Contact Lenses.

[johnsmith222]

Hi guys.

I have been riding bikes for three years now, and for that time I have always worn glasses. I used to use a flipfront caberg until I went off them and needed to replace it when I crashed. I decided to go for a fixed face this time because I was convinced that the chinbar was going to pop open when I was rolling along the ground. It didn't, but decided the convenience wasn't worth the possibility of it opening. (and also the possibility of crashing with it flipped up.

As a spectacle wearer, I have now been having big issues with glasses steaming up when at a standstill, not being able to do much about it. I would now like to make the jump from glasses to contact lenses.

I want the monthly lenses and would want to use them all day, most days.

I am looking for recommendations for where you think I should go to get contact lenses. My three sisters have lenses, but they get theirs online. They recommended I didn't do this though because for the first year I need all these eye health checks or something?

I'm sure there will be plenty of you that wear contact lenses out on the bike so I'm sure you'll all have decent advice. Is there a certain type of contact lens I should have for motorcycle riding?

Any tips would be great because I don't really know a lot about the subject. I understand that these are questions you ask an optician, but I would like to feel like I've got a bit of an understanding on what I would want beforehand. For all I know, riding in contacts might be a big no-no.

also, what sort of price should I expect to pay per month for contact lenses? I understand this is a bit of a general question so I'm just looking for a general figure.

Thanks for any help.

[Bloke]

Totally recommend using contacts. I'm a soft contact lens wearer of 13 years. Have had my fair share of eye problems ( 7 x eye ulcers, retinal detachment, scratched cornea) and have used them throughout.

I use ascend premier which have one of the highest du numbers (oxygen/gas permeability) suitable for 30day constant wear however due to my eye problems I take them out at night to prevent further ulcers (fucking painful scary blinding bastards they are) and swap them for a new pair every 30 days.

Costs me £18 a month including private eye care health plan and replacement lenses every 6 months (get them in batches) and a 12 monthly full eye checkup. Have thought about going the internet route but I then think about how many times the ability to see the optician and the opthamologist on the same day has saved my sight and it's totally worth every penny.

Recommendation, do not use all in one cleaners they are so shit. Buy a bottle of saline for the first year (as you will be dropping them, drying them out all the damn time) and a hydrogen peroxide based cleaner I use Aosept plus. When it say's leave it for 8 hours do so, or you will turn into a blubbing child having put raw peroxide in your eyes (again it fucking hurts). It's a pain leaving them for so long but it's so much better than the "complete" shit you can buy, I keep a bottle of it just for times when I go out on a heavy night with an early start the next day but it never feels as good as when I use my aosept.

As for riding on a motorbike, drying out in windblast can be an issue but just keep the visor down where possible, a high du number lens should stay moist (and therefore comfortable) in most conditions, carry a bottle of saline in your tank bag to gives your lenses a freshen up when you arrive after a long ride.

While I don't but contacts online I do buy solutions sometimes, £25 for 3 months incl shipping.
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2008 VFR800 VTEC

[The Tot]

Right, same problem with you which was quickly rectified by my parents. When they emigrated back to indonesia, they ended up taking my glasses with them! . Without having any suitable choice, i opted to do a 30 day trial. Since then, I'd been wearing lenses every day for the last 5 years. The 30 day trial is essential as your optometrist will determine what lenses would be suitable for you. More importantly, you'll know what base curve your eyes are. With this value in hand, eveytime I go back to Indonesia, I make sure that I stock up on my lenses. I can get 18 months supply of J&J Accuvies for £45 since they've got a buy 2 get 1 free deal all the time. They're relatively comfortable but make sure you clean them thoroughly. I hate lenses drying out so make sure that you keep them immersed in saline for at least 12 hours and rinse them out thoroughly. I just get whatever 3 in 1 saline is available to me - usually boots or saino's basic.

Failing the above, if I'm going anywhere for an extended period of time, I end up getting these:

https://www.daysoftcontactlenses.com/GB/CountryHomepage.aspx?gclid=CMTAk7zNuKQCFYI_4wodBC69yw

A bit more expensive but you don't have to worry about monthly saline. AND you can wear them all day and renew them. They're pretty comfortable and useful if you're going on nights out where you won't always end up going back to your own place . Nothing's worse than waking up the next morning to realise you slept in your lenses and they've rolled around to the top/back of your eyelids!
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[willis1337]

Daily disposables - Specsavers. About £15 pcm (from memory). Wear for at least 16 hours a day, every day, a new set in every morning, no hassles. Contact lens check every year, eye test every two years. Absoluetly no probs and good thing is you can carry a spare set just in case (or pop into any specsavers branch if you are away from home a buy a pair (under a quid) so useful if you forget them when you are away anywhere in UK).

Sometimes forget they are there and don't take them out before I go to sleep which usually results in me peeling them out in the morning (which can be a bit uncomfortable), only to be replaced with a fresh set immediately.

Suspect dailies are cleaner than keeping a set for a month. Also no hassle of cleaning, or taking / getting cleaning solutions etc if you end up staying overnight somewhere - always carry a spare set of lenses.

[Gazz]

If anyone has the prescription -2.75 then I have a shitload of contact lenses for sale, if anyone is interested. All are dailies, so you just throw them away when you are finished with them.

My prescription has changed and I am left with lots of these.

