Contact Lenses

[discoflamingo]

I had my every-other-year optometrist visit yesterday (yay new prescriptions!), which included a fitting for contact lenses. I have never worn them before, and sometimes I feel like they would be more convenient than glasses. This may have been a lie I told myself

Comments

[hilabeans]

Okay, here's how I usually put them in. I forget whether you're right- or left-handed, but if left, you should reverse hands, obviously.

Put the lens on your right index finger, with the center of the convex side resting on the tip of your finger. Position your right middle or ring finger (whichever is most comfortable) just below your eye and pull down. Position your left index finger on your eyelid just above the lashes and pull up. At this point, you should be able to move your right index finger plus lens directly toward your eye pretty easily until you get the contact into your eye. Just try not to blink as you're moving the contact in.

It might be that you're having trouble getting over the initial flinch reaction of seeing your finger come toward your eye, and catching the contact on your lid/lashes as you blink reflexively? I'm not sure. It's been almost 15 years since I learned to put contacts in, and even after a 3 year break from wearing them I hadn't lost the skill of putting them in.

[morecake]

Also, possibly because opticians are epic sadists or possibly because they do it for lols, often the *first* time you go to the optician to talk about contacts you'll get told a completely impossible way of putting them in. This frequently leads to the mentioned 1.5 hours of frustration, plus some charmingly red and streaming eyes. Go back, explain the problems you're having, be calm, and ask to be told the magical way that actually works

[drowdancer]

Can you touch the surface of your eye without violent flinching? This may be the easiest way to practice. Use the corner of your eye, while looking away. Generally I try to avoid directly touching the iris or pupil directly. This may or may not be medically sound, but I find it feels weird and leads to freaking out

[bitwise]

Putting things in your eye is just wrong. Wear glasses like all the other nerds.

[othercourt]

Looks like the other posters have most things covered well. Just wanted to drop in to add encouragement - it takes a while to get the hang of it. It's hell at first. Keep at it. Until you're wearing them every day for weeks on end, you won't approach the ease of experience that the rest of us are at.