Do you wear your contacts when you shower?

[LisaR]

to update...now Neti Pots can have the amoebas...why are there amoebas in our water?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/201...t-death-from-amoeba-prompts-tap-water-warning

I read that, too. I don't understand why the concern isn't the fact that there are amoebas in our water! Forget the contacts and the neti pot. What about the water we drink or the water that gets in our eyes, nose, and mouth when we shower?

 

[World Showcaser]

This is one of those scare tactics that only really ever affects one in a billion people.

I shower with mine in and don't plan to stop. I am a -9.00 and, like others here, I wouldn't be able to shower without my contacts in. Besides which, most optometrists nowadays recommend daily or bi-weekly contacts. I have the bi-weeklies. So it's not as if anything could be sitting on your contacts for any period of time.

I can't believe only 2% of people who wear contacts, take care of them properly (according to that link). I do everything I'm supposed to do to take care of them. Eyes are pretty important, I'm not going to do anything to mess them up.

This is especially surprising since "taking care of them" today means doing very little. I stick them in some multi-purpose solution right before I go to sleep.

Have either of you considered getting Lasik? I really want it, but am still a bit nervous about any risks involved and am waiting for my prescription to remain stable.

The risks are still pretty high according to my opthomalogist. There hasn't been enough time that has passed since they started doing this to measure the long term effects. I wouldn't be a candidate anyway. My eyesight is so poor that I would still have to wear corrective lenses after getting the surgery to see properly. So what would be the point?

 

[Zandy595]

Tap water is safe for drinking, but you are supposed to only use distilled or sterile water in a neti pot. Naegleria fowleri (brain-eating amoeba) enters the body through the nose to cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (a brain infection). You can't get it from drinking the water.

 

[LisaR]

Tap water is safe for drinking, but you are supposed to only use distilled or sterile water in a neti pot. Naegleria fowleri (brain-eating amoeba) enters the body through the nose to cause primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (a brain infection). You can't get it from drinking the water.

But isn't there a chance of getting water up your nose when you shower? I tip my head back while washing my hair and water is dripping down my face. I assume I have inhaled a time or two and it goes up my nose.

 

[Zandy595]

But isn't there a chance of getting water up your nose when you shower? I tip my head back while washing my hair and water is dripping down my face. I assume I have inhaled a time or two and it goes up my nose.

I guess it's possible, but probably unlikely. I think you'd have to inhale pretty hard to get the water that far up in your sinuses.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

Add me to the club!

I am currently a -9, but am in dire need of upping my prescription... probably to a -9.5 or -10, but I am trying to hold off so that my eyes will not keep acclimating to the higher prescription. I am only 22 and am nervous that I will be fully blind before long..

I also wear my contacts in the shower, though, and have never had issues. I do find that the shower steam dries my eyes out, but I just put Refresh tear drops in my eyes after I shower and my contacts are back to normal.

Have either of you considered getting Lasik? I really want it, but am still a bit nervous about any risks involved and am waiting for my prescription to remain stable.

I have discussed Lasik with my eye doctor (and I have seen a couple), and although some eye doctors will perform Lasik on people who have very high diopters like this, many will not. The risks are higher and it's very much likely that Lasik won't get you to "perfect" vision. I guess if I still have to wear glasses or contacts, it's not worth it to me! Also, a common side effect is very bad dry eyes - I already have bad dry eyes and I can't really bear the thought of it getting worse.

What I am sort of intrigued by are these intraocular lens implants - they have been approved by the FDA and are being done by a number of eye doctors, but they are much less tested than Lasik. I think they are much better for people with severe nearsightedness, though.

 

[beaucoup]

No I don't. I like to wash my face & gunk from my eyes before I put them in.

It also explains why I always think my shower is cleaner than it actually is.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I don't shower with my contacts but then again I can't even wear them anymore. Ever since I got pregnant my contacts just pop right out of my eyes, the doctor said it's because of the pregnancy and hormones so I've just been wearing my glasses.

