How Comfortable Are Hard Contact Lenses?
April 30th, 2011 | See the Top Answers to this Question Below
I have soft contact lenses that I just got yesterday, and they keep rotating. The dr. said hard lenses would be better . How comfortable are hard lenses. The soft lenses are pretty uncomfortable, I could definitely feel them. What would you recommend?
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Having worn both soft and hard lenses I can say that hard lenses are less comfortable. You also have to get used to them very gradually to build up your wearing time and then if you dont’ wear them for even a couple of days your wearing time goes down. They are also more difficult to keep clean and more prone to problems when you wear them as they get dust etc behind them more easily when they are in the eye.
To me this sounds like your soft contacts dont’ fit properly. The dr. needs to look at either a different fit or a different brand of lens. There are types of vision where hard contacts in theory give better vision but I don’t believe there are any where you have that type of lens for comfort. If the dr. doesn’t fix your soft contacts I would be inclined to go elsewhere as this statement alone is extremely odd. Soft contacts are extremely comfortable if fitted correctly although you do have to get used to them to some extent hard contacts are PAINFUL to get used to.
When you say that the contacts keep rotating, does this mean they are going in and out of focus, or moving off the center of your eyes when you blink?
If both lenses are doing this, it sounds like a bad fit to me. All contacts are going to be most noticeable when you first start wearing them. Did the eye doctor say "WHY" they were rotating, or just that a different lens might fix the problem?
When I went in for my contacts, both the doctor and the optician said, that if they moved out of place too much, to come back for a refit and they would try a smaller base curve or a different brand. I wear contacts with correction for astigmatism, and they need to stay oriented correctly to have clear vision. So to have them not rotating or moving out of place, every time my eye moves or I blink, is pretty important if I want to see clearly, especially when driving.
Your contacts may need be in a brand that has a base curve and or shape more suited for your cornea or weighted to keep rotation to a minimum, compared to the brand you were given for the trial.
Contacts to a small extent are a lot like shoes, one size 12, does not fit all size 12 feet between different brands and styles. So it’s very likely that since they are moving/rotating so much, that the base curve is too big and a smaller one might be better for you.
Most of us use the term hard lenses to refer to PMMA lenses, a type of lens that people wore in the 60s and 70s that allowed no oxygen through. I hope your doctor was talking about rigid gas permeable lenses (RGP). They are similar in concept to hard lenses but much more healthy. RGP lenses are less comfortable than soft lenses. This discomfort decreases pretty quickly over the first few weeks of wear.
They’re very uncomfortable. I have a pair and have hardly ever worn them because I can’t get used to them. When I wear them, I always feel like I have something in my eyes. If you get a pair and can get used to wearing them, they’re great because they provide sharper vision that soft contact lenses and they last a lot longer. They’re also easier to clean and they don’t dry out eyes like soft lenses do.