h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

why (at first) do they make your eyes feel all dry and tired? I feel like I continually need to put 'lubricating' drops in me poor eyes in order to stay awake!! (But i can see and it is fanstastic, like a whole new world )

have you seen A523441? You could be suffering from 'dry eyes', or it could be that you just need to get used to them. And yes, they *are* fantastic

until a couple of years later and puss starts coming out of your eyes, and they are frequently red, and you keep denying to everyone that anything's wrong 'cos the world through glasses is just so inadequate!

just messing with ya, though it is partly true

Well, that depends on if your eyes like them or not. Mine don't get dry and gritty until I've been wearing them for fourteen hours and am _still_ using the computer. Then it's time to put my glasses back on (taking the lenses out first of course).

* hides from his optician *

Regualr checks are important, which is why I am on a subsribtion thing 15 pairs of daily lenses a month and as many check ups as it takes.

Storier of blood vessles growing into lense if left in to long may not be totally true but, I did have blood vessles growing in towards the centre of my eye because I wore them to long - this was spotted and caught in time - because of frequent checks

Anyone had/considered laser surgery? A mate has and swears by it.

CH

Toccata could have had hers in the meantime (I don't know). See the conversation below A593679 Laser Eye Surgery

I'd love laser surgery, but I don't think it's capable of correcting my vision entirely, and I'm dubious about the side-effects.

Not to mention that if I did have it it would probably have to be LASIK, which not only has less clinical record to it, is also far more freaky than PRK, and since I'm pretty squeamish about medical procedures, LASIK makes me squirm.

The wife of a former colleague of mine has had laser treatment. And she's more than enthusiastic. It was somewhat expensive but she said it's worth the price and the waiting time (because they only treat one eye at a time and wait until vision has been fully restored before touching the second)

"...I did have blood vessles growing in towards the centre of my eye because I wore them to long..."

Me too C Hawke! Just last week I had a really bloodshot eye which didn't go away for 3 days so I took myself off to casualty to see if there was anything seriously wrong. The answer I got was exactly what you said. I booked a full eye test at my local optician the very next day - and was told the same thing again but with a bit more of an explanation. Apparently the extra blood vessels grow as a result of the eye not getting enough oxygen . I was on monthly disposable lenses but have now switched to daily disposable as they have a higher water content.

Take this as a warning - it could have been more serious than it was.

Hmm, another reason to be careful! I recently changed to monthlies from annuals, and I'm lucky enough that I've had no trouble with oxygen with the annuals, and since the monthlies are quite a bit more permeable, I should be fine! Isn't that fine?

Oh, wouldn't it be nice to wake up one day with perfect vision and keep it for ever?

I use dailies and they are wonderful. I have worn contact lenses for getting for 30 years and these are by far the best.

I asked my opthalmologist what he thought of LASIK etc, but he said that in my case there may not be enough of an improvement for me to see without lenses or glasses. So I won't bother until the day comes when complete correction can be guaranteed.

Infact, he said my best bet was to wait until I started to develop cataracts and he would get me seen as early as possible, cos that was my best chance of seeing unaided!

Mine are the monthly disposable kind...and I think that it is more a case of getting used to them than anything terrible.
Laser eye surgery? I would love to have it but the cost really puts me off! Plus the fact that they can't 'guarantee' that your sight will improve...and there are apparently some possible side-effects (but isn't that the case with any medication?)

Yes. The side-effects from laser surgery can be pretty nasty - halos around lights being one of the worst I can think of right now - and even nastier, they're usually totally uncorrectable, so you're stuck with them for ever.

Hence I don't particularly mind waiting...

One other suggestion to add to the list - when I had a problem with dry eyes and contact lenses it was to do with developing a sensitivity to the cleaning solutions I was using. I had to stop wearing lenses for a few months to let my eyes recover and then go to a different cleaning regime. If your problem persists, it might be worth talking to your optician about varying the cleaning system you're using.

I switched to soft lenses because of the build up of protein, which nothing short of sand blasting seemed to remove.

I love my soft lenses, they're really comfortable and very affordable too. My eyes go all that gritty way too if I've been staring at the PC screen for too long, but that happens to everyone eventually. Laser treatment really is the way to go though, shame my student finances won't stretch that far...*sigh*

Oh yeah, a word of advice - never leave them in overnight, they have a nasty habit of sticking to your eyeballs....

I did that too and for a brief momnet thought some kind of a miracle had happened and I could see!

I only ever wear my contact lenses when I'm going out, being really vain or when I'm ice skating. I can see much better when I'm wearing my glasses, actually - I'm used to being able to see in such small detail because I'm so short sighted, so being able to see normally is a little odd.

Oh, and if you do leave them in overnight - leave them for five minutes, blink a bit and put some saline in your eyes. *Don't* try and take them out straight away - you'll probably end up scrathing your cornea.

I have tried one a day lenses and just could not get on with them, so I stick to my gas permeable lenses.

My optician advises me that provided I have regular check ups, clean them daily, deproteinize monthly (to remove protein build up) then these are by a long way the best lenses to wear. This is because they are much smaller than soft lenses so leave more of the eye exposed to the air, thus allowing the eye to breath properly. This has also been confirmed to me by a family friend who is an opthalmic surgeon.

GP lenses are not for everyone but are certainly worth a try.

I have tried one a day lenses and just could not get on with them, so I stick to my gas permeable lenses.

My optician advises me that provided I have regular check ups, clean them daily, deproteinize monthly (to remove protein build up) then these are by a long way the best lenses to wear. This is because they are much smaller than soft lenses so leave more of the eye exposed to the air, thus allowing the eye to breath properly. This has also been confirmed to me by a family friend who is an opthalmic surgeon.

GP lenses are not for everyone but are certainly worth a try.