Contact Lenses

[Twilight Pink]

Hello all,
I'm planning to go all out this Halloween but to make it fully happen my costume is gonna require contacts and i've NEVER worn contacts before in my life X_X i've always worn glasses, but I think I look waaaay better without them
Now i've did some research on putting in and removal of them, what to be aware of (thank god that saved me from buying theatrical contacts from a beauty supply store :s ), and what's needed.

But I wanna hear personal experiences from you guys about wearing contacts. Did they work out for you? Did you have a bad experience? And so on..
Personally, i'm abit nervous. I still need to get an eye exam for contacts and order my theatrical contacts :s (hopefully I can find an FDA approved site that sells em...any recommendations? )

Thank you!!! 

[kaoskat]

Never worn contacts or glasses so I'm no help. I hope you'll share pics of your costume though!

[Twilight Pink]

Never worn contacts or glasses so I'm no help. I hope you'll share pics of your costume though!

Planning on it ^^ 

[ponycake]

I've worn contacts since I was 13, but not any crazy colored ones or costume ones or anything like that. I like them. They vary a lot by the brand. I can't stand Acuvue but I swear by Air Optix. That doesn't really help you out I'm guessing. Contacts are a life saver for meee. I hate running out and wearing my glasses for any amount of time. haha that new 1800 Contacts commercial where the girl runs out and puts on horrible glasses is so relatable.

[Beldarna]

I've had contacts for half my life and tip number one is hygiene. Never ever cheat on washing your hands properly before putting them in or taking them out. If you have monthly contacts, wash them as well thoroughly. Never use them for longer periods than stated even if it's tempting. It is your eyes we're talking about.
If you wear them for an entire day or spend a lot of time infront of a screen your eyes might get dry so keeping eyedrops that are alright for contacts is good to have near by.

I have no experience with theatrical contacts made for people with bad vision as they are too expensive for me. I have used the ones for normal vision (with glasses as well so I could see) and they are generally thicker and larger than ordinary ones and can be a bit trickier to get in. If they're painted a certain way (like cat eyes) they usually have one top and a bottom where the bottom is heavier and the top is lighter. You don't really feel the difference, you'll notice when you put them in if the heavier side gets on the top because the contact starts to turn and you'll find the catpupil laying horisontally, been there, lol. Also, depending on what kind of contact it is, the vision can get a bit restricted so I always try them on at home first so I'm getting comfortable in wearing them.

[Skeen]

Beldarna has great advice on the everyday upkeep, listen to her. 

As for theatrical lenses... Firstly, how bad is your vision?  Mine is atrocious, and finding lenses that go that high can be nearly impossible.  I had prescription costume lenses for the Fair this year and it was hard to find the correct lenses in my correct prescription. 

ANYWAY!  Different types of lenses feel different when you get them in.  I couldn't get cat eyes with my rx so I settled for the correct color with normal pupils, and if the light was low enough and my pupil dilated behind the lens I could see the color painted on it.  It gave everything a blue halo, sort of.  In bright light with my pupil contracted it was fine, but it took some getting used to.  Also, the lenses were larger than my usual ones to cover my whole iris, and I could definitely tell a difference.  Make sure you keep them moist.  If you've never worn lenses you may not know if you have dry eyes, and nothing is worse than dry scratchy contacts.  And, lenses are sized differently by different companies.  You may find you just can't wear a certain brand because of the sizing/shape. 

Additionally, if you've never worn them, you may want to have your eye doctor help you learn how to put them in and take them out.  Since you have to go to him/her anyway for the prescription, when you get the lenses ask if he can show you.  He should suggest that himself, actually.  Once you have that down, ease into wearing them.  Don't just put them in and expect to go about your day, wear them for a few hours a day until you're used to them, and always wear sunglasses if you're outside in them. 

[melodys_angel]

Ive always just worn glasses when needed.  Im really sensitive and I fear trying to put something ontop of my eyes will just make me blink uncontrollably.

Looks like you have some advice though<3

[Twilight Pink]

I've had contacts for half my life and tip number one is hygiene. Never ever cheat on washing your hands properly before putting them in or taking them out. If you have monthly contacts, wash them as well thoroughly. Never use them for longer periods than stated even if it's tempting. It is your eyes we're talking about.
If you wear them for an entire day or spend a lot of time infront of a screen your eyes might get dry so keeping eyedrops that are alright for contacts is good to have near by.

