If you have been wearing glasses for some time, you know the struggle that comes with them. They slip off your nose and bounce up and down while you are running. They can provide excellent visual correction, but they are also quite inconvenient. In contrast, contact lenses are comfortable, light, and provide a fantastic field of vision. 

Switching between glasses and contacts can be a struggle, despite all the benefits that come with the tiny lenses. It is entirely natural, as with any other transition in life. One of the best ways to prepare and make the best of the change is to know what to expect. Once you get through it, you will understand why 45 million Americans permanently put their eyeglasses in their cases. 

What to know about contact lens use

Cleanliness Is Key 

One of the first things you should know about using contact lenses is that using them puts you at risk of eye infections. The contacts themselves cannot infect you, but the practice of using them does.

You will need to touch the lens with your fingertips. You will then put the lens on your eye. In both actions, your hands can transfer dirt on them and then to your eye if you do not clean them properly. You will need to get used to having a hygiene routine whenever you want to wear or take out your contacts. Building proper hygiene is a critical part of transitioning from glasses to contacts.

Slow Is the Way to Go

Experts advise that you transition slowly from glasses to contacts. Because the contacts go directly on your eye’s surface, they will feel awkward and uncomfortable the first time you put them on. You will need time to adjust to the feeling of having them on. 

Wear your contacts for a specific time during the first week—say, four hours a day. You can start in the morning and switch back to glasses in the afternoon. You can gradually add an hour to that time till you are fully adjusted.

Relax

With eyeglasses, you simply put them on and you are ready to go. With contacts, they sometimes need time to settle in your eye. It is especially the case with toric or bifocal lenses. Settling is essential because your vision will be less than optimal if they do not.

Contacts and Gloves

When you go for an eye test at the eye doctor, one of the first things you may learn is that your eyes are not the same. Your right eye usually has a prescription different from your left eye. This means your lenses are calibrated differently. You will want the correct lens in the proper eye the same way you want it with gloves and your hands. 

Keep the Glasses

Transitioning can be so liberating that you get rid of your glasses after getting used to the contacts. But you can lose a lens when playing a game, running, or taking an elevator. You will need a backup plan with you. Keep the glasses close.

For more tips for transitioning from glasses to contacts, call Clarity Vision in Smithfield at (919) 737-7200 to discuss your questions or schedule a contact lens exam.