Extended Wear Contacts - opinions?

[Liz]

My 16 yr. old son just got the extended wear contacts yesterday. These are the kind you can wear for 30 days then throw them away. He tried to wear contacts about 3 yrs. ago and had such a hard time learning to put them in and take them out he gave up on them. The doctor recommended trying this new kind. I'm just curious if others have had good experiences with them or can give any pointers/warnings of things to watch out for. I've seen the commercials where they say these have a higher risk for serious eye problems but the doctor assured me they are fine.

Thanks!

 

[palmtreegirl]

I've been wearing the Night and Day, 30 day wear for over a year and I love them! I have very sensitive eyes and have always had problems with other contacts but with these I've had none. They're also very easy to take in and out because they have more structure to them and don't fold over and flop like normal contacts do. I'll never go back to any other kind of contacts.

 

[mad4themouse]

The extended wear actually allow more oxygen to enter, thereby feeling more comfortable to a lot of wearers. I've been wearing extended-wear lenses for a couple of years now. My DH insists on it b/c I was one of those patients who abused my regular contacts horribly (sleeping in them, not removing and cleaning for days on end, etc.).

The higher risk comes from abusing the lenses (not replacing every 30 days).

 

[HeyMickey]

This is the kind of contacts I have, but I still take them out every night before I go to bed. Just because you *can* wear them for 30 days in a row doesn't mean you should. Leaving them in for that long puts you at higher risk for things like eye infections and problems with the cornea. Yes, the incidence is low, but my eyes are the last things I want to mess with and I'd rather not take the chance.

Honestly, after the first week of having contacts it takes a whole 30 seconds to pop them in and maybe a couple of minutes to take them out and clean them at night. And speaking of cleaning, I can't imagine how much protein must build up on those things after not being cleaned for 30 days. Bleah. I'm surprised you can still see out of them

 

[scottsalisbury2003]

I have been wearing extended wear contac lenses for over 25 years. Now I wear the Johnson & Johnson disposable Accuvue. I sleep, shower, swim with them and have 20/20 vision. I make sure to have extras in the glove compartment of the car, my desk, briefcases, all over the place in case one falls out. No eye problems and I wear them at least 3 weeks at a time. But they are so cheap (about $2.50 per lens) that you can just take them out on a whim and change them.

Scott

 

[Lanshark]

My 17 year old and 13 year old wear them. Be patient. It took them a couple of days to get used to them. They remove them once a week and clean them. Sometimes they leave them out for a few days and go back to glasses but most the the time DD puts them right back in. Sams has the best price. We've not had any problems. They are more expensive if you lose one but that has only happened once.

 

[speedi-deedi]

I've been wearing my extended wear (2 weeks at a time) for over 10 years now, and haven't ever had an eye infection or anything. I was also not very disciplined about doing the weekly cleaning of the daily ones, so these were a great answer for me. I'm also have VERY bad vision, and it was a miracle the first night I woke up and could actually read my bedside clock!!!

I'm always worried about the long-term effects on my eyes (since I've been wearing contacts for 20+ years), but my eye doctor checks the the vessels etc. in my eyes at every annual exam, and tells me that everything looks 100% perfect.

I'm a huge supporter of these - I tell everyone about them!!

 

[pjlla]

I too wear the Johnson and Johnson Acuvue and I wear them for at least three weeks at a time without removal. I know that they are not made specifically for this, but I have been doing this for almost 8 years with no problems. I get my eyes examined every year, my doctor knows what I do, and although he doesn't recommend it, he says my eyes look fine. I have been looking into the new Night and Day..... figure since I'm gonna wear them "night and day" anyhow, maybe I ought to get the kind that are intended for that....................P

 

[mad4themouse]

I'm wearing Focus Night & Day lenses. I have every confidence that they are appropriate for me. I see my eye doctor on a daily basis and I've been sleeping with him for 19 years. I'm sure that my visual healthy is a top priority for him. If these types of lenses were bad news, I wouldn't be wearing them.

 

[kadaten]

Originally posted by Liz
My 16 yr. old son just got the extended wear contacts yesterday. These are the kind you can wear for 30 days then throw them away. He tried to wear contacts about 3 yrs. ago and had such a hard time learning to put them in and take them out he gave up on them. The doctor recommended trying this new kind. I'm just curious if others have had good experiences with them or can give any pointers/warnings of things to watch out for. I've seen the commercials where they say these have a higher risk for serious eye problems but the doctor assured me they are fine.

Thanks!

Like all the others said....problems arise when you abuse them. I was one of those that hated putting contacts in and out and so my eye doc put me in disposeables right after they came out. Just couldn't seem to remember to take them out (they were so comfortable I forgot about having bad eyes for the first time ever!). Anyway, I have gotten pretty severe contact lens overwear syndrome twice now. It heals, but it takes awhile. My eyes even went oblong....completely out of round.... from a lack of oxygen my doctor thinks. They're slowly going back, but I seem to have lost clarity in my peripheral vision in one eye as a result. If he can use them properly, they're great! Even a little longer than the package states is generally ok....just make sure he's changing them on a regular basis. Took me awhile (and loss of clarity) to learn that lesson!!

HTH,
Katie

 

[lrmillen]

Extended Wears are awesome!!!!!!!!!! They are more expensive than the regular disposables in my experience, but really worth it. I'd take mine out about every 2 weeks to let my eyes have a breather and wear glasses for a couple of days. But there is no way you have to change them or throw them out after 30 days, what a waste of money, if you take care of them they're good for at least another month if not more. Your doctor will probably not tell you this because he wants you to buy more contacts from him, and nthere is an extremely low risk of infection, which usually comes from an outside factor, not the contacts themselves. I had a great doctor before moving that let me know how big of a money scam the contact lens business was running. For instance, there is no difference between 2 week and monthly disposable lenses (just the label on the box). It allows the companies to market more product and to give the customer another option.


This is my disclaimer: This has just been my experience. Listen to your doctor. (Don't want to end up being blasted for this post!)

 

[mad4themouse]

Originally posted by lrmillen
But there is no way you have to change them or throw them out after 30 days, what a waste of money, if you take care of them they're good for at least another month if not more. Your doctor will probably not tell you this because he wants you to buy more contacts from him,

Your doctor won't tell you that because he doesn't want you to get an eye infection and turn around and sue him because he advised you to go against what the FDC recommends.

What a patient does after walking out of the doctor's office is up to the patient. But a good eyecare professional would not go against current industry standards and advise a patient to extend their use of a disposable lens to twice it's recommended wear in order to save money.

 

[browneyes]

I've worn contacts since I was 14 yo, so I've worn them for 20 years now. I've worn only the regular wear kind until about 4 months ago or so. I've got the extended wear now. It took me awhile, but I'm finally letting myself wear them all the time. I was taking them out nightly. I haven't had any problems with them.

My eye dr told me the extended wear ones are actually better for your eyes than the regular ones. Since you're throwing them away monthly, you don't have to worry about cleaning them all the time, and you don't have to worry about hidden germs staying on the lenses.

My eye dr told me I can wear my extended wears just as long as they don't irritate my eyes. She told me as soon as my eyes get irritated, to toss out the pair I'm wearing immediately. She said she knows of some of her patients that have been able to wear a pair for 3 months at a time. She heavily advised me that if I'm going to wear them more than a month at a time to listen to my eyes, not my checkbook.

 

[Lewski709]

I had problems with disposables and kept getting pink eye. 2yrs ago, I broke down and did Lasik. Best money ever spent.