Disposable Contact Lenses - Why Toss Them Out?

[dpk777]

I use disposable contact lenses and I think theyre to be thrown out every 3-4 weeks, but if they still seem fine why toss them out?

 

[Miramonti]

I figured it would be because they would start to breakdown and begin to dry out but I'm using contacts for the first time and I'd like to know what people say too.

 

[astriy]

usually they deteriorate to a point where they're not as effective. mine also become kinda cloudy because of the tiny scratches while cleaning. I usually don't stop wearing until they become too cloudy or tear.

just keep wearing until you can't anymore

 

[glenn1]

Why not re-use a paper plate for next week's meal? Certain items are intended to be disposable for a reason. Extended wear contact lenses sound like a great idea, until you stop to think about it... would you use extended-use underwear? Same sort of thing if you ask me.

 

[WhiteWonder]

i need to get some, glasses sux0r

the monthly ones costly?

 

[Praetor]

Wasn't there an article on Dateline or something saying that (at the time) manufacturerers (sp?) were just repackaging normal contacts as disposable?

 

[HamSupLo]

keep wearing them until they hurt

 

[TerryMathews]

B&L actually lost a court case over their daily disposable contacts; something to do with B&L stating that it was dangerous/a bad idea to wear longer than a day, but the plantiffs proved that there was no possible way their contacts went bad over the course of a day.

Anyway, I wear my contacts until they are so blurry as to be unusuable or something happens to them (Hole or tear). I'm at 5 months on a pair of one month disposables. I've also found that keeping them in 24/7 works a lot better than taking them out every day; I never get eye infections anymore. I've also been wearing contacts for 7 years, I couldn't sleep in my contacts for the longest time. The eye lid and the fluids around the eye natrually clean the contacts, and soft contacts are porous, so they allow the cornea to breathe. YMMV, but I have no problems.

 

[Scipionix]

I use acuvue2, which I think are 2 week disposables, and my optometrist just tells me to replace them monthly.

 

[amnesiac]

AFAIK it costs the company the same to repackage lenses so many of them are the same whether they are 2-week or 1-day.
I've worn my 1-day lenses up to 3 days with no ill effects. I don't do it often though.

 

[Nefrodite]

Originally posted by: TerryMathews
B&L actually lost a court case over their daily disposable contacts; something to do with B&L stating that it was dangerous/a bad idea to wear longer than a day, but the plantiffs proved that there was no possible way their contacts went bad over the course of a day.

Anyway, I wear my contacts until they are so blurry as to be unusuable or something happens to them (Hole or tear). I'm at 5 months on a pair of one month disposables. I've also found that keeping them in 24/7 works a lot better than taking them out every day; I never get eye infections anymore. I've also been wearing contacts for 7 years, I couldn't sleep in my contacts for the longest time. The eye lid and the fluids around the eye natrually clean the contacts, and soft contacts are porous, so they allow the cornea to breathe. YMMV, but I have no problems.

u sound more lucky then anything else. anecdotal evidence doesn't mean much. people that leave contacts in are certainly at risk of eye damage its like how some people who smoke die in their 90s playing russian roulette with one of your most important senses is silly.

 

[Paulson]

I wear mine until they start to get cloudy...

they wear out after a while, or the calcium builds up on them which is why they get blurry... something like that...

 

[Wingznut]

I toss them out because I like my eyes.

I used to mistreat and not take care of my contacts. One visit my eye doctor refused to give me a new contact lens prescription, because the capillaries (sp?) in my eyes has almost grown into my iris, because they were starving for air.

Had I continued with my poor eye care, I would've had permanent eye damage.

No thanks. I'll clean them daily and throw them out as recommended.

 

[m2kewl]

Just wear it to it clouds up...i have monthly disposables over the past two years and i normally toss them every three months. Recently went for an eye exam, my prescription hasn't changed. Properly clean them, and don't sleep with them.

 

[Linux23]

bacteria grows on the lenses each time you put them on, and not all of the bacteria is washed away when you clean the lenses. bacteria can cause serious eye damage, not including the fact that you are starving the eye from oxygen, eventhough you may not notice.

