Beginner’s Guide to Wearing Contact Lenses

Posted by Kristen White
8
Feb 22, 2019
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Are you tired of wearing glasses? A wonderful option is to switch to contact lenses. These are thin plastic lenses placed directly on the eye surface to correct vision. Contact lenses make you look better and you can use them only when you need them. Regardless of the reason, you have to put some things in mind to get the most out of wearing contacts.

A prescription is necessary

Before hitting the market to buy contacts, you need to get a prescription. Perhaps you’ve been wearing glasses. The contacts sit directly on the eyes and need extra measurements. Keep in mind that each eye might require a different lens prescription. This makes it very important to get the right prescription before getting contacts. Luckily, a reliable store will offer eye tests.

How to choose your lenses

With your prescription in tow, it’s now easier to get the right lenses for your requirements. Luckily, you can buy contact lenses online in Kenya. This is a more convenient and cost-effective option than spending time moving all over the place looking for a reliable optical shop. When buying contacts to correct your vision regardless of whether you’re short or long-sighted, you need to keep the following features in mind.

  • Diameter determining the width for the right fitting lenses

  • Power determining the level of vision correction to correct your vision

  • Base curve determining your natural eye curvature for appropriate fitting contacts

Lenses to correct astigmatism

Perhaps the optician revealed that you have astigmatism after the eye exam. This means you need eye contact lenses. You’ll need toric lenses shaped to fit your eyes comfortably and securely to correct astigmatism. A prescription for toric lenses requires two extra measurements including determining the cylinder.

Measured in o.25 to determine the extra vision correction required to fix astigmatism. The second measurement is the axis number between 0 and 180 to determine the required correction angle. There’s a possibility for each eye to require a different prescription because one eye might have astigmatism while the other doesn’t. Toric lenses for astigmatism are clearly labeled. This makes it easy to buy the right contact lenses for every eye.

Lenses for other conditions

Perhaps you have presbyopia and struggle reading things close up or tired of using reading glasses. You have to look at multifocal contacts. These lenses clear vision problems regardless of distances to ensure that you always have clear sight. The prescript includes diameter, base curve, and power. Additionally, it’s important to determine the amount of correction required to correct near sight. Determining the dominant eye is also required before getting multifocal lenses.

Choose a wearing pattern

Contacts come in different patterns to ensure you choose a wearing pattern that meets your requirements. The options include:

Daily disposable lenses

These are the most convenient type of lenses. Since these lenses are worn for only a day, they are more hygienic compared to other types. Daily disposable lenses cost a bit more but you have an option to wear them occasionally wherever you want.

Bi-weekly disposable lenses

This type of contacts is worn for only two weeks. However, you have to clean your lenses every night. In addition, you don’t have to forget replacing them to ensure that you’re wearing fresh contacts.

Monthly disposable lenses

These are the longer lasting contact lenses that you can wear for 30 consecutive days before getting replacements. However, monthly contacts are stored in solution every night. These give more value for money since you wear them longer.

Note

Regardless of lens type, it’s important to stick to the wearing pattern recommended by the manufacturer. The only exception is when your optician recommends extending the period of use for your bi-weekly or monthly contacts. In this scenario, you wouldn’t be removing them at night. Your eyes will use natural tears to keep the contacts comfortable and safe. It’s very important to only extend the use of your contacts with a recommendation from the optician.

Steps when putting on contacts

  • Wash and dry your hands

  • Gently lift the lens from packet to the index fingertip

  • Hold the upper eyelid with the lower eyelid pulled down

  • Put the lens over the iris

  • Look up and down and blink strongly to settle it in place

  • Repeat the process for the other eye

Bottom line

With the above guidelines, the contacts will become second nature. Luckily, you can wear your contacts at your will. It might be daily, a few times a week, or once a month. All it takes is finding a trusted store for quality contacts from reputable brands.  

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