 

[World Showcaser]

I don't shower with my contacts but then again I can't even wear them anymore. Ever since I got pregnant my contacts just pop right out of my eyes, the doctor said it's because of the pregnancy and hormones so I've just been wearing my glasses.

Your eyes likely changed shape but has your optometrist tried different fits? It shouldn't be a problem to get some that are the shapes of your eyes.

 

[PigletsPal2]

I wear my contacts 24/7 and have done for more than 20 years (fresh lenses, of course!) with no problems; I'm a -6.5 with a slight astigmatism. I had cataract surgery on my right eye last Thursday and when I woke up Friday I could see almost as clearly as with my "lensed" left eye. Dr. said the vision would sharpen up even more over the next month or so. I'm having my left eye done Jan. 26 and I can't wait! It will be the first time I haven't had to wear glasses or contacts since I was six years old (I'm 65).

I've always showered with my lenses in, but I don't get my face wet in the shower. I let the steam from the hot water open up my pores and then wash my face when I get out of the shower. Don't know if this is why, but I have very soft skin and very few wrinkles. At the risk of sounding conceited or vain, people who don't know me think I'm in my late 40s or early 50s.

Queen Colleen

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

yay! Another person that "gets" it..

I do like that when I take them out, if I hold something up really close to my eyes, it is almost like it is magnified..like, I can see a splinter in my finger WITHOUT my contacts but now WITH..but, my finger is usually 3 inches from my eye.

I use to sleep in them for weeks and change when they started feeling gritty until I had blurred vision and my eye dr told me about the scarring. That scared me enough to start taking them out at night..I just hate that I can't see the clock anymore unless I am 3" from it

I wear a -8.5 as well and should be -8.5 in one eye and -9 in the other

 

[AllisonK]

I do. I'm a -7.5 in my right eye and about a -3 in my left eye so if they're not in I can't tell the difference between shampoo and conditioner... I do keep my eyes closed while I'm washing my hair as I wear hard lenses, but I've never had a problem with them in the shower and I've worn them for almost 5 years.

 

[Dragonfly_34]

I do, and never gave it a moment's thought. My eye doctor always asks if I sleep in my contacts (which I do sometimes....bad I know) but he's never asked about the shower. It would be awfully hard to see to shave without them in and I'd be in real trouble if I was using a new blade! It's something to think about though.

 

[goofy4tink]

I wear my contacts 24/7 and have done for more than 20 years (fresh lenses, of course!) with no problems; I'm a -6.5 with a slight astigmatism. I had cataract surgery on my right eye last Thursday and when I woke up Friday I could see almost as clearly as with my "lensed" left eye. Dr. said the vision would sharpen up even more over the next month or so. I'm having my left eye done Jan. 26 and I can't wait! It will be the first time I haven't had to wear glasses or contacts since I was six years old (I'm 65).

I've always showered with my lenses in, but I don't get my face wet in the shower. I let the steam from the hot water open up my pores and then wash my face when I get out of the shower. Don't know if this is why, but I have very soft skin and very few wrinkles. At the risk of sounding conceited or vain, people who don't know me think I'm in my late 40s or early 50s.

Queen Colleen

Isn't it the most wonderful thing in the world to wake up and be able to actually see??? I'm 62 and had my right eye done in mid-Dec. I hadn't worn contacts for close to 30 years, other than the occasional stint while onstage..but even those few hours drove me nuts.
But, the lenses I have now are terrific. Two week lenses. I love putting that fresh lens in every two weeks....feels soooo good.
I'm hoping the cataract in my left eye grows quickly...the one in the right eye grew ridiculously fast!!! I need to get both eyes equal. I had the lense that corrects astigmatism put in...even though it cost a bundle!! Man, is it nice. But, I hate having to have reading glasses all over the house.

But...I have to laugh about the whole 'contacts in the shower' issue. When I had my cataract surgery done, I was told to keep my eye closed in the shower to keep any dirty water (from hair washing) out of the repaired eye for a week or so. I can't imagine that shower water is worse for contacts than it is for surgically repaired eyes as they heal. As long as you are cleaning them properly, it should be fine.