I have no experience with theatrical contacts made for people with bad vision as they are too expensive for me. I have used the ones for normal vision (with glasses as well so I could see) and they are generally thicker and larger than ordinary ones and can be a bit trickier to get in. If they're painted a certain way (like cat eyes) they usually have one top and a bottom where the bottom is heavier and the top is lighter. You don't really feel the difference, you'll notice when you put them in if the heavier side gets on the top because the contact starts to turn and you'll find the catpupil laying horisontally, been there, lol. Also, depending on what kind of contact it is, the vision can get a bit restricted so I always try them on at home first so I'm getting comfortable in wearing them.

Yes, i've read that you have to wash your hands thoroughly before insertion of the contacts and geez, cat eyes turning around? :s that's a scary thought ._. I was planning on having cat eye contacts to be used as my everyday lenses but that thought turns me off from it >.< but won't the eye doctor measure the eyeball somehow? Because surely one size contact lense doesn't fit all :o

Beldarna has great advice on the everyday upkeep, listen to her. 

As for theatrical lenses... Firstly, how bad is your vision?  Mine is atrocious, and finding lenses that go that high can be nearly impossible.  I had prescription costume lenses for the Fair this year and it was hard to find the correct lenses in my correct prescription. 

ANYWAY!  Different types of lenses feel different when you get them in.  I couldn't get cat eyes with my rx so I settled for the correct color with normal pupils, and if the light was low enough and my pupil dilated behind the lens I could see the color painted on it.  It gave everything a blue halo, sort of.  In bright light with my pupil contracted it was fine, but it took some getting used to.  Also, the lenses were larger than my usual ones to cover my whole iris, and I could definitely tell a difference.  Make sure you keep them moist.  If you've never worn lenses you may not know if you have dry eyes, and nothing is worse than dry scratchy contacts.  And, lenses are sized differently by different companies.  You may find you just can't wear a certain brand because of the sizing/shape.   

I'm near sighted...like really near sighted. I can't even make out what's on my dang laptop screen it's so bad now and of course I have glasses that work...I just have a nasty habit of standing in front of the TV screen with my glasses ;_; (I need to stop that, I know) and sense I'm gonna be out at night gathering candy and whatnot i'll be seeing a halo from this? visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 (the contact i'll be wearing)

Because this one is only going in my right eye while I'm gonna have a normal one (my eye color is brown and so is Marilyn Manson's which is cool) in my left eye

[Skeen]

If it's dark, yeah, you might be seeing a white ring around your vision.  Is that an opaque lens?  The color on mine was see through but you couldn't see my eye color (green).  I don't know what an opaque lens would be like. 

[pinkkittywinks]

What Bel said!

I wore contacts for about five years, but my body changed and my eyes became too dry to wear them. I couldn't see and my eyes got really sore so I quit wearing contacts.

For most one size does fit all with contacts! They do measure the shape of your eye though If you have astigmatism you will need weighted lenses. I have astigmatism, but I could get away with wearing unweighted lenses for a short while, however I could feel the lens spinning in my eye, also my vision was poorer since it was only partly corrected. If I'd wanted to wear contacts full time I would have needed the weighted ones

Go for the brand that feel the most comfortable to wear, as Bel said these are your eyes and you only get one pair.

Love pkw xxx

[Twilight Pink]

If it's dark, yeah, you might be seeing a white ring around your vision.  Is that an opaque lens?  The color on mine was see through but you couldn't see my eye color (green).  I don't know what an opaque lens would be like.

I'm assuming it's opaque since it's gonna cover the whole iris :o I just got that picture to show what's going on my right eye on Halloween

[Beldarna]

I've had contacts for half my life and tip number one is hygiene. Never ever cheat on washing your hands properly before putting them in or taking them out. If you have monthly contacts, wash them as well thoroughly. Never use them for longer periods than stated even if it's tempting. It is your eyes we're talking about.
If you wear them for an entire day or spend a lot of time infront of a screen your eyes might get dry so keeping eyedrops that are alright for contacts is good to have near by.

