What happens if you use a 1-month soft contact lens for 2 months?

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Kaieye

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,275
0
0
My next elder brother who was a dispensing optician who fitted both hard and soft contact lenses to the public, wore the one month soft contact lenses for about six months. He never had any eye infected complications. But everyone is different...
 

Linux23

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
11,370
741
126
Originally posted by: silverpig
Originally posted by: Linux23
Originally posted by: silverpig
Originally posted by: glenn1
What happens if you use a 1-month soft contact lens for 2 months?

Would you wear the same underwear for 2 months straight? If not, then why would you wear contacts for that long?

Do yourself a favor and buy daily disposable lenses.

Would you live in the same house for 2 months straight? Do yourself a favour and pitch a tent in a new spot every night.


Sooo not applicable.

You take out and clean your lenses every day. That's like washing your underwear every night. Then there's no problem wearing the same pair for 2 months.

do you wash your undies with just plain water? well that's how it is with contact, don't matter how well you wash them, you can't get all of the bacteria out, and they just build up.

not worth the chance to me.

Have you ever worn contact lenses? That solution you buy isn't just water you know.

Ingredients:

Citrate, Tetronic 1304, AMP-95 - Gentle cleaners work together while lenses soak to remove daily protein deposits, dirt, and shield lenses against buildup

Tetronic 1304, Sodium Chloride, Boric acid, Sorbitol, AMP-95 - Distinctive comfort formula adjusts solution to more closely match your eye's natural tears.

POLYQUAD (polyquaternium-1) 0.001%, ALDOX (N[3-(Dimethylamino)propyl]-tetradecanamide) 0.0005%, Edetate disodium 0.05% - Enhanced disinfection formula kills bacteria that can cause eye infections.

This was what was printed on the box of my contact lens solution.

yes, i wear contacts, but not regularly. and that solution does not kill ALL of the bacteria in those contacts. plain and simple.
 

KeyserSoze

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 2000
6,048
1
81
A good friend of mine is in Optometry School, and she tells me that it's really bad to wear them beyond what they are designed or specified for.

As for ME, I still wear one month contacts for longer. I clean them every night, and my solution is also a "Disinfectant", so I'm not too worried.

But if you ask HER, she'll say it's still bad.




KeyserSoze
 

Imported

Lifer
Sep 2, 2000
14,679
23
81
I wear my two-week contacts for about a month, then dispose. As long as they don't irritate my eyes after the first two weeks, they stay until the month is over.
 

Linux23

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
11,370
741
126
you guys do realize that your eyes need oxygen in order to be healthy? that's another reason to properly dispose of your contact lenses.
 

CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
I usually go like 3 months on my 30 day contacts... they get calcium buildup after a while and then i throw 'em out... otherwise keep 'em til they break :D

at least thats me. :)
 

Yossarian

Lifer
Dec 26, 2000
18,010
1
81
you probably know more than the contact manufacturer and the FDA so go ahead and wear them for as long as you like.
 

abaez

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
7,155
1
81
I have 2 week ones.. I usually go about a month maybe two.. any discomfort at all I change them out..
 

TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
One thing I think many are forgetting is to switch out your case every 3-6 months. I think this is important and I do this myself because things build up in the case. If the case has built up stuff, you lenses are more likely to be infected, and become harder to clean while in the case.

I also use the Alcon supra lense cleaner drops about once a week, even though I have the No-Rub solution. I find that even when using the No-rub solution, rubbing the lenses gets them much cleaner than without rubbing them.

I wore monthly contacts for five months before. The only thing I noticed was that the effectiveness of the lenses wore off, and the image wasn't as clear anymore. Right now I am using Proclear, but I don't know if there are any better contacts for extended wear (over 12hrs).

For drops, I like the way that Clearz works.
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
I've been wearing my monthly contact for at least 9+ monthes. I never even take them out of my eyes, even to sleep. I've not had any problems what so ever with doing this. I guess it's a YMMV situation.

KK
 

PunDogg

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2002
4,529
1
0
if you took good care of it, then its ok, but if not you could get infection, i would throw them out and put in new ones

dOGG
 

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
One thing I think many are forgetting is to switch out your case every 3-6 months. I think this is important and I do this myself because things build up in the case. If the case has built up stuff, you lenses are more likely to be infected, and become harder to clean while in the case.

I also use the Alcon supra lense cleaner drops about once a week, even though I have the No-Rub solution. I find that even when using the No-rub solution, rubbing the lenses gets them much cleaner than without rubbing them.

I wore monthly contacts for five months before. The only thing I noticed was that the effectiveness of the lenses wore off, and the image wasn't as clear anymore. Right now I am using Proclear, but I don't know if there are any better contacts for extended wear (over 12hrs).

