Up to 45 million Americans wear contact lenses to manage refractive errors like farsightedness and nearsightedness. Contacts allow for more freedom of movement and require a bit less maintenance than eyeglasses, but they can also irritate your eyes.
At Wide Eye Optometry in Encino, Santa Clarita, and Palmdale, California, Mary Demirjian, OD, and our expert team regularly prescribe contact lenses. Here are five simple tips to make your contact lens adjustment period easier.
Contact lenses are small, circular discs that sit on the surfaces of your eyes. Like eyeglasses, they correct refractive errors, such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, and astigmatism. When contacts were first invented, they were made of glass, but now they’re made of high-tech breathable polymers (plastic).
Contact lenses improve your eyesight and require only basic hygienic care. Still, the adjustment period can be challenging if you haven’t worn them before.
These tips can make it easier to adjust to life with contacts.
Contact lenses are comfortable and affordable, but you must change them regularly and wear them as prescribed. For example, you should always take your contacts out before bed at night, even if they’re “extended wear” contacts.
Wearing your contacts during sleep reduces the amount of oxygen your eyes receive and increases the risk of infection and irritation. Similarly, wearing contacts longer than prescribed can irritate your eyes or cause serious eye problems.
You have to use your fingers to put contacts in. Unfortunately, human hands carry an average of 3,200 different germs. Some of those germs can get on your contacts and make their way into your eyes, increasing your risk of infection.
To reduce this risk, wash your hands thoroughly with warm soap and water every time you insert or remove your contacts.
Seeing the world through contact lenses can be life-changing, but you don’t want to rush the process. Since contacts reduce the amount of oxygen your eyes receive, it’s normal to experience irritation and itching, especially when you first begin wearing them.
We recommend starting by wearing your contacts for just one to two hours daily. You can gradually increase your wear time until your eyes fully adjust. It helps to have a back-up pair of eyeglasses, so you can see regardless of whether you’re wearing contacts.
Between 50-70% of contact lens wearers report dry eyes. Although dry eyes range in severity, you want to be as comfortable as possible. If your symptoms are severe, we recommend taking your contacts out, but if they’re mild, over-the-counter eye drops can provide quick relief.
Refractive errors typically worsen over time. Scheduling routine comprehensive eye exams at Wide Eye Optometry can alert you to changes and keep your vision sharp.
If your vision changes, we can write a new prescription. Eye exams also present an opportunity to ask questions and identify the early stages of common eye diseases, including glaucoma and macular degeneration.
If you’re tired of wearing eyeglasses and are considering contact lenses, get in touch with our experts — call or click online to schedule a visit at your nearest Wide Eye Optometry office in Encino, Santa Clarita, or Palmdale, California, today.