Some questions about contacts from a first-time wearer?

Question

I just got contact lenses yesterday.

When I put in the lenses, do I look up or to the side? So if i place it on the white part, will it slide into place? Sometimes I get it in, but it feels really uncomfortable b/c it's either folded, inside-out, or on the white part.

How do i know if it's right side out? I see the same bowl shape both ways. However, I see a tiny "5" on the lens. If the "5" isn't backwards, does that mean it's right-side out?

One more thing: no matter how much I clean the lens, it seems to have thin particles of dust. Is it normal?

Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

If the 5 is not backwards, yes it's right side out. I look up just a little toward the center of my face and put the lens against mostly white area, but about 1/4 of it over the color. I pull my finger back and let it "adhere" to my eye and then slowly look down, toward the center of my eye socket, to look directly at my eye in the mirror. If it won't adhere, or it keeps getting crumpled it may not be moist enough. Be sure when you take them out of storage that you wet them well with saline before trying to put them on. They say people have the hardest time with sticking their finger in their eye. I disagree...the hardest thing is getting used to the feeling of having it in your eye. If it's still really uncomfortable, put in some rewetting drops to help it get situated. If it's so uncomfortable it hurt or makes your eye water, something is terribly wrong and you should start over. If you have what looks like dust on them all the time, they're not clean! That is likely protein deposits. You need to ask your eye doctor what type of cleaning is required. (There are multiple methods due to the different types of wear and materials they're made from.) If they are disposable, they are ready to be thrown out. If it happens after one day of wear and they're not one day contacts, you can clean with a daily cleaner. Even if they are disposable, and you may only wear them a few days, they still need to have a daily cleaner used on them each time they are removed. And I'm sure your doc has already told you to never wear them to bed. I personally use a daily cleaner, a disinfection solution for 6 hours, then store in a protein minimizing solution. Do you use hairspray? This causes a film on contacts no matter how well you take care of them. If you do use it, do your hair before you put your lenses in, or if you have them in, close your eyes before and during spraying and leave the room as soon as you have sprayed.

Most importantly, if you have questions, you really should call your doc because they will know what's best for you and your eyes and they won't charge you for asking questions.

Answer 2

when you put the lenses in, you can look anywhere you'd like. i actually just look straight into the mirror- and i put the lens on the white part, below the iris & pupil.

if your contact lense is on the white part, it will slide into the middle by itself- its not going to hurt at all. it does hurt when its folded, inside-out, or if there is dirt of some sort on the contact.

some contact brands make numbers to help you identify which way the contact should go- my brand (acuvue), makes a "123". i guess yours makes a 5; the number should be forward- not backward. if its backwards, just fix it and you will be fine :)

if you clean the lens very well and it still has a little bit of dust- its alright. as long as you've cleaned a lot and the contact is sanitary, you're good to go (:

hope this helped!

Answer 3

i look straight ahead when wearing my contacts but then again i've been wearing them for three years

i'm pretty sure the dust particles are normal

you are never going to get them perfectly clean

but if you want expert advice see your contact provider or your optometrist

Answer 4

yes..i look straight too...or else it just pops out of ur eye..and i have trouble figuring out if its inside out or not...lol so i got this special case that keeps them the right side up so i dont worry about it...but the dust stuff will give you an eye infection...but i use clean &care contact lense cleaner(costco) and they stay clean for the entier month i wear them.