able to insert even one of the lenses.

They told me everyone has trouble at first and to stick with it, eventually they were right and thirty minutes later I had put both in, as well as having to take one out and due to it not sitting right, taken one out and placed it back in due to it not sitting right. After an hour of adjusting to the new prescription I really started to fall in love with them. Later that day when it was time to remove them it took me only 10 minutes to get both out, and I was feeling pretty good about myself.

So now today I wake up and decided before doing anything, before eating cereal, before taking a show, I was going to put in my contacts. I knew it was probably going to be stressful so I loaded up some chill music on my MP3 and got to it. FORTY MINUTES later and I still haven't been able to insert even one of the fucking things. In my frustration I started punching walls and screaming at shit around my house.

Every time I make contact with my eye they either stick to my finger as I pull it away, or just fall out and need to be rinsed off in solution. I can't even tell if they're inside out or not, they're supposed to have a noticeable lip when inside out but I've flipped them both ways and they have the exact same bowl-like shape. I've been watching these how-to videos of people putting in contacts and just watching those is stressing me out - fuckers never even blink.
Click to expand...
Dude everyone has trouble at first, some more than others. Stick with it and you'll get the hang of it eventually. It took me a while at first too but now I put them both on in a matter of seconds.
 
D

Desiato

Member
It was hell for me too at first, but now it's almost as easy as putting on glasses. I think the trick to not look at the contacts when you put them in. Have a mirror in front of you, and when you're putting a contact in, just stare at your own pupil and don't blink.
 
B

Borgnine

MBA in pussy licensing and rights management
Anybody else's eyes start to water when reading the OP?

I wore contacts for about 10 years but then got conjunctivitis and for some reason I just couldn't wear contacts anymore after that. They just suddenly started to REALLY irritate my eyes, so much so that I couldn't even see, so I stopped using them. Not sure what the problem was, I wonder if I'd be able to again now (4 years later), but frankly I'm glad to be done with them. Glasses are fine, they don't irritate you, they're easy to put on, and you only have to pay for them once.

I do remember when I first got them and how hard it was to get them in. Don't try for 40 minutes, after the first 5 your eye is going to be so irritated from you jabbing it that it's going to reflexively close and it just makes it even harder. Try for 5 minutes or so and if you can't do it just wear your glasses until you recover and then try again.
 
K

kottila

Member
I got the hang of it almost immediately when I got mine at 14. put it on the tip of a finger and shove it in. No need to make it more complicated than it is.
 
G

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Like others have said, give it some time. I remember it used to take me 30 mins or so to put them on. I had to get up 15-20 mins earlier, just to put them on. Now, it's amazing if it takes longer than 1 min.
 
O

OgTheClever

Member
I had a lot of trouble putting contact lenses in at first and actually completely failed the first two times I tried at the opticians. I eventually found a way to do it, but slightly unconventionally.

Basically, my method is to look as far over to my nose as possible with the eye I'm currently trying to put it in. It's also very important to use your other hand and spare fingers to stretch your eyelids open as much as possible, this way the lens should only make contact with the eyeball and automatically pull itself in. Try to relax your eyelid muscles as well, I was twitching a lot at first which made it completely impossible. (Keeping the opposite eye open can also be helpful when stretching the lids apart)

Thankfully now I usually get them in on my first attempt and rarely take any longer than a couple of minutes anymore.

EDIT: Another tip: if you feel like it's made partial contact with the eye, but you don't want to risk fully moving your finger away or feel it's about to fall out, then look in all directions with that eye. It's usually the final push to get a lense in properly.
 
olore

olore

Member
moniker said:
Some tips:

Place the lense at the tip of your index finger. The lense should have as little contact with your skin as possible. Bring the lense close to your eye and pull down the lower eyelid with your middle finger. When you put it in, don't try to push it onto the eye. Just bring the lense really close to your eye and it will "jump" over from your finger to your eye. In the beginning you will probably blink and mess it up, but it will get much easier as you practice.

When taking them out, look up slightly, again, use your middle finger to pull down your lower eye lid, then press your index finger lightly against your eye and drag down. This moves the lense off of the cornea and makes it much easier to get out. Without letting go with the index finger, gently pinch your index finger and thumb, and hopefully you should get a hold of the lense.

