Having finally plucked up the courage to go to the opticians yesterday and somehow survived the eye test in French, I was surprised when the optician seemed horrified that I used daily contact lenses daily due to the expense. I hadn't realised that monthly lenses were cheaper and now I have looked on discountlens.ch I realise I could be saving a fortune.
I was just wondering how easy monthly lenses are to use, and if they are as comfortable, or more comfortable than the daily disposable ones and how easy they are to clean, as I love being able to just throw away the dailies.
I have been wearing monthly lenses for over 10 years now (not the same pair of course!) and I have found them fantastic. Apparently, not everyone can adapt to them but if you have a trial run and find them comfortable then you will never look back (sorry, terrible pun).
For me it is almost as good as having had laser surgery (I'm such a chicken, I can't bear the thought of it), you stick the lenses in and then don't think about it again until you replace them with a new pair after a month. You don't get that awful itchy, "must take my lenses out" feeling after wearing them all day. Apparently they allow more air to flow through to the eye. And because you sleep in them, you can actually wake up in the morning and SEE!!! It's brilliant.
Couple of tips;
after three weeks or so the lenses may become cloudy. Apparently it is a build up of protein. You just buy these special eye drops called "Blink n Clean" which I use every morning and it keeps the protein at bay. (Not sure if it is available here as I always stock up when I am in the US or Australia...sorry). I always give my eyes a couple of days break from the lenses at least every two months....the optician said this was probably a good idea. Hope you enjoy them.
I have been wearing monthly contact lenses for years now and am very happy with them. I've never had daily ones though, so I can't really compare. I use an "all-in-one" cleaning solution from Migros to clean them. It's not very expensive at all (the bottle costs about 11 CHF and lasts a couple of months or so) and I find very convenient. All I do is put them into a pot with the solution every evening and that's it - not much hassle at all....
The thing is, the monthly lenses would eventually get dirty before the end of the month, needing a deep cleaning involving perhaps anti-protein cleansing.
I am very cautious about the cleaning of the lenses and wash my hands carefuly before any manipulation, wash the lenses containers etc etc.
Anyway they get dirty and uncomfortable before the month ends, sometimes after 2 weeks sometimes after 3 weeks.
I guess it depends to the environment where they are exposed, what kind of fluids or dirt go into your eyes when you have the lenses on etc etc.
I much prefer the daily lenses, they are clean at the morning, no worries, no itching, no disconfort, and you can throw it away before going to sleep and put on a new pair every day.
They are simply more expensive, that's the only drawback.
So I have my monthly ones, and a reserve of dailies for cases when I would need them.
I guess I could also have protein cleaning pills at home, but I guess that's too much for monthy lenses, they are intended to be used on yearly lenses instead.
omg, there are lenses that I can actually wear for a whole month !
I would so give that a try, because one part of wearing lesnes I hate most is the cleaning every morning before wearing them and then at night after removing, not to mention with my sensitive eyes i find it very diffifult to put them in.
Do you know if they come with cylindrical for people with astigmatism as well ?
First time I went to optician I was precribed glasses for shortsighted and I used to wear them for the first few years of my studies at varsity and for one year later at workplace. Subsequently, I was intrigued by idea of trying contact lenses and I had options of daily or monthly disposable ones. I got clear from doctor cons and pros of using either one. Definitely the monthly ones are more economical athough additionally one has to buy a bottle of contact lens solution to clear them regularly before storing in the plastic box overnight. The process is to rub them with fingers and clean with solution. Then you put them in twin-gogle alike small container filled with solution. I use Renu solution for cleaning and wear Air Optix lenses. It is easy process because you put them on in the morning and take them out and clean in the evening. You use them for month or longer (I used them sometimes for 2 months) and no problem.
I got them locally a year ago in two boxes of six lenses each for ca CHF50 or so. I just saw advert on the tram in Zurich and then went to their website. I cannot remember which optician it was though.
