Please, anyone, what am I doing wrong with my contacts!

I have astigmatism as well, but it doesn’t seem to affect my contacts. What brand are you using? I can’t use Acuvue..they just feel funny. I use ProClear, and have for many years.

Maybe they are going in backwards..that causes a lot of discomfort. Also, the cleaning solution you use…what is it? It might be irritating you. I usually rinse my contacts off with saline after they soak overnight.

There is probably still oil on the contacts

You may just need to get used to them. I had a problem when i first wore mine. I used Opti-free express as a lens cleaner/storage and It worked well for me without irritation.

Your first contacts, eh?

Yah, they will feel like there are sticks poking you in the eye for a period. You will adjust and eventually, they feel fine all the time.

Just be patient. Sounds like you’re doing it right.

Also, after washing your hands, you should place the contact in the palm of your hand. Then squirt a little lens solutions on and gently rub with your index finger over the lens. Rinse the lens thourougly and put them in your eye wet. Make sure they aren’t backwards.

All good tips so far. Another thing to check is what you’re drying your hands with. I’ve worn contacts for years, but I had a similar problem when I was staying with a friend not long ago. When I would dry my hands with the hand towel that was out, tons of little cotton fibers would stick all over my fingers, then transfer to the contact lens when I touched it. It hurt like hell!

@La_chica_gomela: I never dry my hands between washing and handling my contacts for that reason! A little tap water won’t matter. You can examine the lens for lint prior to inserting it, too.
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I first tried Astigmatism lenses 5 years ago, and they were very thick and drying and I didn’t tolerate them well. But they didn’t feel scratchy. My new ones are the AcuVue Oasys for astigmatism, and they aren’t as thick, so are much more comfortable.

My O.D. also changed my solutions… I was using B&L ReNu, but now use OptiFree ReplenisH, with the SupraClens enzyme drops once or twice a week. The solution doesn’t burn like the ReNu did, and the enzyme cleaner helps remove the buildup that has always been an issue since I first got contacts in 1980. Even with disposables, I tend to generate buildup quickly. You just put one drop in with the regular solution and soak overnight – so much less complicated than those tablets back in the day!

Also, after I rinse and place the lens on my fingertip and position it for proper insertion, I put a drop of the rewetting drops inside the lens for extra comfort and moisture. It also helps the lenses settle into the proper position more easily, since they have the extra lubrication.
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If these tips aren’t helping, as your doctor to try a different brand of lens. This should be a trial pair that you have, and the whole point of the trial is to find what works and what doesn’t. The first try isn’t always the best for every person, and they should know that.

If they give you a hard time, then they are not doing their job as healthcare providers and are acting more as salespeople—don’t hesitate to tell them so and let them know that you will file a complaint with the state board of health (their license should be displayed in the open so you can get their number; which should also be printed on ALL their cards and letterhead).

As a healthcare provider, I get sick when I hear how some patients tolerate being treated by others, when they tell me how caring and thorough I am. Remind them that you are a patient and not a customer, and you are not at McDonald’s saying that you don’t like the Big Mac and would rather have a Quarter Pounder.

@hearkat – you mentioned what i was going to bring up, which is using an enzyme cleaner. You can get deposits on your lenses I think it’s protein and you have to get it off with enzymatic cleaner.

@deni – talk to yor eye doctor to see what he/she says about this. The description that you gave of the pain was exactly how I felt when I had this build up.

@tedibear39: Yes, it is a protein buildup that causes the lenses to feel scratchy. But @deni is saying that they feel fine after about 5 minutes, which wouldn’t be the case if it is a protein buildup. It does sound to me as if the problem is the lenses taking too long to settle into position – they are weighted to do so, and blinking and rubbing makes it worse. Try using a drop of the lubricant/rewetting drops inside the lens as I described, then keep your eyes closed for a minute and you can actually feel them settle.

@hearkat oops! I missed that 5 minute part. I was kinda focused on the pain.

< < wears leave-in-for-30-days-straight, disposable contacts. Never needs enzymatic cleaners.

@tedibear39: I missed it the first time around, too! We’re only human!

@robmandu: Well, you are incredibly fortunate that you don’t have eye goobers like some of us do!

Maybe just dripping in some eye drops (or solution which is what I use since its already on hand and nobody’s told me not to) and closing your eyes for a minute or so would help them settle and not be such a problem. Instead of rubbing (bad), while your eyes are closed try looking around. Up, down, side to side… That might help get them into place.

I completely agree with watching what you dry your hands on and, for that matter, what you wash your hands with before trying to put your contacts in. You might be using something that’s causing the irritation and its washing off with all the tears that your eyes are producing while you’re having such trouble. Maybe you’re not getting all the soap off or something like that.

@hearkat: If I don’t dry my hands, my contacts stick to my finger, and I can’t get my contacts off my fingers and into my eyes.

@La_chica_gomela I had a t-shirt on my towel rack that I used to dry my hands before I put my contacts in. Left them a little damn which helped it stick a little to my finger to made it easier to get in and didn’t leave me all lint-y..

@avvooooooo: I have an old t-shirt I use to dry my eyeglasses! Great minds think alike!
@La_chica_gomela: I’m rinsing the lens with solution before insertion, so they get wet again anyway; I find the lenses seem stickier the drier my hands are.

@La_chica_gomela I was actually thinking that that might be the problem. See, if I dry them and then put them in, the contact doesn’t stick to my finger BUT it gets little linty things on it. But If i leave them wet its much harder for me to get the contact to stick to my eye. Oh life.

Hopefully with these tips tomorrow morning will be slightly less painful :)

@deni Find a tshirt to use to dry your hands off before putting your contacts in. You won’t get any lint on your hands that way.

I’ve always used a slightly damp finger to put the contact in with. But whatever works for you!

@hearkat: Yeah, I mean my fingers get wet with the solution too. For me, that’s different from the being wet with tap water.

I have found that my eyes feel scratchy when I accidently get my left and right contacts reversed (not inside out). As soon as I put them in correctly they feel fine. I’ve asked a friend and she agrees that hers hurt when they are on the wrong side for her as well. I’ve only been wearing contacts for a month and I’m embarased to say that it’s taken me this long to figure this out. Of course i didn’t have them reversed every day, but when i did – i thought my vision was bad because my contacts was bothering me. I didn’t realize it until it was scratching for over a day and I was outside and put one hand over each eye and realized it was wrong. I changed them and they have been fine ever since. Hope this helps someone else.

I have a similar problem with my lenses and it is generally down to the solution the contact lens is housed in being a slightly different PH balance to my tears and so it stings like hell!
Best thing for me is just rinsing the contact in saline and then inserting as the bottled saline appears to be a bit kinder on my eyes.

I noticed a comment that said tap water won’t hurt but I can assure you it can. Tap water contains micro organisms and bacteria that if left in contact with the eye can cause irritation and even infection.

I work in an opticians and have had to put in all sorts of contacts and so if the problem persists talk to your contact lens optician about trialing a different lens as I have found the solutions to differ hence less initial pain.