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"Is Contacts Right For Me?"- Some Basic Tips That Help You Decide |
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The decision to wear contacts is not one to take
lightly. There are several factors you should take into consideration
when trying to decide if contacts are right for you. These factors
include lifestyle, finances, personal hygiene, health, corneal
curvature, astigmatism, previous over-wear and frequency of use.
When you are considering contacts, you should first take a look
at your lifestyle and how contact lenses will fit in it. Your sight
correction requirements are often determined by your lifestyle. If you
work in an office and sit in front of a computer all day, glasses may be
the best choice for you. Frequent computer use causes eyestrain, which
would not be conducive to wearing contacts. Flying in airplanes is
another activity that can dry out contact lenses, so if you are a
frequent flyer, you may want to wear glasses instead.
If you play
sports often, you may find that contacts are beneficial since they won’t
be in the way or get damaged like glasses would. Some sports require
excellent peripheral vision, and contact lenses would fit the bill for
that situation. Contacts cover the whole eye, thus giving an all around
better visible field.
Some people prefer to wear contact lenses
in social situations only. The best option here would be disposable
lenses since they require less maintenance. Those who work with
computers or who fly often may want to consider disposable lenses for
social situations if they still would like to wear contacts at times.
Contacts
are more expensive than glasses. On average, they need to be replaced
more often than a pair of glasses. You should also consider the cost of
the maintenance products, such as cleaning, soaking, and disinfecting
solutions. If your personal finances are a bit stretched already,
contact lenses may not be the best choice for you. You can also check
with your employer to see if you can receive vision insurance. Vision
insurance will greatly reduce your out of pocket spending on contacts.
Personal
hygiene is important when considering contacts. If you work at a job
that keeps your fingers and nails dirty, you may not be able to keep
them clean enough for contacts. Smoking can also inhibit how clean you
can keep your contacts. Contact lenses need to be handled with clean
hands as this keeps them free from debris and also helps to prevent
germs spreading to the eyes.
Your overall health is another point
to think about. If you are a generally healthy person, then contacts may
be right for you. Your eyes need to be in good health as well. It is
necessary to maintain your good health once you start wearing contacts.
If you suffer from frequent eye infections, chronic dry eye, or suffer
from allergies, your eye care professional may not recommend contacts as
the best choice for you. Contacts would only aggravate these conditions
more and contacts tend to feel less comfortable to people with these
conditions.
If you have previously over-worn contact lenses, that
is to say, you have occasionally worn them overnight, your eye care
professional may recommend a different type of contacts for you.
Extended wear contact lenses entered the market in 1999 and are designed
to be worn continuously for several days at a time. These contacts allow
more oxygen to reach they eye than other contact types. It is important
to remember to give your eyes a break occasionally and wear your glasses
for a day.
How often you plan on wearing your contacts will
determine which type of contacts your eye care professional will
recommend for you. If you plan to wear them daily and do not mind taking
them out at night to clean them, then you would be a candidate for rigid
gas permeable contacts or soft contacts. If you want them only for
social occasions, or for when you play sports, you will most likely need
daily disposable lenses. Planning on going on a two week hiking trip in
the mountains? You may want to consider extended wear contacts as these
require the least amount of maintenance.
Every person and
situation is unique, and only you can determine if contact lenses are
right for you. Try talking to family or friends who wear, or who have
previously worn, contacts and see what advice they give you. Your eye
care professional will also help you decide what is right for you, and
will have good advice on how to keep your eyes healthy if you do decide
to wear contacts.
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