1. There is one “best” contact lens

Do not think that if your first contact lens experience is less than ideal that you must be “contact lens intolerant”. The truth is, what one patient loves another patient may hate. It is all about how that contact’s shape and material interacts with your unique eyeball. Not every contact lens and eyeball play well together. There is no way to predict if you eye will like a particular lens until you give the lens a test drive for a few days in a trial pair. Expect some trial and error with various lens brands.
Every doctor will have their go-to contact lens that “on average” they find the most success with. However, you may not be average. It is not unusual for the second or even third trial pair of different contact lens brands be the “ah-ha!” moment when great comfort is found. Most doctors will have the patience as long as you do to find your “ah-ha!” contact lens.

2. All contact lens cleaners are alike

The following is a very common conversation heard in an eye doctor’s office…
Patient: I suddenly noticed a month ago my contacts were not as comfortable anymore.
Doctor: Are you still using the same cleaner I prescribed when you ordered your contacts?
Patient: No. A month ago I found a generic cleaner for half the price so I started using that one.

Contact lens cleaners are not alike. Stick with the solution your doctors recommends when you order your contacts and the risk of solution-caused comfort issues will be greatly minimized. Generic cleaners frequently will increase irritation with contact lens wear.

3. Contacts can roll behind my eye into my brain

There is an anatomical barrier called the conjunctiva which prevents the contact lens, or any foreign object, from getting behind the eye.

4. Swimming will cause the lens to float out of my eye

To the contrary, swimming in contacts will actually adhere the contact lens to the eyeball tighter. For this reason, it is recommended to not attempt to remove the lens for a half hour after swimming to allow it time to dry. Trying to remove the lens too soon after swimming may cause a scratch on your eyeball from having to use extra force removing it.
Although pool swimming in contacts is generally safe (hot tubs being the exception), if you swim frequently most eye doctors will recommend you use daily disposable contact lenses so that you never have to use the same lens twice since pool chemicals and other impurities may build up on the lens. If a daily disposable lens is not an option for you, your doctor will likely recommend a hydrogen peroxide based cleaning system. Hydrogen peroxide cleaners provide extra-strength cleaning of most things the pool may leave behind on your contacts.

5. Buying contact lenses online is the most economical way to buy contacts

Actually, this is rarely the case. Historically, online retailers averaged only a couple dollars cheaper than doctor’s offices for the same contacts. Recently, many of the most common contact lens manufactures now require “uniform pricing”, meaning online retailers and doctors now have the exact same price for many brands of contacts.
The real savings at your doctor’s office occur when manufacture rebates (typically not valid with online purchases) and insurance benefits are applied.

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