Getting Fitted For Contact Lenses

I have been a color contact lens wearer for more than 10 years. Initially, I was not fitted for the contact lenses, but I did try out different brands until I found one that felt comfortable.

Then 2 years ago I became worried that I was ruining my eyes, and decided to go to an eye doctor to be properly fitted. I thought being fitted for contact lenses meant that they would use a machine to measure my eye and tell me exactly what size contact best fit me, and test the moisture of my eye to tell me the water contact and material the lenses needed to be.

What I found out was that the eye doctor does not have such device. They simply try on different brands (which all have a patent for different lens sizes that become their unique right to produce) until I told them that I felt comfortable wearing them all day. The most they ever did was look at my contact lens through that magnifying machine to see whether there were air bubbles under my lens.

So as it turns out properly fitted lenses are achieved by trial and error - something anyone can do on their own as long as they are honest with themselves. Many people like certain brands or colors too much to give them up, so they force themselves to continue wearing them despite great discomfort. That can be very damaging.

As long as you take proper care of your lenses, disinfecting them daily, always washing your hands and drying them thoroughly before handling the contacts, and using lint-free hand towels, you should be fine. Remember, tap water, even if just a little moist of it left from improperly dried hands after washing, can cause you to have a bacterial infection in your eye. Never use anything other than contact lens solution to clean and store your lenses. You can use the Clear Care cleaning kit (and you should), and I also recommend products like enzyme cleaner and protein removers such as Myoflow to really make sure there is no debris in your contacts. Wear sunglasses outside, especially if it is windy, when you are wearing your contact lenses so no debris gets in your eye.