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Any tips for getting contact lenses on for new users?
patience, patience, patience! It takes very long the first time, and then you get used to it. I would be able to show you. Hard to put it into words!
Helps to put it on the ‘white’ part (or sclera) of the eye, rather than on the pupil/iris itself, if you can.
Disclaimer: I disclaim any and all responsibility for anything and everything in this post.
It’s been a while since I started wearing lenses, and I’ll assume you’re referring to soft contacts, as opposed to Rigid/Gas-Permeable lenses, which are different.
Basically, wash your hands with soap and then rinse your hands, carefully, with a special emphasis on the fingertips. Then, put plenty of saline solution on your fingers. Take the lens and rinse it with a little saline. Then, put a drop or three of saline into the lens, if you can swing it (this will lubricate it as it goes on to your eyes, rather than the lens immediately sucking moisture from your eyes, though it depends how dry or moist your eyes usually are).
Now that the lens is ready (the edges should NOT flare outward, by the way; if they do, the lens is probably inside out), place it on to your index fingertip and bring it close to the eye it will be applied to. When it’s within range but before you’ve batted it away with your eyelashes, look up while lightly pulling your lower eye-lid to expose the lower “white” part of that eye. Place the lens on that white area, then release your eyelid as you slowly look down. This will move the lens on to the center of your eye, where it belongs.
Once the lens is in place, blinking is essential to keeping your eyes and lenses moist; you may, anyways, need to carry rewetting drops, which are much more expensive than saline solution, though saline works just as well.
Basically, the way I do it is like this:
Wash my hands with soap and water (of course!!!)
I place the lens on my right middle finger (for me, the middle finger is better, but I was told that most people use there index finger)
Then I put my left hand over my head, and with my finger tips, I gently pull up my eyelashes.
Then I slowly bring my right hand up to my eye. With my ring finger (when using middle finger, or middle finger when using index finger) I pull down my lower eye lid and place the lens onto my eye.
This works almost every time. You can practice doing this without the lens, but make sure your eye doesn’t touch your eye.
Let me know if it works!
Hatzlacha Rabbah!!!
I was very nearsighted; having -700 vision. About ten years ago, after almost a lifetime of squinting and glasses, I went for lasik laser surgery and now have perfect 20-20 vision.
If you are a candidate, go for it. Everyone I know who had it done is very happy with the results and it sure beats contacts. The costs can be unbelievably low.
The actual surgery takes less than a minute and I have never heard of anyone (who followed post-op directives)regretting the decision.
da, I’m getting grossed out just listening. (before you ask, I dont have any family members who wear lenses.)
kapusta, you wear glasses?! jk, its really not that bad once you gotta do it.
We once had a relative from Israel staying by us. I was talking to her right when she was getting ready for bed and she started taking it out. It was awful!!! that was the first time I had ever seen it done. Now that I’ve gone through hs, almost every class, someone would leave to take care of lens issues. Lucky me, now I’m experienced.
Sorry, not in the least bit, until you experience them yourself! Ah! The pleasure of contacts! B”H you dont need them. Continue eating your carrots, kapusta!
im an ophthalmologist
in contrast to cherrybims experience, i see LOTS and LOTS of lasik complications, some minor, some debilitating, most without a solution, and permanent!
its true most people are happy they had it done but a sizable percentage are very unhappy with it…and they can never go back. i would never do it. there are very few ophthalmologists that have had it done to themselves, some even who do it to others.
take a look here
http://www.lasikcomplications.com/
stick with the contacts
kapusta eats kapusta!!! (OK, that was coming to you) well almost anyway. 😉 Daddy kapusta was planning on making some this week but the ingredients didnt come in in time. =/ (that was an actual “long face”)
abx, thanks for getting back to us! Glad to know its working out!
kapusta, did you survive??
I’m around now, so I would think so. I’m not so sure about my emotional survival. 😉
uh oh. Not again…
‘sup?
Suggestion: when taking off lenses on shabbos, make sure your fingers are as dry as possible, because (OY VEY!) you can mess up your eye makeup, especially mascara.
Also you can try holding your eye open with your thumb (bottom) and index finger (on top) and with the lens on your index/middle finger of the other hand, simply place the lens on your eye. This morning I did it this way and put the lens on the left side (in my left eye), immediately, my eye started hurting and tearing. I took it out, washed it with solution and put it back in on the right side. Much better B”H! (I think the lens was on an eyelash)
What solution do you use? Which type do you find to work the best to clean lenses?
WARNING: when cleaning your lens, dont rub it too hard. It can tear! Even a TINY tear in a lens can give you a ton of pain.
frum, whats your problem? Use waterproof mascara! it works just fine!
da, renu.
Anybody know why sometimes my contact lens disappears in my eye? I am not sure were exactly it goes or how to get it back in its correct place.
CAUTION: When going to the mikva or swimming your lens may fall out or go into hiding (like I described above). You may want to take your lens out before going into a big body of water
Is it a kosher tevila if one is wearing contact lenses?
da, you should definitely take them out when doing such things! Or else, while swimming, wear goggles.
da, I have never heard of a contact lens “disappearing” IN one’s eye. It can sometimes get dislodged from its proper location, but in my experience, this only happens a) if you are squinting or rubbing your eyes too much, or b) if you have been wearing the lenses longer than 14 hours. When this happens, look in a mirror and you should see the lens on your eye, just not centered. Take it out, rinse with solution, and put it back in your eye. If you don’t see the lens on your eye, it probably just fell on the floor and you should put in a new one. (Also check your face. The lens could have fallen onto your cheek.)
