astigmatism

shadow888 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-19-2010, 05:15 PM

hey all, I recently got contacts and am having a problem with my eye feeling as if the contact is scratching it.

I know it takes a few days or even weeks to fully get used to the feeling, but the thing is that it is only my left eye that burns. My right eye feels as if there is nothing in it.
The doc said that i had slight astigmatism in my left eye, but that he didnt want to give me astigmatism lenses for my left eye because it was so slight that it would do more harm than good in his opinion; he said astigmatism lenses tend to slide around in the eye and cause blurry vision, or something to that extent.
I guess my question is, should i order astigmatism lenses for my left eye anyway? or will the feeling 'go away' as my eye gets used to it?(like i said, the reason im not giving it more time is because my right eye has NO discomfort whatsoever)

the trial lenses he gave me were the aqua optix ones btw.

thanks for you time,
shadow

unclebuck · #2 (**permalink**) 03-22-2010, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadow888

hey all, I recently got contacts and am having a problem with my eye feeling as if the contact is scratching it.

I know it takes a few days or even weeks to fully get used to the feeling, but the thing is that it is only my left eye that burns. My right eye feels as if there is nothing in it.
The doc said that i had slight astigmatism in my left eye, but that he didnt want to give me astigmatism lenses for my left eye because it was so slight that it would do more harm than good in his opinion; he said astigmatism lenses tend to slide around in the eye and cause blurry vision, or something to that extent.
I guess my question is, should i order astigmatism lenses for my left eye anyway? or will the feeling 'go away' as my eye gets used to it?(like i said, the reason im not giving it more time is because my right eye has NO discomfort whatsoever)

the trial lenses he gave me were the aqua optix ones btw.

thanks for you time,
shadow

Hi Shadow. Welcome to Lens 101.

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your contacts. Air Optix Aqua, right?

I think the reason why your doctor is reluctant to give you the astigmatism lenses (Also knows as "toric.") is because they have to sit on your eye a certain way, and so the lenses have a part that's thicker to act as a weight to keep them in the right position. Kind of like those toys that "wobble but they don't fall down." If your contacts are not positioned correctly, you will not see clearly.

So . . . if your non-toric lenses are scratchy, contacts that "wobble" when you blink won't be any more comfortable.

In my humble, non-professional opinion, you should just give yourself a little more time to get both eyes accustomed to wearing your contacts. Let us know how you're getting along, okay?

Knotlob · #3 (**permalink**) 03-22-2010, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadow888

hey all, I recently got contacts and am having a problem with my eye feeling as if the contact is scratching it.

I know it takes a few days or even weeks to fully get used to the feeling, but the thing is that it is only my left eye that burns. My right eye feels as if there is nothing in it.
The doc said that i had slight astigmatism in my left eye, but that he didnt want to give me astigmatism lenses for my left eye because it was so slight that it would do more harm than good in his opinion; he said astigmatism lenses tend to slide around in the eye and cause blurry vision, or something to that extent.
I guess my question is, should i order astigmatism lenses for my left eye anyway? or will the feeling 'go away' as my eye gets used to it?(like i said, the reason im not giving it more time is because my right eye has NO discomfort whatsoever)

the trial lenses he gave me were the aqua optix ones btw.

thanks for you time,
shadow

I have more (minor) astigmatism in my right eye than the left eye and this tends to cause some discomfort in my right eye with most (but not all) soft lenses and to a greater extent with RGP lenses. You need to give the lenses more time.

The toric lenses are more expensive and by all accounts are more troublesome as they have to be weighted to ensure that the cylindrical correction for the astigmatism sits on the correct axis to correct the astigmatism. If the lens moves a few degrees off the reqired axis, your vision will be blurry.

If your eye sight is relatively similar in both eyes, you could, as a test, swap the lenses over from right to left (but remember which lens is which). If there is anything wrong mechanically with the lens, then you may expect to feel the discomfort in the OTHER eye. If no change, then it's probably your astigmatism and you will have to give your eyes more time to adjust.

Remember to put the lenses back in the correct eyes though, after the test.

knotlob

Scienceguy · #4 (**permalink**) 04-01-2010, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadow888

hey all, I recently got contacts and am having a problem with my eye feeling as if the contact is scratching it.

I know it takes a few days or even weeks to fully get used to the feeling, but the thing is that it is only my left eye that burns. My right eye feels as if there is nothing in it.
The doc said that i had slight astigmatism in my left eye, but that he didnt want to give me astigmatism lenses for my left eye because it was so slight that it would do more harm than good in his opinion; he said astigmatism lenses tend to slide around in the eye and cause blurry vision, or something to that extent.
I guess my question is, should i order astigmatism lenses for my left eye anyway? or will the feeling 'go away' as my eye gets used to it?(like i said, the reason im not giving it more time is because my right eye has NO discomfort whatsoever)

the trial lenses he gave me were the aqua optix ones btw.

thanks for you time,
shadow

How are things going for your Shadow? You've got some good answers here. When are you going to tell us what you think of them? I like knotlob's idea about switching out the lenses. Have you tried that yet?

Stylinbabe · #5 (**permalink**) 11-01-2010, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scienceguy

How are things going for your Shadow? You've got some good answers here. When are you going to tell us what you think of them? I like knotlob's idea about switching out the lenses. Have you tried that yet?

No response from Shadow888 as of yet. I hope that's a sign that his or her left eye isn't feeling scratchy any more.

unclebuck · #6 (**permalink**) 11-05-2010, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stylinbabe

No response from Shadow888 as of yet. I hope that's a sign that his or her left eye isn't feeling scratchy any more.

Yeah. I don't want to say anything bad about Shadow888, but when someone comes onto this site and asks a question, and then people answer, it would be nice to know if the answers were helpful or not. Even if it's to say "I tried that, but it didn't work." That way people can give different suggestions.
My guess is that Shadow888 tried one or more of the suggestions posted here and it worked.