Contact Lenses Care

LOSS, SCRATCHING, CHIPPING, AND WARPING

A hard lens is more likely to pop off the eye than a soft lens. The plastic from which the lenses are made is liable to be scratched, chipped, and warped if not handled carefully. Almost every hard contact lens wearer has lived through this scenario, in a shopping center, a crowded restaurant, at a party, even in the street: She looks—too quickly—to the side. The lens pops out. She shouts “Don’t move!” and drops to her knees. Soon she’s surrounded by kneeling, groping good samaritans who’ve joined in the search. If she’s lucky, the welcome words “I’ve found it!” ring out, and the lens is unchipped and unscratched. If she’s not so lucky, her next move is a phone call, and later a visit, to her contact lens specialist. By the way, if you have lost or damaged one lens, you may still wear the other lens without fear of any adverse effect. Of course, you could wear eyeglasses until your new lens has arrived. I usually advise purchasing a spare pair of lenses to keep on hand in the event of just such an occurrence.

ADAPTATION TIPS

New hard-lens wearers experience varying degrees of discomfort during the initial adaptation period, which usually takes longer than for soft lenses. Follow the wearing schedule specified by your contact lens specialist (a typical one is shown below). The first few days are the hardest, and you may need a pep talk now and then to keep you on the track. During the initiation period you may experience blurry vision because of the extra tears your eyes produce in response to the foreign- body sensation. Your eyes may turn a little pink and feel scratchy. So it’s a good idea to wear your lenses at home initially until your vision and appearance improve and you feel comfortable and confident enough to venture out into the real world. Establishing a good blinking habit is especially important at this stage.

After your eye doctor is satisfied that you’ve been fitted with the best possible PMMA lens for you, you’ll need from four to eight weeks to reach full-time wear, which is, on the average, eight hours per day. Six weeks is the average adaptation time, with the first week being the most trying.

You might at some point become discouraged and doubt that you’ll ever get used to hard lenses. Although the dropout rate is very small, about half of all hard contact lens candidates that give up do so because they couldn’t make it through the adaptation period. Don’t let this happen to you. It is estimated less than 1 percent of the prospective contact lens wearers will not be able to adapt no matter how motivated and diligent they are, but chances are you’re not one of them. Now there are so many new special lenses and improved fitting techniques that, to paraphrase one manufacturer, “there’s no reason hard lenses should give you a hard time.”

Millions of people have gone through the adaptation process and so can you. Every day your lenses will feel a little better; you’ll be able to wear them a little longer and begin to enjoy all the reasons that prompted you to switch to contacts in the first place. The byword during adaptation is “This, too, will pass.” Compare it to breaking in a new pair of shoes. At first they may feel stiff or tight. But soon they become so comfortable that you actually aren’t aware that you’ve got them on. If you’re a fitness buff, compare adaptation to the beginning of your exercise program. The body protests at first and can only run one quarter of a mile or do five push-ups. Gradually you increase your capacity until you’ve reached your maximum or desired development. From then on it’s simply a matter of maintenance. And just as a hiatus in an exercise program elicits moans and groans and a gradual buildup when you resume, so too will a break in your contact lens wearing schedule require a slow, gradual resumption in daily wearing time.

DAY 1
Three periods of one hour each with the lenses in place.

Keep the lenses off for at least one hour between each wearing period.
DAY 2
Three periods of two hours on.
DAYS 3 & 4
Three periods of two and a half hours on.
DAYS 5, 6, & 7
Three periods of three hours on.
SECOND WEEK
Two periods of five hours on each day.
THIRD WEEK
One period of six hours on each day.
FOURTH WEEK
One period of seven hours on each day.
FIFTH WEEK
One period of seven and a half hours on each day.
SIXTH WEEK
One period of eight hours on each day.

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