contact lenses

[taters]

i am thinking about getting contact lenses. is it possible to get a pair that breathes and keeps your eyes moist? and are comfortable to wear all the time? or am i expecting to much?if not what brand do you reccomend? thanks taters

[lov_getting_lost]

I wear mine all the time - I use a pair of glasses with lenses that can be interchangable -

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

It depends on you. i used Acuvue Oasys (they spell it wrong) for a year and thought they were pretty good. I tried Day & Night lenses a couple of years ago and never went back. They fit me better and stay in better.

[Joel]

Comfort is way too subjective to assess here, but a good optometrist or opthamologist should let you try several brands/models to get the right fit and comfort. FWIW, I've been wearing J&J Acuvues for ~14 years and they've been great.

 

Maintaining moisture can be a real challenge, particularly with riding and other outdoor activities. My eyes and lenses are sensitive to breezes and air movement. So, I wear sunglasses most of the time when I'm outdoors, and almost always under my helmet. As the post above mentions, interchangeable lenses are very useful. I've got 2 pairs of Bolle Vigilante sunglasses, with gray, clear and vermillion lenses that I can change to suit almost any light condition. Love 'em. Even so, I keep a bottle of re-wetting drops in my tank bag (and desk drawer, and glove boxes in our cars, golf bag, motorhome, etc.) because dry lenses can be a real PITA.

[Aluminum_Butt]

I've worn contacts every day for nearly 30 years. No problems. Always comfortable for 16 hours a day...can start to get uncomfortable after that. I am more sensitive than most people to blowing dust, though, and that can cause issues on the bike.

 

I'd never go back to glasses, though if money were no object I'd probably get corrective surgery because of the convenience.

 

Part of the answer for you depends on how sensitive your eyes are, whether you have any astigmatism, how strong your correction is, whether you need bifocals, etc. Find an optometrist you trust and hear what he has to say.

[Dave McReynolds]

The answer to your question depends a lot on what is wrong with your eyes. If all you need is a distance correction, you should have no problems. If you have dry eyes, you may find it difficult to ride a motorcycle for more than a short distance without re-wetting your contact lenses. If you have astigmatism, the contact lenses have to float in your eyes in order to work, so the re-wetting is more important. If you have dry eyes AND astigmatism, good luck!

[Mike]

You should definitely go to an optometrist or ophthalmologist and get evaluated. I've been using AcuVue 2 lenses for some time and have had good results while riding. The thing I would note is that you may have to try different brands or models of contacts to find what works for you. The Acuvue 2 works for me, but their newer designs (like the Acuvue Oasys), which are more gas permeable and should be more comfortable and effective, cause discomfort after a couple of hours. As these lenses evolve, different compounds are used to create them. Apparently, my eyes don't like the chemical composition of these newer lenses.

 

All of this is a long-winded way of saying "go for it." If you're a candidate for wearing contacts (and few people are not), you'll likely be very pleased by them. If the first pair doesn't work out, try a few different types of lenses. You're likely to find something that works for you.

 

Finally, a word of warning: even if your contacts are approved for extended or overnight wear, don't do it. It is critically important that you remove your lenses for at least a few hours at night, giving your eyes the opportunity to breathe, that you follow the cleaning regimen recommended by your doctor, and that you dispose of the lenses when you've reached the appropriate number of wears. In many decades of wearing contacts, I've never had an infection, but it's nothing to mess around with--you can lose your vision by not paying attention to hygiene.

[steve.foote]

Taters, I wore glasses all of my adult life up until last summer. Having an astigmatism in each eye, I was never able to successfully wear contact lenses. They would work well for a few minutes or hours, but eventually would stick to the eye misaligned causing a complete loss of any usable vision. This was very frustrating and downright dangerous the couple times I tried them on the bike.

 

My solution was Lasik.

[Matts_12GS]

i used Acuvue Oasys

 

I still wear these, I have worn pretty much every accuvue extended wear lens since 1992 or so and I won't wear anyone else's lenses.

[sardineone]

Paul, I've been wearing soft contacts for over 15 years now. I think many of the brands will work fine but, I recommend lens with UV blocking. My eye doctor says you can't see the UV's. I say my earlier contacts didn't have UV block and my eyes were more sensitive to sunlight. My son has worse eyes than I and had considered Lazik until he switched his hard contacts to soft. Just be sure to always wash your hands before handling your contacts preferably with an old low lint towel. I have no trouble wearing mine for 16 hours or more occaisionally. They only get too dry if I fall asleep with them in, so out with them for bedtime.

[Trinity]

I've been wearing the Accuvue Oasys for about 2 years now. They are without a doubt, the most comfortable lenses I've worn in the past 20 years of wearing soft contacts.

 

FWIW, I typically wear my contacts for a week or two non-stop (including sleep) and then revert to glasses for 2 - 4 days in between...seems to work for me...