Contact Lenses and Contact Lens Accessories

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• Contact Lenses

Contact Lens Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We have put together a list of the most common questions asked of optometrists.

1. Can I wear soft contact lenses if I have astigmatism?
Yes, you can wear a special type of soft contact lens called a toric lens which will correct your astigmatism. However, these lenses are typically more expensive and there are fewer types and colors available than there are with regular (spherical) lenses. Recently, Wesley-Jessen introduced a 2-week disposable toric lens, the Freshlook Toric. Several manufacturers including Ciba (Focus) and Coopervision (Preference) produce 1-3 month frequent replacement toric lenses.

2. Is a contact lens prescription different than a glasses prescription?
Yes. When you order contact lenses, you must have a current contact lens prescription which specifies the power of the lenses, the size of the lens, the type and brand of lens. See also How to Read a Contact Lens Prescription.

3. If my 2 week disposable lenses are still comfortable and in good condition beyond 2 weeks, can I continue to wear the same pair?
In order to maintain optimal eye health and comfort, it is important to adhere to the wearing schedule prescribed by your doctor. The main advantage of wearing disposable lenses is that you are putting a fresh new pair of lenses in your eyes every 2 weeks. Also, the convenient cleaning regimen of a disposable lens is only adequate for a 2 week wearing schedule.

4. If I only wear my 2 week disposable contacts part time, do I still have to replace them every 2 weeks?
No, the 2 weeks refers to the actual amount of wearing time so they can last longer than 2 weeks if you are not wearing them full time.

5. What's the difference between rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses and soft lenses?
RGPs are smaller and made out of a harder, less pliable material than soft lenses which makes them less comfortable initially. RGPs correct astigmatism whereas soft spherical lenses do not.

6. Can I swim with my contact lenses in?
It is best if you don't because there are bacteria in the water that can adhere to your lenses and cause infections. If you do swim in your lenses, you should wear goggles over them and you should disinfect them immediately afterwards.

7. Why is it necessary for contact lens wearers to have regular eye exams even if their prescription hasn't changed?
Regular eye exams are important not only to check your prescription but also to evaluate the health of your eyes. This is especially important for contact lens wearers because the contacts could be causing damage to your eyes without necessarily causing any obvious symptoms.

8. Is my doctor required by law to release my contact lens prescription?
The laws vary from state to state, but in most places the doctor is required to release your prescription once the fitting is complete (this may include the initial exam and one or more follow-up visits). Your doctor is not required to release an expired prescription and in any case we would be unable to dispense contacts from an expired prescription. Some doctors are more ready to comply with local laws than others.

9. I wear contact lenses and in order for me to read, I have to wear reading glasses over them. Are there any other alternatives whereby I don't have to wear glasses at all?
Yes, the most common option is called monovision where one eye is corrected for viewing distant objects and the other eye is corrected for reading and close work. Monovision is a good solution for some people, but not everbody can successfully adapt to the arrangement. Another alternative is bifocal contact lenses which are available in both rigid gas permeable or soft lens designs. However, these are typically very expensive. Recently, however, Johnson and Johnson have released the Acuvue Bifocal which is a two-week disposable lens and is more reasonably priced.

10. Do colored contact lenses work on dark eyes?
Yes, they are called opaque contacts as opposed to enhancer tints which work only on light colored eyes. Year-long (daily wear and extended wear) opaque contacts are available in many different colors and shades but there is currently only one brand that offers a 2 week disposable opaque lens. These are Freshlook Opaques by Wesley-Jessen.

11. Do I still need a prescription if I just want contacts to change my eye color?
Yes, you still need to be fitted for the lenses even if you don't need vision correction. This is because contact lenses are medical devices and wearing them can affect the health of your eyes.

12. How does the new Federal Law "Fairness To Contact Lens Consumers" Act affect me?
On February 4th this year, a new Federal Law called the “Fairness To Contact Lens Consumers” act went into effect. This law made it much easier for you to enjoy the savings and convenience of ordering on-line from AC Lens. top of page

Question asked and answered by contact lens users

I have a question, a friend of mine wears disposable contacts and often longer than 8 hours a day, and sometimes takes short naps with them on. Could this lead to any possible complications?

I've worn disposables for over 10 years and have slept in them sometimes. If you sleep in them all the time, I've been warned that may increase your chances of corneal ulcers. I had really bad ulcers which seriously affected my vision and I was told it was very possibly due to sleeping with my contacts in (although this was years ago and technology with contacts is much better now). Also, with sleeping in your contacts, not alot of oxygen can get to your eyes and may cause blurriness and dryness. Along with that, protein build up can occur because your contacts are not having a chance to be cleaned and give your eyes a rest. Just a few ideas.

Any magic secrets to get the lens to not stick to my finger while inserting? It gets to be quite agrivating and time consuming.