Once your used to it, it's the easiest thing in the world.

Some lenses are really hard to see if they're inside out or not, but it should be possible to see a difference. If nothing else, you will feel it when you put them in the wrong way :)
Click to expand...

Something like this yes.

Used to take me ages to get them in and out but you soon get the hang of of it.

Important thing is to have the lenses as wet and moist as possible and have it touch your (as dry as possible) index finger as little as possible. This eases the "jump" the lens have to make from your finger onto your eye/cornea.
 
W

weekend_warrior

Banned
You can tell if a contact is inside out by placing in the large fold created on your palm when moving your thumb towards your pinky. It should crease in the middle and bowl up, never stick to your palm.

To put them in, put it on the very tip of your pointer finger, make sure the middle finger on the same hand is very dry and use that finger to pull down the bottom lip of your eye and your other pointer to bring up the top lip.

To take them out- make sure your nails are VERY SHORT, and use the pad on the fingers to pinch them out. Start with a little pressure and gradually increase until it comes out. You're not trying to pinch your eye, just pinch the contact so it breaks the suction with the eye.
 
M

maharg

idspispopd
Mr. B Natural said:
I had similar issues with contacts. I also had a hell of a time keeping my eyes moist and keeping the contacts from running up and in the back my eyeball, which was very very painful. A few months of pain later, I was back to eyeglasses.
Click to expand...

You must have weirdly shaped eyes or something. Once mine are in they just stick right to the bump around the cornea.

To the OP: It took me a long time to get used to putting mine in, but it got a hell of a lot easier once I started literally holding my eyelids open. One hand with index and middle finger holding the lids open, the other index finger putting the contact in. Helps to make sure the contact is bowl shaped and sitting dead center on your index finger and that you put it on right over the cornea.

[edit] And like the post right above me said, make sure your finger is dry before putting the contact on it. If your finger is wet from a previous attempt, it'll tend to fold back onto the finger and then it won't want to go on your eye.

I often have trouble telling if they're inverted or not, so I mostly just make sure they don't get inverted in the first place. It's *always* obvious once they're in if they are, though. Just a matter of taking them out and flipping them if that happens.

I apparently take mine out a strange way because I could never get the hang of the whole pinching with one hand thing. I put one index finger on the bottom of the lens, and the other on the top, and push the top down towards the bottom. I find this a lot easier than the 'standard' way.
 
K

Kano on the Phone

Member
DEO3 said:
I've worn glasses for close to twenty years, but for some reason yesterday when deciding to update my prescription with an eye exam, I told them I wanted to try contact lenses. So after the exam they sat me down at a table to teach me how to put them in and take them out - fifteen minutes into this I was frustrated, stressed, sweating even, because I still hadn't been able to insert even one of the lenses.

They told me everyone has trouble at first and to stick with it, eventually they were right and thirty minutes later I had put both in, as well as having to take one out and due to it not sitting right, taken one out and placed it back in due to it not sitting right. After an hour of adjusting to the new prescription I really started to fall in love with them. Later that day when it was time to remove them it took me only 10 minutes to get both out, and I was feeling pretty good about myself.

So now today I wake up and decided before doing anything, before eating cereal, before taking a show, I was going to put in my contacts. I knew it was probably going to be stressful so I loaded up some chill music on my MP3 and got to it. FORTY MINUTES later and I still haven't been able to insert even one of the fucking things. In my frustration I started punching walls and screaming at shit around my house.

Every time I make contact with my eye they either stick to my finger as I pull it away, or just fall out and need to be rinsed off in solution. I can't even tell if they're inside out or not, they're supposed to have a noticeable lip when inside out but I've flipped them both ways and they have the exact same bowl-like shape. I've been watching these how-to videos of people putting in contacts and just watching those is stressing me out - fuckers never even blink.
Click to expand...
The contacts aren't your problem.

Just like anything else, it gets easier the more you do it, settle the fuck down.
 