Also, very important, NEVER sleep with your lenses. You can really damage your eyes that way. You can rest with them, for a couple of hours. You might wake up with your eyes feeling dry, though.
Your eyes need oxygen.
When a person wears lenses, oxygen doesn’t get to the eye so good.
When you sleep, oxygen doesn’t get to the eye so good.
When you sleep with your lenses, you are not allowing enough oxygen to get to your eyes.
jewishfeminist02: It has happened to me a couple of times. The lens is not on my eye. It slides up somewhere. Where? I don’t know…
here is a diagram
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7049139-0-large.jpg
this is a side view of an eye with the person looking towards our left
2 is the cornea, where the CL sits
7 is the eyelid
you can see where the CL can go so that it is difficult to find
but it cant go “behind” the eye
My lens (in my left eye) goes into the upper right corner.
sometimes when I rub my eyes when my lenses are in, they go up and I have to smush my eye in order to get them back. The first time it was scary, but then I got used to it. I always nap on Shabbos with my contact in. It’s not a big deal. They are just a little bit dry when I wake up but it goes away after a while. I used to take them out every time I took a shower but then I got used to wearing them in the shower. Swimming I also do with my lenses in because I am a lifeguard and I kinda need to see what I’m doing.
BS”D
Please be aware that contact lenses are not tznius for women unless they are at least 80 den and fully opaque with a seam going down the center.
-Psak given to me via telephone for the benefit of the CR by Bishas Cherpasoi Moron Baal ha Avnei Skila ve ha Soyif leHereg, Rabbi Dovid Schmoigerman.
thank you kilobear for the timely reminder.
da, if your eyes are closed anyways when you sleep, how does your equation work? how does oxygen get to your eyes to begin with?
Maybe it’s a bad fit. Check with your doctor to make sure that you have the right type of lenses for your eyes.
I disagree with Jewishfeminist. Lenses sometimes DO disappear. i have had it a couple of times and i would have to rub my eyes hard to get it out. I am also scared to sleep with them after my friends therapist had to have surgery on her eye after sleeping with it and now she is only allowed to wear glasses. ( i have no clue as to what happened to the lens when she was asleep)
Oxygen gets to your eyes via blood.
It is extremely unlikely, if not impossible, for soft lenses to get “lost in your eye”. This is one of those “scare your friends” stories that everyone hears but have no basis. The conjunctiva covers the entire white portion of your eye and the inner part of your eyelids. A soft contact lens could not penetrate it. Lenses could get lodged deep in an upper lid, but not behind the eyeball.
“Oxygen gets to your eyes via blood.”
almost correct, the cornea is avascular(no blood vessels) and gets none of its oxygen from the blood, it gets all its oxygen from the oxygen dissolved in the tears, from the air. the cornea is the area of concern with contact lenses. the rest of the eye gets its ox from the blood
“It is extremely unlikely, if not impossible, for soft lenses to get “lost in your eye”. This is one of those “scare your friends” stories that everyone hears but have no basis.”
squeak: I didn’t start talking about lenses getting “lost in your eye” to scare anyone. I did it to find out if anyone knows about it and how to stop it. This is not a made-up story. It happens to me many times. Here is what I said the first time I mentioned this “Anybody know why sometimes my contact lens disappears in my eye?”. “Anybody know…” is not a method of scaring, but of asking advice.
da – I didn’t mean that you were trying to scare anyone, sorry. Rather, I meant that you or anyone else who has been warned of lenses rolling behind the eye should not be scared by it.
And I did answer your question in my post – lenses can get lodged deep in an upper lid. As to why, I don’t know, but I would say that if your lenses get dislodged frequently you should probably have them refitted.
smartcookie, this is the thread you’re looking for. Please post your questions here.
I know it’s mutar for glasses. I don’t know why it should be different for contacts, certainly hard ones. I suppose there could be a problem with soft ones, maybe schita? I guess I don’t really know for sure. This might be interesting.
There are lense solutions out there that do not require you to rub the lense.
But you always have to scrub a potatoe mepal
I would hope your eyes aren’t as dirty as the earth 😉
Either way, try scrubbing your contacts and see what happens to them.
No Melaben on plastic.
Orchos Shabbos discusses it at length. The issue is that some consider the soft plastic of a lens to be equivalent to soft leather, however much can be said to differentiate.
Yes the lenses do ‘disappear’ but they NEVER could go inside or behind the eye they are either stuck on the upper eyelid or scrunched into a corner of the eyelid, usually with LIGHT rubbing it will surface…but if its neatly in the top eyelid it may take longer to come out you may have to turn over eyelid a little to find it…usually some light rubbing works…if you are to harsh on your eyes they could get irritatd causing you not to be able to wear for a few hours and also the lens could tear.
but all in all its a good investment…you dont have to keep moving your head too see!
feivel: can you maybe recommend, a good OTC good eye drop for those that get really dry eyes while wearing contact lenses?!
Jax, Renu has rewetting drops that work well. Also, there are certain lenses that specifically work well for those with dry eyes. Ask your optometrist.
to all the contact lenses users, and no users, i feel like a new person, since i got my contact, i became younger since i got one contact to read only in one eye, everybody is amazed at how i can read perfectly at my age, l do recommend it for reading, it is great,
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