I have no experience with theatrical contacts made for people with bad vision as they are too expensive for me. I have used the ones for normal vision (with glasses as well so I could see) and they are generally thicker and larger than ordinary ones and can be a bit trickier to get in. If they're painted a certain way (like cat eyes) they usually have one top and a bottom where the bottom is heavier and the top is lighter. You don't really feel the difference, you'll notice when you put them in if the heavier side gets on the top because the contact starts to turn and you'll find the catpupil laying horisontally, been there, lol. Also, depending on what kind of contact it is, the vision can get a bit restricted so I always try them on at home first so I'm getting comfortable in wearing them.

Yes, i've read that you have to wash your hands thoroughly before insertion of the contacts and geez, cat eyes turning around? :s that's a scary thought ._. I was planning on having cat eye contacts to be used as my everyday lenses but that thought turns me off from it >.< but won't the eye doctor measure the eyeball somehow? Because surely one size contact lense doesn't fit all :o

Well, if you notice the cat lense decide to turn around, take note of the top, take it out, wash it and put it back in. Problem solved.

I've never had my eyeballs measured before trying lenses. Thats a new one for me.  I've always asumed they were one sized. When I began wearing them 16 years ago there was a difference of hard and soft lenses and my optrician decided for soft for me. Later my eyes got dry so I got a new sort of lenses for dry eyes and eyedrops. I never wear them to work anymore as I work infront of a screen up to 13 hours a day.

[MikeysGrrrl]

You have a lot of great advice already so I'll just provide my experiences.

I've been wearing contacts on and off for about 10 years now. I have a pretty heavy prescription and have tried all kinds of lenses from clear to theatrical, prescription and non prescription. I have never had problems with any of them aside from my eyes feeling dry from time to time. I have even had days where I've forgotten that I had my lenses in and went to sleep with them in (I don't recommend that). I prefer my glasses on most days, especially in the heat/humidity because putting eye drops in constantly gets quite annoying

I noticed that my eyes would feel drier faster when I was in a place that was overly warm or with air conditioning.

I always make sure to carry eye drops with me, as well as a lens case and spare glasses.

I do recommend going to an eye doctor that allows you to try them on first, just so you can get a feel for them, learn to put them in and take them out (which is not nearly as easy as it looks for some people, my husband spent 2 hours trying to put a pair in his first time lol), you'll also get to see what colours/designs work well with your eyes natural colour. Some lenses aren't meant to cover darker eyes, that can potentially be an expensive lesson, so better to be safe than sorry. However, white theatrical contacts are typically meant to cover any eye colour, but that can vary depending on brand.

Of all the lenses I wore, I can honestly say that cat eyes (jaguar in my case) were noticeably uncomfortable as they kept trying to turn but couldn't and I could feel the irritation of it. Also I once bought a pair of contacts that had a blaze/fire look and my naturally jade green eyes warped the colours, and they were the creepiest lenses I ever wore lol, in the garbage they went.

[kezrob23]

when i got my first lenses 15 years ago, the optometrist made me put them in and take them out a few times so he could be sure i could do it. i also had a trial, i had to go back after a day, after a week, after a month just to make sure my eyes didn't react.
i highly recommend that - i chop and change my lenses now, and my optometrist doesn't do that anymore cause i've worn many brands over the years with no probs. until i tried the cooper vision biofinity lenses... major reaction, itchy eyes, huge globs of eye goo... ewwww!!
i like the cibavison night and day, but my lens of choice at the moment is pure vision by bausch & lomb. i need them for distance, my eyes are pretty bad at -3.00 & -3.50, and they make night driving a lot easier.
i'd also recommend getting used to regular lenses for a few weeks, and then the special lens for a few weeks too. nothing worse than irritated eyes when you are out n about.
i too carry lens case, solution and glasses everywhere i go, and air conditioning REALLY annoys my eyes, not so much heat. another annoyance is dust, smoke (especially from smoke machines) and believe it or not, the common cold! when i am sick, the lenses are out.
oh, and don't be surprised if when you first have lenses in, you constantly adjust your glasses - that you aren't wearing. lol!! if i wear my glasses for a few weeks, i spend the next week pushing my non existent glasses up!!!

[Twilight Pink]

Gonna go in for an eye exam for my contacts tomorrow i'm anxious X_X hope it all turns out well and I don't have too much trouble and take up too much time taking em in and out