[lucky rsm]

Laser Surgery

100% the best money i have ever spent in my life
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cb500s, er6f, er6f, Gsx650fK9

[Villers]

I wear the all day ones that you dont take out to sleep etc. Can honestly say its changed my life and after laser surgery must be the best thing you can have. I hate having the annoying pair of perspex bins on my face so they are all but banished now!

I went to specsavers just because it was easy and all the eyecare and checks are free. Think I pay about 16 a month for mine.
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RS125 > CBR6 > SV650S > ZX636R > GSX1300RZ Hayabusa > 06 RSVR Mille > SV1000S > Street Triple 765 RS

[jdm]

Been wearing contacts for about 15 years now and would recommend Dailies over Monthly, lots less hassle, also wearing monthly lenses for ten years before developing a reaction to the solution, ended up with Blepheritis! (Very ugly) and scared all the kids and half parents who were in hospital when i went!! But yeah Dailes and whatever you do don't go Vision Express - robbin b@stards!!!!!

Ps Always keep pair of spares in riding jacket just in case you maybe lose one whilst riding, been there done that and ride home was a fecker
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Good women make me happy, bad one's even happier!
Current Bike = '97 YZF600R Thundercat

[Marmalade]

I use daily disposables from specsavers.
Don't use them every day, usually when weather is going to be bad.
Buy 30 pairs at a time for £22.
Always take specs with me in their case along with a couple of spare pairs of contacts
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[Bloke]

[2wheelsteve]

Worn soft contacts for years, brilliant until you get a bit of grit under them, that doesnt happen to often but it can be a problen if you ride a naked bike
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Ride Safe

[The999Kid]

[slyrob]

Defintely worth trying dailies, some find them uncomfortable but I've been wearing them every day since '95 and never had a problem or infection etc, I think boots opticians will let you trial them. Always leave a spare pair in my bike jacket and glovebox in case
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Pitslayer wrote "it could be Ndubz.....ruining this once great place with donkey gobbling loafer knobbing "music".
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Villers wrote "as reliable as a ginger stepchild on smack"

[Dan79]

I support the comments of those in favour of laser eye surgery, had mine done this spring after seven years of riding motorbikes with glasses, or mostly contact lenses. I'd been intending to do so for years but riding to work one day in fog on the motorbike whilst wearing glasses was the decisive factor.
Contact lenses are a pain in the backside in my opinion - i used them less and less as I got older. Make a whole world of other activities convenient too, not just motorbikes.
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Previous bikes - 1984 Honda VF500 (FII) Interceptor and 1990 Yamaha RXS100
Current bikes - 1984 Honda VF500 (V30) Magna

[willis1337]

I wanted laser surgery but after being checked they said my cornea is so thin I could only have one round of surgery. While this would improve my eyesight, it may not improve it enough to do away with glasses completely, also there is no guarantee my eyes would not deteriorate further in coming years. The average person could have three or four rounds of surgery in their lifetime.

At £4k I thought it wasn't worth it in my case, but would really love to have no need for glasses or contacts. Ho hum such is life.

[Bloke]

[2wheelsteve]

[MinhDinh]

[MinhDinh]

If you have laser surgery, you will still need reading glasses at some point, and your vision can get worse for distance and you may end up having a distance prescription again.
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Hit the G spot.

[johnsmith222]

Hi guys.

Here's an update of things in terms of contact lenses. I went today to get the check up and all was well after looking at my eyes. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan though.

The optician tried putting a lens in my eye but my reaction was to blink lots and not accept the contact lens even though I tried. He said "Oh no we have a squeezer", then he sent me out the room along with my jacket and helmet to sit with a girl, and then a guy who both showed me how to put in contact lenses. I think it was because I was under pressure and they were watching me I couldn't for the life of me get them in. To make things worse I needed a shit and wanted to get them in asap so I could leave. I felt like I was in special ed or something. Anyway, they didn't give me any contact lenses and instead sent me home and I have to come back in a week or two to try again. I am really frustrated and I feel like a total pussy that I am struggling with this. I just want to take a couple home and sit at the mirror for like 2 hours solid and get them in.

I am a tard.

[Nexus Icon]

This may sound weird but bear with me.

Wash your hands.
Stand in front of a wall mirror, about a foot away.
Lick the tip of your index fingerof your right hand.
Use the index finger of your left hand to pull down the lower lid of your right eye.
Lightly touch your right index fingertip to your eyeball.
All the time concentrate on watching your finger in the mirror and don't actually look at your finger as it approaches.
Swap hands and eyes and repeat.

Keep doing this until you overcome the urge to blink and you'll soon realise that you can barely feel your moistened finger against your eye.

Once you've cracked that, putting in lenses will be a piece of cake.

Getting them out is another trick altogether.

[bikertomm]

I have worn glasses for a few years now, don't really bother me because theres no hassle, but I did try contacts about 6 months ago, ended up out cold on the opticians floor

Dont think of yourself as a pussy I fucking fainted Haha apparently it's really common for teenage boys to faint the first time having a go at contacts. It went in ok but it just felt so weird I think my body was just like WTF, he got it out when I came back round ..good times

I'll stick with glasses for a bit longer.


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07' Honda Hornet now full powaah! My guide on performing an oil change!

[yen_powell]

[MinhDinh]

[Raffles]