- My contact lenses have the potential to become permanently lodged in my eye.
While it is true that a dry soft contact lens will stick to your eye’s surface, remoistening the lens with sterile saline or a multipurpose contact lens solution will get it moving again.
- A contact lens will become dislodged and be stuck behind my eye.
Nope! The conjunctiva, a thin membrane that covers the white of your eye and attaches to the inside of your eyelids, prevents a contact lens from becoming lost behind your eye.
- Contact lenses are a pain to wear.
This is not the case. Most people do not even notice they are wearing contact lenses after a brief adaptation time. Once the source of contact lens discomfort has been identified, a variety of discomfort solutions are available.
- I cannot wear contact lenses.
Yes, you certainly can! Contact lenses are now available to almost everyone, thanks to recent advancements in contact lens technology. For patients with presbyopia, there are a variety of bifocal contact lenses available. Astigmatism can be corrected with soft, rigid, or hybrid contact lenses. Custom contact lenses can correct even the most difficult prescriptions.
It is time to ask again if you have been informed you cannot wear contacts. You might be a better contact lens candidate than you think!
- Contact lenses are too much trouble to take care of.
Wrong! One bottle of contact lens solution does cleaning and disinfecting lenses easy. Or, you can choose to eliminate contact lens care by wearing daily disposable contact lenses.
- Wearing contact lenses causes eye problems.
Contact lens wear can indeed increase your risk of specific eye problems. But if you follow your eye doctor’s instructions regarding how to care for your lenses, how long to wear them, and how frequently you should replace them, wearing contact lenses is very safe.
- I would not be able to put them in my eyes.
Sure, you will succeed. Although it may appear complicated at first, your eye doctor will ensure that you understand how to put and remove your contacts before you leave their office. The majority of people learn to use contact lenses far faster than they expect!
- Contact lenses tend to fall out of my eye.
Old-fashioned hard contact lenses could occasionally pop out of a wearer’s eyes during sports or other activities. However, because today’s contacts, such as rigid gas permeable (GP) contacts, fit closer to the eye, it is extremely rare for a contact lens to fall out of a wearer’s eye without warning.
- The cost of contact lenses is prohibitively high.
This is not the case. Contact lenses can be less expensive than a good pair of glasses in some cases. Even once-expensive daily disposable contact lenses can now be availed for as little as a dollar per day.
- Contact lenses are not for me because I am too old.
Who’s to say? With the introduction of multifocal contact lenses and a variety of novel dry eye contacts, being old is no longer a barrier to successful contact lens wear. If you ask your eye doctor if you are a good candidate for contact lenses, you could be surprised by the answer.
