Sitting in that chair in the optometrists office I felt like a giddy school girl just thinking about the colored contact lenses I was going to get. As my mind was racing I started to get a bit overwhelmed by all of the information my doctor was telling me. I finally had to stop him and ask if he was going to give me a care and information sheet when I leave, laughing he of course nodded that he would.
One thing that I thought was excellent was the fact that I could actually take a copy of my prescription and order my contacts online. I could have them delivered to my front door! That excited me. Especially after sitting in this office for an hour.
The drive home was nothing more than anticipation building up inside of me. I have never been free of glasses, I got my first pair when I was only 4 years old. So I have literally worn them the majority of my life. I was thinking about how much more mature I would look with contacts, instead of these glasses. Pulling into the driveway I gathered all of my things, including the care instructions for colored contact lenses.
Sitting down at my kitchen table I started looking over the paperwork. I have to say I was a bit surprised by some of the obvious notes that they explained. Such as:
- Always making sure to wash your hands with warm soap and water before you handle your contact lenses, and before you touch your eyes.
- Make certain to clean and disinfect the colored contact lenses as they are prescribed. Normally they are placed in a clean case with fresh solution.
- Clean the contact case after each use with warm water and allow to air dry after each and every use.
These were basic instructions that to me seemed like no-brainers. However, I had to remember what a college professor told me one time about ‘instructions’ and why they are so basic. Because at one point in time, someone had to have had an issue with an aspect of the instruction, so to avoid another individual from having the same confusion; they now put them in print. That was his explanation to our class on why there are instructions on shampoo and conditioner bottles.
There is one rule that I saw did not change, and I am sure it won’t change in the near future either. The fat that you need to see your eye specialist annually. This way you can be checked to make certain your prescription is not changing, either getting worse or correcting itself. If your prescription needs to be changed, make sure to get a new copy of the prescription to give to the company you order your colored contacts lenses from so they can update their records and your prescription. Keeping this updated is vital to your vision and the health of your eyes at the same time.