Author Topic: For how long do you use contact lenses?  (Read 15154 times)

sheepstache

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For how long do you use contact lenses?
« on: January 24, 2014, 08:19:14 PM »
The eye doctor insisted I should get disposables.  So I got a half year's supply of monthlies.  But now my concern is I may not use them up before the expiration date.  Sometimes they rip at the edges and I toss them, but otherwise they feel perfectly comfortable, just like the "permanents" I used to wear for years back before they even made my prescription in disposables.  So, what's the risk of using them long term?  Has anyone looked into it?

MilStachian

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2014, 09:02:37 PM »
I use disposables that are "good" for two weeks.  I typically throw them away after about 18 days or so.  I notice they tend to tear more easily after their stated usage time, and that they seem cloudy after three weeks.  Contact lenses are typically not something I would goof around with.

randymarsh

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2014, 09:04:21 PM »
I don't think the expiration date is that important as long as the lens is still in the sealed container. I suspect it's more of a FDA/legal precaution than a pure safety one. I'd use a lens that was a few months expired without hesitation.

My doctor has mentioned that you can safety wear disposables for longer than indicated too. I have bi weeklies, but he said a month is unlikely to cause harm. I don't think a lens spending a few more months in its container can be any worse than that.

ace1224

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2014, 09:38:55 PM »
I use my dailies now even though they are a year expired. My eye dr told me its jot a real expiration daye, they just have to put something on there. They are sealed and fine.  I mainly wear glasses and have a different prescription in each eye so even using just one months worth takes forever. I bought a sixth month supply a year ago and still have and use them just fine.
Mine are supposed to be used for one day only but I've used them for up to three days with no problem

Ohio Teacher

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2014, 09:54:39 PM »
I got Lasik about 4 years ago.  Highly recommended.  Anyways...  Before that, I used the 2-week disposables for 1-1.5 months so a 6 month supply would last me well over a year until my next checkup.

sheepstache

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2014, 09:37:18 PM »
Good to know about the expiration date. 

Somebody told me disposables are "so much healthier for your eyes" because there's less bacteria?  I suppose there must be some bacteria on them and that your immune system might be fighting a slowly losing battle each day to keep it under control.  But bacteria reproduce so fast, wouldn't they take over anyway at night?  That solution you're putting them in is just sterile, not sterilizing.

On the subject of solution, are people using the store brand or the name brand?  And am I the only one who refills the travel-size container for flights?  I find a table knife pops the lid off just fine.

The one other thing I can think of with the lenses is calcium bumps.  I used to be told to use those fizzy tablets once a month when I was a kid but now I don't even see them in the drug store.  So were lenses and/or solution improved to correct that problem?  Or is everybody wearing disposables and so ostensibly not wearing a pair long enough for build up to be a problem?

BlueMR2

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2014, 08:00:23 AM »
The one other thing I can think of with the lenses is calcium bumps.  I used to be told to use those fizzy tablets once a month when I was a kid but now I don't even see them in the drug store.  So were lenses and/or solution improved to correct that problem?  Or is everybody wearing disposables and so ostensibly not wearing a pair long enough for build up to be a problem?

The tablets are still available, but getting harder to find.  6 months ago I could find them locally, but not anymore.  Had to order online last time.

Not everyone wears disposables.  They don't have disposables available for my prescription.  Although, it seems like the new ones are getting closer to disposable status...  I used to get 3-4 years out of my contact lenses (and they cost $300), but they discontinued that design.  The new model is definitely of lesser quality.  They're only good for 6 months to a year (and they suffer from more rotation problems than the old ones did).  Only $200 for these, BUT I get so much less life out of them that it's more expensive now.  Sigh.

I wish LASIK was an option for me, but given the current state of the technology it is not.

Khan

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2014, 08:41:36 AM »
I used to use Acuvue Advance, and now I use Oasis. I do not wear contacts daily, it's more of a weekend thing. That said, I've kept the same set on rotation for upwards of 6 months at a time. I use multipurpose solution, and I throw them out when they're uncomfortable, or when I forget to water them/not tighten the cap on the carrying case.

tracipam

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2014, 11:10:53 AM »
Mine used to be once a month, and suddenly somehow they've switch to being only 'safe' for 2 weeks.  That was news to me when my latest eye doctor said so.  I personally think that's the company trying to make extra money.  I tend to wear them until I remember to change them, which is a minimum of one month and often longer.    I often try to give my eyes a break by leaving out my contacts about once every week or two.  I don't notice any problem, and my eyes seem to be getting enough oxygen (checked by the eye dr.) and helped by the increasingly oxygen permeable lenses available nowadays.  There is a tissue reaction that always forms in response to foreign material--in this case, your contact.  So give them plenty of 'off' time but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.  I don't worry about an experation date.  Unless you open the seal and the solution is cloudy or something.

