What are the most comfortable contact lenses in the world?
January 16, 2013 2:49 PM Subscribe
Save me from my glasses! I'd like to find the perfect contacts.
I used to wear the Day and Night contact lenses. I could wear them for an entire week without taking them out (ophthalmologist-approved) and only needed to put in a bit of solution in the morning to be perfectly comfortable. For some reason, the company changed the formulation to make them more comfortable, and I can no longer tolerate them.
I've tried a few brands since then (including Specsavers own brand and a few others I can't remember) but I haven't found any that I can tolerate for more than 8 hours a time, or for more than a few days in a row. I'm getting tired of always wearing my glasses, so my New Year's resolution is to find my new perfect contacts!
Could you suggest a few brands that you've found particularly comfortable? Or eyedrops that have worked magic?
PS: I will definitely get LASIK as soon as possible, but my eyes haven't stabilized yet.
I used to wear the Day and Night contact lenses. I could wear them for an entire week without taking them out (ophthalmologist-approved) and only needed to put in a bit of solution in the morning to be perfectly comfortable. For some reason, the company changed the formulation to make them more comfortable, and I can no longer tolerate them.
I've tried a few brands since then (including Specsavers own brand and a few others I can't remember) but I haven't found any that I can tolerate for more than 8 hours a time, or for more than a few days in a row. I'm getting tired of always wearing my glasses, so my New Year's resolution is to find my new perfect contacts!
Could you suggest a few brands that you've found particularly comfortable? Or eyedrops that have worked magic?
PS: I will definitely get LASIK as soon as possible, but my eyes haven't stabilized yet.
I have severe astigmatism, so my answer may not be helpful. But I went through reams of trial pairs before I finally settled on Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism. When soaked in ClearCare every night, they are wondrously comfortable - I really forget they're in my eyes. (Because of this, I accidentally slept in them once.) A friend with the regular old Acuvue Oasys lenses (i.e., not for astigmatism) also sings their praises.
ETA - Eye drops: my eyes can be quite dry. Doc recommended Refresh Tears to me. Awesome stuff. Quite cheap when you buy it in bulk at Costco, too.
posted by artemisia at 2:55 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
ETA - Eye drops: my eyes can be quite dry. Doc recommended Refresh Tears to me. Awesome stuff. Quite cheap when you buy it in bulk at Costco, too.
posted by artemisia at 2:55 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect contacts, but the thing that has had the most effect is switching to Clear Care solution. I have Oasys lenses, which are better than whatever I had before, but not remarkably better.
posted by geegollygosh at 3:01 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by geegollygosh at 3:01 PM on January 16, 2013
I second the Acuvue Oasys, which work in my super sensitive eyes. (I have one for astigmatism and one for not -- the latter is my more sensitive eye.)
I didn't find Clear Care actually made a difference for me, though it did for other people.
Note that I don't wear my lenses at night ever.
posted by jeather at 3:02 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I didn't find Clear Care actually made a difference for me, though it did for other people.
Note that I don't wear my lenses at night ever.
posted by jeather at 3:02 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Thirding Acuvue Oasys + Clear Care.
Clear care is a hydrogen peroxide based cleaning solution, so you really have to let it sit for the hours it calls for, or you'll sting your eyes. But it cleans much better than anything else i've used. Plus while bubbling away it looks cool.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:03 PM on January 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Clear care is a hydrogen peroxide based cleaning solution, so you really have to let it sit for the hours it calls for, or you'll sting your eyes. But it cleans much better than anything else i've used. Plus while bubbling away it looks cool.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:03 PM on January 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
I use Acuvue Oasis with Biotrue solution and have had no problems.
posted by Nattie at 3:06 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by Nattie at 3:06 PM on January 16, 2013
Do they need to be extended wear? Because I 've worn many, many kinds of contacts, both hard and soft, and the best ones I've found are Focus Dailies.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:07 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:07 PM on January 16, 2013
I used to wear and love the Day & Night contact lenses, too! Oh, I mourn for them but they stopped working for me, too.
I also used to like the Acuvue Oasys (both before and after they reformulated them) but then suddenly they started to dry out—probably because I moved to Phoenix, which is, you know, very hot and dry and dusty. It's a hell for contact lenses.
Now I wear daily contact lenses, which I always thought were a total extravagance. But I stretch mine out by wearing them 2-3 days in a row and I'm finally back to being able to wear my contacts all day. The only downside is that you can't sleep in them (or at least I can't), I can tolerate a nap but they do dry out. The brand I wear (after trying four different kinds at my very awesome optometrists direction) is the Acuvue TruEye.
Apparently this The Best kind as far as letting oxygen get to your eye, which I like because I wear my contacts all the time and I worry about ruining them because of it. I got a sorta go for it from my optometrist to wear them for more than a day (she said they'd be more prone to rip but as long as I still disinfected them nothing terrible would happen, but she urged me to wear my glasses at least one day a week to give my eyes a break).
posted by thesocietyfor at 3:07 PM on January 16, 2013
I also used to like the Acuvue Oasys (both before and after they reformulated them) but then suddenly they started to dry out—probably because I moved to Phoenix, which is, you know, very hot and dry and dusty. It's a hell for contact lenses.
Now I wear daily contact lenses, which I always thought were a total extravagance. But I stretch mine out by wearing them 2-3 days in a row and I'm finally back to being able to wear my contacts all day. The only downside is that you can't sleep in them (or at least I can't), I can tolerate a nap but they do dry out. The brand I wear (after trying four different kinds at my very awesome optometrists direction) is the Acuvue TruEye.