Try not to get the finger to wet or completly dry. hold your lashes away from your eye and hold your bottom lid away also, then with your pointer finger, touch the whole lens onto the eye and grab the upper lashes to bring it down and then you should heve no problems. i do this and its worked for me.

How do I take out a soft contact lens?

Slide the lens with your index finger to any exposed area of white (sclera) and you can safely pinch it off from there. It also helps to put in rewetting drops just before removal.

Can you provide information about the best way to insert and remove a contact lens?

I have very long fingernails...so what I do is put a few drops of rewetting drops in my eye, take my index finger and pull my eyelid to the side and blink...and out pops the lens...you might have to try it several times before you get it..but keep trying..." IT WORKS "

Just a few small details that helped me alot (I had this very problem for a month or so until I realised what was wrong). After you washed your hands and took a lens with your left hand fingers squeeze the lens gently making it look as "Y" so that the "bottom" of the "Y" touches the point where the fingers meet. Wait a bit to allow the extra liquid drain down onto your fingers. Then dry the pointer finger of your right hand. Then, very important, dry the fingers your are going to stretch the eyelids with! If not done so, the eyelids constantly slips back. When you managed to "stick" the lens onto your eye try to "glue" it with very gentle circular moves. You will see that the lens sticks to the eye more and more. Then detach the finger when the lens is "glued" more to the eye than to the finger. That's it! It takes me a few seconds for both eyes now! And, with little training, I managed to not to stretch the upper lead at all (I may occasionally need to do so in the very end, to secure the lens on the eye). Good Luck!

A couple of years ago I went to the optometrist to get contact lenses, but while using glasses feels transparent (heh), contact lenses felt, at the time, as if they weren't always "focusing" properly. Since I was quite young then I ended up trashing the idea of wearing contact lenses and forgot about it until recently....

Then I went to another optometrist, got new contact lenses, used them for roughly a month with quite a bit of difficulty. Not because my vision was "worse" with contacts, but they seemed to have this problem as if they weren't quite fitted properly all the time. As a matter of fact, I tried reading some book covers on a bookshelf from a distance, and I could see *BETTER* with contacts than with glasses, on both eyes -- HOWEVER, I had to blink several times for the contacts to "accommodate". This is, of course, unpractical, and doing this all the time gets irritating and sort of made the vision tired after a while... I asked a friend who also uses contact lenses and she said she also has something of the sort, which you "get used to". Apparently, though, she didn't have any problems -- I guess it must have been to a lesser extent, or perhaps even a different problem.

I mentioned this to my optometrist who didn't exactly help, saying the same thing: "you'll get used to it". P****d off, I went back to glasses once again.

Now I'm *really* feeling like trying contact lenses once again, since my lenses look pathetically unaesthetically-pleasing. I have -9.5 and -10 on each eye, respectively.

And the question I'd like to ask: On my old contact lenses' prescription there was something called a "base curve". Could this have anything to do with the symptoms I mentioned above or am I completely off?

I think your problem is the Base Curve. The base curve of a lens is the size of the curvature of the lens, that will assure that your eye is correctly covered. So, if your eye has a curve of 8.4 and you are wearing a 8.7 contact lens, the lens is gonna move when you blink, and you're gonna see halos all the time because the lens is not still on the eye.

Im a non-powered coloured contact lense wearer but it's the same. When I have used contacts that were a wrong base curve, the lens moved and the vision is not focused, even with 0.00 lenses like mine.

Ask an eye doctor for an exact corneal measurement and tell him your problem so he can find you a lens that stays centered in your eye. Doctors should give you trial free pairs before selling you the definitive contact lens, so you can try them on and see if they fit and are ok and take the decision to buy that brand and size. Besides, if apart of having Myopia you have Astigmatism, then you need Toric Lenses because astigmatism causes vision blurring.

My contact lenses feel like they are moving around on my eye, which makes my vision blurry and is annoying. What can I do about this?

It can also mean u have the contacts backwards cause my eye doctor told me to look at the lens straight ahead, and see which side has more of a bowl shape (the sides don't flare out) and that is the correct side.

It can sometimes be tough to see if the lens is inside-out (especially with lower prescriptions and thin disposable lenses). Quite a few brands (including Acuvue) now have markings on the lens that can help you be sure you have it right.

What happends if you sleep in your contacts? My friend sleeps in her conatcs and I am looking for pictures of the diseases you can get from sleeping in your contacts to show her so she will stop because it is NOT GOOD!

If the lenses are not approved for overnight wear,they will not provide enough oxygen for safe wear. She may wake up one morning with a very painful red eye or even a vision threatening eye infection. Even if the lenses are approved for overnight wear, the risks of infection are much higher than if she would remove and clean hewr lenses every night. top of page

Source: our vendor partner ACLens