- Is a contact lense safe to wear?
Considering how many contact lenses
are sold and the few complaints we hear they are surprisingly
safe if proper instructions are complied with. That means
washing the hands before handling the contact lens, not sharing
your contact lenses with others, disinfecting the contact
lens on a regular basis, using the proper contact lens solutions
and not wearing the contact lens any longer than your doctor
has recommended.
- How long do a contact lens last?
This is the most commonly asked
question and a definitive answer is hard to give because it
all depends on the type of contact lens and the care you give
them. With proper care an extended wear or frequent replacement
contact lens, because it is reusable, is capable of lasting
many months before it wears out and starts to bother you,
but never wear the contact lens longer than recommended by
your doctor. A disposable contact lens on the other hand is
not reusable and is for single use only and not to be worn
for more than a week and then discarded.
- What can I do when my contact lenses dry out
on my eyes?
Some people don't blink enough
or completely when they wear contact lenses which causes the
lenses to blur and feel gritty. Increase your blink rate to
the normal one blink every 5 or 6 seconds. If needed, supplement
with eye drops designed for contacts, or try the new Eyemist™
by Nature's Tears® which is available at most major drug stores,
or order on line at www.naturestears.com or order direct at
(800) 367-6478.
- Will the colored contact lens look on my eyes
like they do in your pictures?
They may and then again they may
not. These pictures are only meant to give you an idea of
how the colored contact lens will look on the eyes. They can
not be an exact representation because your underlining eye
colour has some effect as does the color values of your monitor.
- Is an eye exam required before ordering contact
lenses?
Not if you already have a valid
prescription that can be verified. Otherwise, you need to
be examined for contact lenses to get a prescription that
can then be verified, to get proper instructions, and to receive
follow up care. If your prescription is still valid, but you
are starting to notice some changes in your vision, you should
be reexamined as well.
- If I have good eyes can I get colored contact
lens?
Even if you have good eyes you
will still need to be examined to get a prescription that
we can verify. We have noncorrective colored contact lenses
for those with good vision who just want to change their eye
color.
- Can I use an eyeglass prescription to order a
contact lens?
Not really because the eyeglass
and contact lens specifications are not the same. Also, you
need to be evaluated and fitted for the contact lenses and
given instructions on how to care and handle them so the contact
lenses don't wear out prematurely. If you currently wear glasses
you should go back to your doctor and ask to be fitted for
contact lenses as well. Don't forget to ask for a copy of
your contact lens specifications.
- Can I get a contact lens if they are a different
size and base curve than I'm wearing now?
Thicker contact lenses requires
a specific size and curve to fit properly. Thinner contact
lenses usually comes in one standardized size and curve and
therefore does not require additional fitting. The size of
the contact lens has no affect on the visual correction and
only a minor effect on the fit, therefore they frequently
come in a 'one size fits all'. Because our colored contact
lens is thin it only comes in a median (8.6) base curve and
14.5 diameter.
- Can I get a contact lens to correct astigmatism?
Although astigmatism contact lenses
are available, we don't sell them because they are much more
complex than regular contact lenses. We feel they should be
purchased only by the doctor that fitted you in case you have
problems with the vision you get when wearing them.
- How soon can I get a contact lens?
Once we process a customer's credit
card, we forward the contact lens order to the shipping department.
Since we stock most of the contact lenses we sell, we are
able to process and ship them out within 1 to 2 business days.
Then, it can take an additional 1 to 4 days depending on the
delivery services selected. For example, Express Mail takes
1 to 2 days, and Priority Mail can take up to 4 business days
to deliver the contact lenses.
- Do you guarantee the contact lenses?
We guarantee that the contact
lenses will be free of defects when you receive them. We cannot
guarantee how long the contact lens will last because that
is strictly dependent upon the care you give them. Neither
can we guarantee that you will like the way the colored contact
lens will look on your eyes. If this is a concern to you,
we suggest you first go to your local eyecare provider and
ask them if you can try on a sample colored contact lens.
They get samples FREE from the manufacturer for just this
purpose. Naturally you do not want to indicate that you may
buy the contact lens elsewhere if you want their full cooperation.
- Is the contact lens order form secure?
Yes, our order form is secure. If you click "To Order",
you should get the message "you are about to view pages over a secure
connection." If this message does not appear, then you need to turn-on
this options through your browser to notify you when you are changing
from secure to non-secure mode. If this option has been turned off you
will not see this message, but you can still verify that the page is
secure by looking at the address bar and looking for "https://"
and the closed security lock symbol should appear on the bottom bar
on the screen.
- What is meant by an extended wear contact lens?
An example of an extended wear
contact lens is one that can be worn longer than the typical
daily wear contact lens. Whereas the daily wear contact lenses
must be taken out at night, the extended wear contact lenses
would be one that you can leave in overnight. Although most
extended wear contact lenses can be worn for up to a week
at a time, no specific length of wearing time is implied by
extended wear such as one week or one month or one year. How
long you can wear any given contact lens should be determined
by your doctor who can best evaluate the relationship between
any given contact lens and your eyes, and whether extended
wear contact lenses are right for you.
- Is it alright to sleep in these contact lenses?
Although the FDA and the manufacturer
have approved sleeping in these contact lenses for up to a
week at a time, we agree with the advice of most eye doctors
that it is a lot safer to take the contact lenses out at night
instead of sleeping in them. They have found that the rate
of complications such as red eye and eye infections is less
than 1/10 of those that sleep in their contacts, so we feel
it is best that you do not sleep while wearing your contact
lenses.
- If the contact lenses slides off center can it
get lost behind the eye?
A contact lens can slide under
the upper lid and out of view, but it can't get lost behind
the eye because the tissue that covers the front of the eye
folds back on itself and becomes the back surface of the upper
eye lid like an envelope. It causes no harm except you can't
see thru it until you recenter it over the pupil. The longer
you leave it under the lid the more mucus will attach to it
and will need a good cleaning to be usable. If you can't easily
retrieve it, try putting on another contact lens, and when
you take the new lens off don't be surprised to find the old
lens stuck to it.