Apparently this The Best kind as far as letting oxygen get to your eye, which I like because I wear my contacts all the time and I worry about ruining them because of it. I got a sorta go for it from my optometrist to wear them for more than a day (she said they'd be more prone to rip but as long as I still disinfected them nothing terrible would happen, but she urged me to wear my glasses at least one day a week to give my eyes a break).
posted by thesocietyfor at 3:07 PM on January 16, 2013
Oh, and I really love these eye drops, when my Oasys starting to annoy me I tried every kind I could find at Walgreens and these are the only ones who do anything for me.
Another trick I use (since I wear a lot of mascara and sometimes at the end of the day I think it migrates into my eye) is to fill up one side of my lenses case with saline solution and then place my eye down into it and blink a few times to clear out my eye. It's super refreshing for any reason actually. In the eye care section you'll sometimes see cups designed for this purpose but the lenses case works great for me.
posted by thesocietyfor at 3:10 PM on January 16, 2013
Another trick I use (since I wear a lot of mascara and sometimes at the end of the day I think it migrates into my eye) is to fill up one side of my lenses case with saline solution and then place my eye down into it and blink a few times to clear out my eye. It's super refreshing for any reason actually. In the eye care section you'll sometimes see cups designed for this purpose but the lenses case works great for me.
posted by thesocietyfor at 3:10 PM on January 16, 2013
I wear a very comfortable-for-me bandage contact lens for pain relief - it's called ProClear in the UK. I wear each one continuously for about a month. I use liquifilm drops for moistness. Good luck!
posted by mgrrl at 3:17 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by mgrrl at 3:17 PM on January 16, 2013
Another vote for Acuvue Oasys + Clear Care. The regular contact solution didn't clean as well as Clear Care, which I found previously recommended on AskMe. Definitely worth buying if you're wearing your contacts for a long time.
posted by Tequila Mockingbird at 3:21 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by Tequila Mockingbird at 3:21 PM on January 16, 2013
Yet one more vote for Acuvue Oasys and Clear Care. Clear Care made a noticeable difference for me, but if you go the Clear Care route, do not forget to also get extra saline for rinsing, just in case. I only made that mistake once; I shall not make it again. Fresh Clear Care + eyeball = BURNING DOOM!
posted by Diagonalize at 3:27 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Diagonalize at 3:27 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I wear biomedics 55 (or whatever they are called now). They are super comfortable.
One thing to look for is proper fit. That's going to make more difference than anything, since soft contacts are pretty much made of the same stuff.
posted by gjc at 3:28 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
One thing to look for is proper fit. That's going to make more difference than anything, since soft contacts are pretty much made of the same stuff.
posted by gjc at 3:28 PM on January 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
Wow, just joining the chorus recommending Acuvue Oasys + Clear Care. Using Clear Care, I can comfortably wear a pair of contacts 12+ hours a day for an entire month.
posted by barnoley at 5:03 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by barnoley at 5:03 PM on January 16, 2013
Nthing Acuvue Oasys plus Clear Care cleansing solution!
I used to wear the Air Optix Ciba Night and Day (the ones you mentioned), but when I found out they don't have UV protection, I switched to Acuvue, which does (I have pale eyes, so they're prone to sun damage, like pale skin). I tried out a few different kinds of Acuvue (including Advance), and decided upon Acuvue Oasys. They're super comfortable - I forget I have them on, often wear them for more than 12 hours a day, and have slept multiple nights in them when I was traveling and couldn't sanitize my hands to take them out/put them in. My eye doctor said that's okay in a pinch (I think they're oxygen permeable, which means they let more air in than normal contacts, so you're supposedly allowed to wear them extendedly?). Clear Care was recommended to me by my eye doctor after I got a nasty eye infection from regular contact solution: my understanding is that it has peroxide rather than enzymes, which makes for a much more thorough clean. I actually wear my contact lenses for more weeks than they recommend (because I have no money, so need to stretch out the wear time), and my eye doctor checked protein deposits on them (?) after that period of time and said they looked surprisingly clean. Would *definitely* recommend!
posted by UniversityNomad at 8:10 PM on January 16, 2013
I used to wear the Air Optix Ciba Night and Day (the ones you mentioned), but when I found out they don't have UV protection, I switched to Acuvue, which does (I have pale eyes, so they're prone to sun damage, like pale skin). I tried out a few different kinds of Acuvue (including Advance), and decided upon Acuvue Oasys. They're super comfortable - I forget I have them on, often wear them for more than 12 hours a day, and have slept multiple nights in them when I was traveling and couldn't sanitize my hands to take them out/put them in. My eye doctor said that's okay in a pinch (I think they're oxygen permeable, which means they let more air in than normal contacts, so you're supposedly allowed to wear them extendedly?). Clear Care was recommended to me by my eye doctor after I got a nasty eye infection from regular contact solution: my understanding is that it has peroxide rather than enzymes, which makes for a much more thorough clean. I actually wear my contact lenses for more weeks than they recommend (because I have no money, so need to stretch out the wear time), and my eye doctor checked protein deposits on them (?) after that period of time and said they looked surprisingly clean. Would *definitely* recommend!
posted by UniversityNomad at 8:10 PM on January 16, 2013
Seconding trying dailies. My eyes feel so much better since I switched from extended wear.
posted by vasi at 9:09 PM on January 16, 2013
posted by vasi at 9:09 PM on January 16, 2013
Thirding dailies. I have some eye problems that make contacts difficult and my dailies have solved that.
posted by Pax at 9:29 AM on January 17, 2013
posted by Pax at 9:29 AM on January 17, 2013
Response by poster: Wow, I was not expecting a consensus! I will order some Acuvue Oasys and some ClearCare right now.
If they don't work out, I'll try dailies. Thank you everyone!
posted by snoogles at 9:48 AM on January 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
If they don't work out, I'll try dailies. Thank you everyone!
posted by snoogles at 9:48 AM on January 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by payoto at 2:54 PM on January 16, 2013