I agree with Wingznut Pez on this one.

 

[apoppin]

There is a little room to "fudge" . . . the two week Acuvues will last longer than 2 weeks - depending on how long they are worn per day and how well they are treated.

I usually save my old lenses for when I go surfing - the old ones tend to fit less well and just wash off (which is better than losing a brand new one).

HOWEVER, it is horribly irresponsible to use them way past the recommended usage - especially to wear and sleep in them 24/7 for weeks on end. You do have a risk of serious eye injury and even blindness.

 

[WhiteWonder]

how much do disposible contacts cost?

i always thought they were monthly

 

[apoppin]

I get the 2 week Acuvue at Walmart for about $16 for a six-pack. They were recently on sale and I stocked up . . . also, I got some major rebates (so they turned out quite a bit cheaper than that).

EDIT: I only wear mine about 8 hours a day (5 or 6 days a week) - I actually prefer glasses when I am around the house. Mine last about a month before I notice any difference and downgrade them for surfing. I figure it costs me about $5 a month plus solutions.

Now - My question: Do you use saline to rinse the lenses before insertion into your eyes or the "multipurpose" for everything?

 

[UCDznutz]

okay i use disposable contacts (acuvue 2) but i don't leave em in my eyes. I take em out every night and leave them in the no rub solution i got. Is using them for over a few months while taking them out every night a bad thing? I understand that leaving them in causes issues, as mentioned above.

 

[apoppin]

A few months is really stretching things. Think of your eyes FUTURE. Then weigh that against the $5 you just "saved".

 

[TerryMathews]

Originally posted by: apoppin
HOWEVER, it is horribly irresponsible to use them way past the recommended usage - especially to wear and sleep in them 24/7 for weeks on end. You do have a risk of serious eye injury and even blindness.

A) Irresponsible?

B) Show me the proof, from a source not related to a contact manufacturer. You can't. It doesn't exist. Nowhere else does the body reject plastic, why would it on the eyes, a location where plastic does not even lie under the top surface?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: TerryMathews

Originally posted by: apoppin
HOWEVER, it is horribly irresponsible to use them way past the recommended usage - especially to wear and sleep in them 24/7 for weeks on end. You do have a risk of serious eye injury and even blindness.

A) Irresponsible?

B) Show me the proof, from a source not related to a contact manufacturer. You can't. It doesn't exist. Nowhere else does the body reject plastic, why would it on the eyes, a location where plastic does not even lie under the top surface?

A) YES, irresponsible.

B) I don't care to show you anything - they're your eyes. The proof is already readily available but you're already blind to it.

Anyone else can do a "search" on 'disposible contacts'.

 

[WhiteWonder]

how do you get these things? do i have to go throught my eye doc? that guy is an a$$hat. i have my prescription, can i just take that to longs or something?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: WhiteWonder
how do you get these things? do i have to go throught my eye doc? that guy is an a$$hat. i have my prescription, can i just take that to longs or something?

You have to have a prescription for (usually a specific) "disposible" lens. If you have a "regular" daily wear lens prescription, it may not translate. And - then armed with your new prescription, you may fill it anywhere (even the Internet - check Hot Deals - occasionally there is a really good price).

 

[bizmark]

I've been wearing disposables (B&L) for about 4-5 years I suppose... The longest I have ever worn a pair (wearing them daily and sleeping in them 50% of the time) was about 2.5 months. At that point, they became noticably 'hard' and felt bad against my eye. They felt thinner too, just to my fingers. At one point I got sloppy with my cleaning and got an eye infection. Believe me, I clean them well now. Anyway, now I wear them about 1/2 and 1/2 with my glasses.... last week I kept my contacts in for 4 days straight and didn't have any problems. I've never had problems sleeping with them in, except a little dryness and irritatedness when I wake up (only sometimes though). I wear them so irregularly now that it's basically an estimation thing when I throw them away.... usually, one night I'll just come home and feel so tired that I don't want to mess with my contacts, and I'll just throw them in the trash and fall asleep, and it's always at least a month so I don't feel bad about it