cranky contacts

the only good thing about the cold weather snap that hit town on thursday is that my eyes finally settled down.

i wear disposable contacts, and have for years. most of the time, i am perfectly content with them. i like that i have minimal fuss and muss: i pop them in first thing in the morning and don’t take them out until 27 seconds before i go to bed (i am as blind as the proverbial bat if my eyes are au naturel).

i will be eternally grateful to whoever invented contacts (why is this person not as famous as thomas edison and the lightbulb??!). i first got eye glasses in grade four. i tolerated them, but felt very self-conscious about wearing glasses, and also did not like the weight on my nose, or the way they got spotted with drops when it rained. i remember wanting to get contacts as early as grade five. jackie calvert in grade six had them, why couldn’t i?! but my dear eye doc (wonderful dr white) forbid contacts until i was fifteen. i clearly recall that i got my first pair of soft contact lenses in the fall of grade ten. oh, happy day! and i’ve worn contacts ever since.

over the years, i’ve mainly stayed with soft contacts although there was a brief interlude where i wore the gas permeable type. i’ve worn disposable/soft contacts for at least 10-15 years, now, and have no plans to do anything else.

loyal to the brand

but what about laser surgery, you ask?? i know several people (ex: gina!) who have gone this route, and while they are all success stories, this option is just not for me. as the brother says, “it’s lasers! it’s your eyes!” so far, i have been unable to wrap my head around taking that chance, even though the thought of waking up in the morning and actually being able to see is extremely enticing.

i do have a backup pair of glasses:

i could not see as i snapped this pic as i already had my contacts in, too! whoa, blurriness!

however, i only wear these once in a blue moon – like, if i’m sick. never out in public. actually, the prescription of them is quite outdated, so they’re not all that clear! and because the lens area is pretty small, i have a window of clarity framed by fuzziness.

anyway…back to the current situation! around the end of august, my contacts really started to bug me. they felt cloudy, itchy, were riding up and down in my eyes…very annoying. not to mention, i looked like i was smelling something rotten or was in a very pissy mood as i squinted and peered through scrunched up eyes:

a re-enactment

i chalk it up to the “gunk” in the air – allergies seemed to be flaring up among friends and family, so i think that’s what was affecting me. [in aruba, i also have contact difficulties – i’ve had to wear glasses there – or put in a new pair of contacts every two days – because the discomfort of my contacts was just too great; i am thinking it is the sand and salt particles in the air that are to blame].

for right now, the easy solution, of course, is just to put in a new pair of contacts. however, i am in a rationing position, these days: i have eight sets of disposables left, and have to get through ’til the middle of december if i want insurance to cover the next batch that i order. which i do!

i finally gave in, though, and popped in a new pair early last week. ah, relief! clear vision and normal-feeling eyes! to help keep the contacts as comfy as possible for as long as possible, i stopped wearing mascara and eye shadow (i think little specks and flakes get in my eyes, sometimes) as an experiment. so far so good!

what’s your vision situation? and would you ever consider laser surgery? my left eye is considerably weaker than my right eye.

question: i wonder if they could make these into prescription glasses?

the beloved if ridiculous "kiki harrharrwoods"

that would be a great signature look, eh?!