Ok, the brand I have used for the last decade or so is called "Night & Day". The box says they are "breathable contact lenses". I don't know about astigmatism. You'd have to ask your optician. In the early days I also noticed the build up that everyone is talking about. I NEVER take them out to clean. Since I started using "Complete - Blink-N-Clean" lens drops I have never had a problem with protein build up. They clean and clear the contact lens while you wear them (that's what it says on the box!).
If you wear them longer than a month they will start to feel scratchy when you wake up in the morning. This is normally when I know I need to change them.
Been wearing 'monthlies' for years.. never had any problem...and if you really want to save money you buy them here.. http://www.1800contacts.com/ .. even if you're unlucky enough to get charged income duty..they're still less than half the local price.. for the exactly the same contact lenses..
After years of wearing monthly lenses, I started wearing two week lenses. The big advantage is that they dont get as dirty as my monthly lenses used to get. The disadvange is that they're quite expensive.
Have slept in my monthly lenses for 18 years (I try to wake up for a few hours every day). I do need to take a break for a few days every month or so as my eyes start to feel tired.
In the past my trouble with "monthlies" was that I've had to take them out every night to avoid the gritty feel after the 3rd wk, but in doing so they sometimes "weaken" and tear . But for the savings (vs. dailies) I've kept with the program...nowadays I'm quite satisfied with the durability of Acuvue Clear (by Johnson+Johnson). I still have to take them out every night, but they're so durable that I can extend my use beyond a month....not sure if that's because my eyes have developed some tolerance though
Was surprised about not taking the contacts off for weeks and just had to look it up...true enough I found that there are Extended-wear disposables (weekly or monthly) that are:
1) Daily-Wear type-- which you have to remove nightly and clean as well as a 2) Continuous-Wear type-- and this you can wear even while sleeping for up to 6 nights before you replace them with a fresh pair
-- at least that's my understanding of website notes particularly on Acuvue. Guess you just have to clarify the specs before you leave them on for long.
I dont sleep in my monthlies but ive run the same pair for 2.5 months before, protein build up never has been a problem for me (i use opti free replenish by Alcon) Its quite expensive here in switzerland compared to oz but it works well
even the breathable ones, while you can sleep in them, arent that healthy for your eyes if u have them in 24/7, but if you're that lazy then go for it
I wear the Continuous Wear monthly ones as they allow most oxygen to the eye and are totally comfortable for wearing from 7am-midnight, day in, day out. I take them out each night and soak them in hydrogen peroxide cleaner (the one that has the plastic drum with a little platinum disc at the bottom, to neutralise the peroxide - must be left for 6 hours so you don't bleach your eye...).
This, I am assured by various opticians, is currently the very best eye health regime for someone who feels they really must go and stick a little bit of plastic on their eyeball. I used to use the all-in-one type solutions, but opticians have revealed they only dole these out as standard practice because lots of people can't be trusted to be able to wait for 6 hours - they're nowhere near as good at cleaning.
It's very quick and easy - remove lenses, put in little winged thingie (I never rub, as it's more likely to damage the lens and the peroxide removes all the gucky bits really effectively), add liquid, screw on top. Takes about 15 seconds, plus another 30 seconds in the morning to put them in. I'd love to have perfect vision and wake up each morning able to see, but I also want to be able to wear lenses for pretty much ever, so I'd rather err on the side of caution.
I order mine in 6-monthly boxes from www.mclinsen.ch , who deliver within a couple of days. I also keep a stack of daily disposables in, and wear these for things like going swimming in Lake Geneva - partly out of a concern for contamination, but mostly so my expensive monthlies don't get washed out of my eyes! Which has naturally never yet happened.
Can also recommend ordering lenses etc at McLinsen.ch .
The lenses were delivered within a few days, and I saved CHF90 on a set of bi-weekly disposables compared to what I usually pay at the optician.
I'm satisfied with the bi-weekly disposables " AcuVue Oasys ", according to my optician very good lenses. On solution, the Solocare is good. My optician advised me not to use solution from Optifree.
Lizzie, good luck with the protein deposits. Some have it worse than others.
I had to switch to semi-hard lenses 'coz my eyes were producing more protein than an Emmi factory. (Semi-hard ones are a b*tch to get used to, and when dust gets in an eye, ouch and double-ouch!)