CopperTex

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2014, 11:46:44 AM »
I use daily disposables but wear them 2-3 weeks - never had any problems. I've done this for at least a decade.

MrFrugalChicago

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2014, 12:37:24 PM »
This is one area I won't cheap out on.

Yes my 2 week contact can last for 6 weeks (I had to before when I couldn't get into my Dr. for an appointment before I ran out of contacts). No I am not going to risk an eye infection for $50-75 a year. Health is generally a poor place to cut money, as money without health is useless.

anotherAlias

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2014, 12:47:59 PM »
I wear Air Optix which are a monthly lens.  I like them much better than the 2week Acuvues that I used to wear.  The only time they get uncomfortable is during allergy season.

kudy

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2014, 12:52:20 PM »
I wore my first pair of (non-disposable) contact lenses for 6 years... that was a bad idea, as my eyes changed over the years, and I was too lazy to re-visit the eye doctor (I was a teenager).

I keep trying to do the math on laser surgery, but I currently have nearly all disposable lens costs covered by my vision insurance.

Fireman

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2014, 01:03:07 PM »
Much longer than I should.  I got a year's supply of bi-weekly contacts in January of 2012 and I still have a half a box of each eye left.  Additionally, i'm not very good at taking them out at night...or ever.  In the past, i've had a pair of bi weekly contacts in place for a couple months...just too lazy to take them out and put them back in the next day.  Over time, they'd get a little blurry but nothing terrible.

I finally went to the eye doctor earlier this month and got a new prescription which i'll pick up at Costco next week.  I've been trying to make better eye habits (I really like being able to see) but I still sleep in them from time to time (like last night). 


StarryC

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #14 on: January 26, 2014, 02:42:29 PM »
I have been told several different things.

One eye doctor told me that most contacts are the same or very similar material.  Therefore, the dailies, weeklys, monthlies, and annuals are pretty much the same.  I can see this as being pretty possible.  My yearlies kept their shape longer than the newer disposables, but they feel pretty much the same.

One told me the week/ month time period starts from opening the package and exposure, so even if you wear them once a week, they still only last 2 weeks.  Like a chemical reaction?  This seems unlikely, but possible.

I've also been told the change is related to how people care for contacts.  Back when the majority were on yearly contacts, there was no "no rub" solution.  You had to rub every day, both sides, 10 seconds, and use "extra" cleaner once a month or something.  Then they realized people didn't do that, got infections, etc. So they "invented" dailies etc. and "no rub."  Now, you could use this "no rub" which was pretty much the same, on your "monthlies" which were pretty much the same and you wouldn't get an infection, because you changed every month!  They found some people were wearing them over night, so they made them slightly more air soluable, and sold them as over night for weekly!

I don't know which doctor was telling the truth.  I try to rub them at least once a week, and I wear them until they bother me.  Usually that is like 5-7 weeks. During allergy season, it is 2 weeks.  I never wear them overnight. 

windawake

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #15 on: January 26, 2014, 03:03:22 PM »
I used to over wear my two-week contacts for a month or so, for nine years. Apparently this is a bad strategy. My eyes got really irritated by contacts and I had to take a long break. Over a year and a half later, my eyes are still really sensitive to contacts and I can only wear them intermittently and need to use lots of eye drops when I do.

The eye doctor highly recommended brand name contact solution since they don't vary their formula. I think switching to a store brand was what triggered my issues. I'm planning on getting LASIK in the next couple months and cannot wait.

chicagomeg

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #16 on: January 26, 2014, 03:10:38 PM »
I've been wearing contacts for 14 years now. I have always worn two week contacts for a full month. Further more, I only take them out once a month when I change them. I told my eye doctor that last time I went and he went on and on about the potential repercussions, then looked at my eyes and said none of those were occurring. I know lots of people can't do that, but don't forget the people who tell you you can only wear them two weeks are the same ones who make money off you buying twice as many.

Spork

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Re: For how long do you use contact lenses?
« Reply #17 on: January 26, 2014, 06:01:17 PM »
Usually about 3 years.  ;)

Gas permeable hard lenses.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!