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lavenlight@hotmail.com - 06 Feb 2006 03:11 GMT

I've written on here a couple of times before, and I've always
appreciated the response, so I figured I'd give this group a try again.

:-)

Basically, my glasses broke the other day. While they're being fixed,
I've thought about contacts a little more. My only concern is the
doctors appt/adjustment involved.

I've always been less than a fan of eye doc appts. I had eye surgery
when I was a child (I'm 21 now), and so eye doctors visits were always
kind of scary to me. I always had trouble letting them put drops in and
stuff. Even now, I still don't like going. I saw my parents'
opthamologist once or twice, and both times he was nasty to me, called
me a "baby", and actually grabbed my eyelids and forced them open when
trying to put drops in. (They were burning from the first set he put in
and I was trying to "blink it off" I guess.) He also gave me a glaucoma
test I guess (it involved drops and pressing a paper or something into
my eye and a lamp really close?) Whatever it was, it hurt really bad.
And when I get them dialated...it always lasts all day. Needless to
say, I didn't go back to my parents' opthamologist, and I saw an
optometrist for my last visit. He was really nice and understood my
uneasiness.

So back to the relevant stuff. What's usually involved in a contacts
visit? I think if I were allowed to put them in, I would feel more
control, and I would handle it better. Is there anything I can do to
prepare myself for the idea of sticking something in my eye? I've read
that some people "practice" by washing their hands really well and,
well, poking the white part (I used to know the name from bio, oh well)
a little. Is there really anything else I can do to get myself ready?
I was thinking of stopping by the optometrist place and chatting with
them for any ideas they might have, too.

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The Real Bev - 06 Feb 2006 03:52 GMT

> ...Needless to say, I didn't go back to my parents' opthamologist, and I
> saw an optometrist for my last visit. He was really nice and understood my
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> the optometrist place and chatting with them for any ideas they might have,
> too.

Some people worry more than others about the supposed difficulty of inserting
and removing contacts. I looked at it the same way I looked at having a baby
-- hey, most people survive it and most of them do it more than once so it
can't be anywhere near as bad as it might seem to be on the surface!

I don't think it's sensible to try touching your eye even with clean hands.
Your fingers aren't anywhere near as smooth as wet contacts and there's a
chance that you'll do something that you might wish you hadn't done.

The optometrists deal with new contact-wearers all day and know how to teach
people to deal with their lenses. Personally, the most important part (after
cleanliness, of course) is keeping both your upper and lower eyelids from
blinking while you insert/remove the lenses -- not a difficult thing to do,
really.

Chatting with the doc beforehand wouldn't hurt. Even people with severe
phobias about touching their eyes learn to use contacts, although some don't
including one ophthalmologist in my mom's group :-(

Find a sympathetic optometrist, explain your fears, and take it from there.

Signature

Cheers,
Bev
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Dan Abel - 06 Feb 2006 04:11 GMT

> > So back to the relevant stuff. What's usually involved in a contacts visit?
> > I think if I were allowed to put them in, I would feel more control, and I
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> > the optometrist place and chatting with them for any ideas they might have,
> > too.

> Some people worry more than others about the supposed difficulty of inserting
> and removing contacts. I looked at it the same way I looked at having a baby
> -- hey, most people survive it and most of them do it more than once so it
> can't be anywhere near as bad as it might seem to be on the surface!

After our first was born, my wife swore that that was it, no more!
Being smart, I didn't say a thing. Not one thing. We did have more,
when my wife was good and ready.

> I don't think it's sensible to try touching your eye even with clean hands.
> Your fingers aren't anywhere near as smooth as wet contacts and there's a
> chance that you'll do something that you might wish you hadn't done.

When removing contacts, I have considerable contact between fingers and
eye. I'm not sure that your idea is so bad. I don't know that it will
help, either, but it sounds worth a try.

> The optometrists deal with new contact-wearers all day and know how to teach
> people to deal with their lenses. Personally, the most important part (after
> cleanliness, of course) is keeping both your upper and lower eyelids from
> blinking while you insert/remove the lenses -- not a difficult thing to do,
> really.

My OD didn't do a thing for me. His assistant did it all.

> Find a sympathetic optometrist, explain your fears, and take it from there.

Sounds good to me.

Some people have problems, and some don't.

Signature

Dan Abel
dabel@sonic.net
Petaluma, California, USA

Reply to this Message

Mike Tyner - 06 Feb 2006 05:14 GMT

> So back to the relevant stuff. What's usually involved in a contacts
> visit? I think if I were allowed to put them in, I would feel more
> control,

You might "feel more control" but that doesn't really help you get the
lenses in.

In our office, we usually try two or three different brands and shapes to
evaluate the fit and comfort. Personally, I like to insert these "trial"
lenses myself, before handing you over to a staff member who trains
insertion and removal.

One of the reasons I want to do it myself - if I can't get a lens in your
eye, it's unlikely that you will learn to do it without "desensitizing" over
two or three visits. Coming back another day, after trying for a half-hour
or so, helps people unlearn those uncontrollable blink reflexes.

When soft contacts fit properly, you shouldn't feel them. Knowing this,
intellectually, isn't as useful as actually having them in and learning to
relax.

> and I would handle it better. Is there anything I can do to
> prepare myself for the idea of sticking something in my eye? I've read
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> I was thinking of stopping by the optometrist place and chatting with
> them for any ideas they might have, too.

Learning to touch your sclera might help. If you do this, practice keeping
both eyes open while you do. If you let one eye shut, the other wants to
slam shut also and you can't insert contacts without opening your eyes.

When people have trouble inserting, they're usually missing one or more of
these three things:

1) Learn to pin your upper lashes firmly against your brow, with the hand
that isn't inserting.

2) Keep both eyes open while you insert.

3) Once the lens is off your finger, keep both eyes open and look down into
the lower lid before letting go.

-MT

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