I recently had my first eye check-up in three years. I was nervous about it, but I decided it was time to go since I was paying for vision insurance and the year was almost up. Luckily, the closest in network eye doctor was across the street from my office. I went in last Tuesday. I got a very thorough exam. Dr. Hung checked my retina and everything. Then she asked me why I had hard contacts. I said I am not sure, but my eye doctor put me on them from the start. I said that maybe it’s because I have astigmatism. I used to think it was two words – a stigmatism. Anyway, she said that it might be because back then (over 10 years ago), soft contacts were not that breathable and that’s probably why he put me in hard contacts. I then mentioned maybe it’s because my eyes are so small? She said that many Asians use soft contacts. This is true because I went to Taiwan a year ago and I didn’t bring my solution because security made me dump it. I could NOT find my hard contact solution at any pharmacy. My friend had to take me to optical stores (many of them still didn’t carry it). There were tons of soft contact solutions though. I went in for my contact fitting yesterday. My doctor checked to see if everything looked good. Then she said I had to schedule a contact lenses training with a lady in the office. So I went ahead and scheduled it for today. I went in at lunch really nervous. Soft contacts are so different. You can barely feel them on your fingers. She said I’d be able to go after showing her that I can put them in my eyes and remove them by myself. It took me 20 minutes, but I did it! All I know is I will have to wake up earlier to put in these contacts. It’s not my fault my eyes blink all the time. I wore the contacts for the rest of the day and they were really comfortable. They are as comfortable as my hard contacts. I remember when I first got hard contacts, they felt so foreign in my eye. At one point during a state test, my contact moved and ended up cutting my eye. Ouch.
I asked the lady what type if contacts I have and she said I had the Focus Night & Day monthly contacts. When I went back to work I googled it and they are the ones you can wear for thirty days straight! How cool is that? I would never do that, but it’s nice to know I can sleep in them without worrying. Do any of you soft contact wearers order your contacts online? What is the best website? I was looking at Vision Direct. They seem to be cheaper than 1-800Contacts. Or should I just order through my optical store?
I better get to bed.
I’m going to Florida tomorrow. I can’t wait to feel the warm sun on my skin.
I have Focus Night & Day contacts as well. They’re spectacularly comfortable and easy to wear (albeit expensive).
I’ve never worn mine for 30 straight days (most days I opt to wear my rimless specs; I am lazy), but my optometrist says some of her patients do, and they’re less than hygienic in their optical care and often return to her office for treatment.