S

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
DEO3 said:
I've worn glasses for close to twenty years, but for some reason yesterday when deciding to update my prescription with an eye exam, I told them I wanted to try contact lenses. So after the exam they sat me down at a table to teach me how to put them in and take them out - fifteen minutes into this I was frustrated, stressed, sweating even, because I still hadn't been able to insert even one of the lenses.

They told me everyone has trouble at first and to stick with it, eventually they were right and thirty minutes later I had put both in, as well as having to take one out and due to it not sitting right, taken one out and placed it back in due to it not sitting right. After an hour of adjusting to the new prescription I really started to fall in love with them. Later that day when it was time to remove them it took me only 10 minutes to get both out, and I was feeling pretty good about myself.

So now today I wake up and decided before doing anything, before eating cereal, before taking a show, I was going to put in my contacts. I knew it was probably going to be stressful so I loaded up some chill music on my MP3 and got to it. FORTY MINUTES later and I still haven't been able to insert even one of the fucking things. In my frustration I started punching walls and screaming at shit around my house.

Every time I make contact with my eye they either stick to my finger as I pull it away, or just fall out and need to be rinsed off in solution. I can't even tell if they're inside out or not, they're supposed to have a noticeable lip when inside out but I've flipped them both ways and they have the exact same bowl-like shape. I've been watching these how-to videos of people putting in contacts and just watching those is stressing me out - fuckers never even blink.
Click to expand...
This tells me that you're nervous about touching your own eye. You'll get over that eventually.
 
K

Kyuuketsu_Night

Member
I remember being shown how to put them in and I was there for a good 15 minutes and I felt like such a loser. D: They just wouldn't go in.

Now it takes 10 seconds to put a contact in and about 5 to take one out :lol

To put them in I put the contact on my index finger, pull down lid with middle finger, use my middle finger on the other hand to hold lid up... aaand I look straight ahead and just touch the eyeball and it sticks every time. Used to flinch a lot but not really anymore.

To take them out I use a finger on one hand to pull the lid down then w/ my dominant hand I quickly shift the contact down from off the pupil and then use index finger and thumb to pinch it out. Takes a few seconds that way and is painless since the cantact gets slid off the pupil/iris part :D

check this video out... she's a pro -

She puts on lots of different contacts so quickly
 
O

OptimoPeach

Banned
I had the same issues when I first started wearing them -- but then again, I was also like 11 years old.

To this day I still can't tell when a contact lens is inverted without popping it in to check
 
D

DEO3

Member
How do you avoid getting the finger you're putting them in with wet? Like I use that finger to take the lens out of the case, and by doing so it gets just as wet as the lens, which then makes it very difficult to latch onto my eye since it doesn't want to break from my wet finger. Also I seem to be going through a lot of solution, after every couple of attempts I drop the lens back in the case to clean/wet it, but the solution gets dirt in it pretty quickly and I find myself constantly having to change it out every 5-10 minutes of attempts.
 
A

Antagon

Member
How can everyone have so much trouble with it? I god (hard) contact lenses a couple of months back and got the first one in on the first try. Took a couple more attempts when I got back home but never took more then a couple of minutes. Getting them out took a bit longer at first, but goes in seconds now as well.

Getting dust under these lenses is hell though.
 
Machine

Machine

Member
I've been wearing contacts for something like 30 years now. I vaguely remember it being difficult for the first week or so but it's a breeze now. I can pop them in and out in seconds without even thinking about it. Whenever I want to freak somebody out, I can just stare at them and slowly touch my finger to my eyeball.
 
A

Antagon

Member
Just took my lenses out again because I'm getting a bit tired. For some reason my left lens is harder to take out then my right; My left probably took me 10 seconds, my right took a second max. :lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Am I doing something illegal?
34
2K
Billbofet replied
Prescription lenses for your VR headset I can recommend wholeheartedly
32
3K
Tchu-Espresso replied
When "Friends" Disappear During Grief, Death or Hard Times
19
2K
Dr.D00p replied
What are your little OCD oddities?
2
72
3K
ForAcademicPurposes replied
What's the weirdest thing a friend has done to you?
2
68
4K
Alex Anderson replied
Top Bottom