For drops, I like the way that Clearz works.
I just clean my case whenever it gets dirty. As for me, i wear the 2week contacts and sometimes i wear them for 3weeks or so, but they start to wear thin and they don't breathe as much.



 

Linux23

Lifer
Apr 9, 2000
11,370
741
126
Originally posted by: KK
I've been wearing my monthly contact for at least 9+ monthes. I never even take them out of my eyes, even to sleep. I've not had any problems what so ever with doing this. I guess it's a YMMV situation.

KK

no it's more like a YTICS situation.
 

elanarchist

Senior member
Dec 8, 2001
694
0
0
IMHO, as long as you wash your hands before putting in / taking out your contacts and carefully clean them every night with a decent quality solution, then you shouldn't have any problem with bacteria. So, I regularly wear my one month lenses for 3+ or so and change them once they start feeling less comfortable. Its not like they'll explode exactly one month after first used - remember, its in the contact lens company's best interest to maximize the number of lenses you purchase, thus, they are likely to be conservative with their recomendations.
 

beer

Lifer
Jun 27, 2000
11,169
1
0
You will NOT have eye infections if you use a daily protein remover and the recommended cleaning each night. That's not what the lifetime of the lens is for.

Contact lenses are designed for your eye to not see them as a foreign object. This is accomplished by having a certain charge on the lens, so when it gets put into your eye, it 'bonds' with your eye. Over the course of the lens lifetime, this charge lessens so it feels more and more uncomfortable - like a forein object. The replacement times are recommended based upon the expected life that it will feel 'comfortable' for. Ever wonder why gas perm/hard lenses are rated for a year at at a time? Because they aren't treated the same way as soft lenses are.
 

BladeWalker

Senior member
Aug 31, 2002
892
0
0
Wasn't there a time when disposable contacts and regular daily wear contacts were the exact same except for the packaging? The only difference were the marketing. Of course this was kept hush hush.

I once kept using a disposable for a year. Cleaning it daily (not the all-in-one solution but the daily drop) to prevent protein buildup and using the enzyme tablets every other week. I went for my checkup and the optometrist said my lenses were very clean and my eyes were healthy. I stopped doing that since I made more money and am lazier at cleaning lenses.
 

Thoreau

Golden Member
Jan 11, 2003
1,441
0
76
Originally posted by: Krassus
I've got soft contact lenses that are rated for 30 days. But the one i've been using is about 45 days old and as good as new. Why should i throw it out?

I've been wondering the same exact thing. Just switched to those 'Night and Day' lenses for 30-day stints. I just passed the 30 day mark two days ago and have been reluctant to just throw away what feels to be perfectly good lense. Im thinking they could probably make it to at least 45 days, if not 2 months, safely.

Every once in a while (couple days?) i drop in some lens cleaner right onto the lens, blink a few times, bada bing, like new. This particular brand of lenses (hell, only ones on earth rated for 30 days by the FDA) also have a coating that helps prevent buildup of calcium nd bacteria. I'm sure that hte coating loses some of it's effectiveness after the 30 day period, but thats where more frequent rinsing/cleaning comes in. A bottle of lens cleaning stuff costs lot less than a 6-pack of these lenses (~$130)
 

rival

Diamond Member
Aug 19, 2001
3,490
0
0
never had a problem wearing them a few months past their 'expiration' date...been doing it for 5 years now...soak them everynight in a multi-purpose solution
 

sxr7171

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2002
5,079
40
91
They're actually the same lenses as some regular daily wear types. The whole disposable thing is sort of a commitment to manufacturers to buy a certain number of lenses a year so that the manufacturers can invest in the production facilities to pass on the economies of scale to consumers. It sort benefits everybody, it makes the lenses so cheap that most people are better off throwing them away every day/week/fortnight since it reduces risk of infection and possible irritation, allows for spares in case of loss etc. The manufacturers can count on a more consistent revenue stream and expanded operations means more money to go around in mangement.

Quite frankly I like the idea of paying around $200 for 24 pairs of lenses instead of $200 for one pair. Also reducing cost of production helps provide better care for people who can't afford health care - handing out free lenses these days is almost nothing these days, not so when a pair cost $200.

I wear mine longer than I should mostly because I'm lazy, but since it's so cheap I really should go pick up another 6-month supply, maybe even tomorrow.
 

Danman

Lifer
Nov 9, 1999
13,134
0
0
I have 2 week disposable contacts from Acuvue 2. I wear them for a good month. Had one eye infection about 2 years ago and I was taking them out everyday when I got it. :eek: