UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

i know that most of us are wearing rgp lenses so i wanna know what are problems facing you during wearing them and how can you overcome them if you do?

At times RGPs hurt for all different reasons. Because there is some dirt trapped underneath, they aren't cleaned properly, bad fitting or the most common problem overwearing!

You just need to build up time with any lens and get to know your eyes and how you feel wearing them. Any problems, pain or redness it is best to take them out and try again later. Always check with your optometrist if the problem persists.

It takes time but i think that it is well worth it!! Goos luck with it!

In addition to Sweets post, it is important to build lens wear slowly.

Never let your eyes dry out while wearing the lenses. If you have dry eyes find a management strategy for that. Dry eyes may not be apparent until you have problems.

Keep a diary, especially when getting used to them. If they are uncomfortable record in what way; is it the corne, eye lid, top, bottom. Is the discomfort a rubbing, stabbing, gritty feeling?

All these can help when you see an optom about problems with RGP lenses.

Glare can be a problem so a range of good quality wrapround sunglasses helps. If light at night is a problem, antireflective coatings on glasses with no vision correction help no end.

Tinted contact lenses.

Regular breaks from watching TV, playing video games, using a computer.

At work sit away from the aircon unit, have plants near by and a humidifier to help reduce the eyes drying out.

If lenses only hurt when you move your eye to the far extremes, don't, turn your head before your eyes get to the extreme of where they go. Helps prevent straining the eye muscles and you see more in the periphery of what would be your normal vision.

These are the main things that help me daily.

Hi Mo,

The potential is always there. No matter how long you have been wearing lenses, you can catch the cornea as a new person putting a lens in and you have a scratch and potential for infection.

To me it is damage limitation, as long as I take all reasonable precautions then the chances are much reduced.

I have a choice, be legally blind and still risk corneal damage if I get grit in my eye or be sighted and take reasonable precautions until no furtehr treatment is possible.

Minor surface corneal abrasions heal relatively quickly which is why I only wear lenses as long as is necessary and try and have at least one day a week. It is when abrasions are not allowed to heal that corneal scarring occurs.

I often post I use lubricating eye drops and the Systane ones produce a very thin gel layer over the cornea. So when I put a lens on, there is actually something to provide a slippy layer for the lens to move on.

They sometimes call minor abbrasions of the cornea "staining". A day without lenses will be enough to allow moderate staining to heal. but the contact lens wearer needs to be seen regularly by a fitter and possibly an ophthalmologist who will assess the extent of any damage and be able to tell if there is a need for more than just a day's rest from the lens.

Andrew

Yes it is called staining because the stain they use when you are on the slit lamp can be seen. It shows where abrasions and ulcers are.

All lenses can give a risk of having abrasions which is why we have to be so careful with cleaning and inserting lenses. Also over wearing is a big NO! Hehe

i know that most of us are wearing rgp lenses so i wanna know what are problems facing you during wearing them and how can you overcome them if you do?

Being able to continue functioning effectively at work.

You really need a private place which is clean and has a whb with hot and cold water/worktop/seat/mirror and is well illuminated were you can attend to troublesome lenses. I have never found that
facility at a workplace.

You also need a sympathetic and patient employer.

Having been forced into trying contact lenses for going on 3 years now! .... the only solution I found was to set up as a sole practitioner and work from home, although sometimes my clients request I work from their offices either on site or off site.

Steven,

Unsure of how big an organisation needs to be before they must have a first aid room.

That said, I am sure my occupational health said that if possible I should make use of the site first aid rooms or my desk in emergencies.

To me, that means if you need to visit clients, they should also have facilities such as a first aid room. I know when I did environmental work, all the places I visited had a first aid room.

Gareth - I have to thank you for pointing this issue out, not only now but in your talk from the conference DVD. I have been "negotiating" with my employers about this very point for my potential return to work and they have now agreed to give me full access to the building's first aid room when I return, with my own key. I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.

Mind you, I have no idea what this room is like as I've never had to use it before! It's in the basement apparently so we will have to see what the lighting is like!

Caution about contact lenses.

I used to find bits of dust getting in beside my RGP lenses and would NEED to get the lens out. Actually, taking it out was never a problem for me. I'd just blink it into my hat. I'd then put it into the little case that I always carried.

This meant that I no longer had that pain in my eye, but it reduced me to a single eye through which I could see. Fortuntely I never really had any problem in selecting which eye I would look through, so monocular vision enabled me to function fairly normally.

Here comes the caution: you should never feel tempted to re-insert a lens until it has been carefully cleaned and rinsed. If this means that you cannot drive, then you cannot drive.

Andrew