Reusing daily disposable/extending fortnightly contact lenses?

iSamurai on 16/07/2013 - 00:55

Sometimes I wear fortnightly lenses and other times daily disposables. Most of the time when I wear contact lenses it's for doing physical activities, so not for long periods. I'm wondering, do people rinse their dailies with contact lens solution so that they last two days instead of one? I think these lenses aren't designed to last for several days, but surely they'd go for at least 20 hours (2 days x 10 hours)? I thought that they're kinda like buy now pay forever trying to sell you more contacts (but less the upfront cost).

I'm also wondering would it be possible to extend the fortnightly wearing schedule to maybe a week extra? I don't wear contacts everyday so that "makes up" the days not worn. Also, I heard that some optomertrists say it's okay to wear fortnightly lenses for three or even four weeks provided that they are cleaned properly and that they don't start to irritate your eyes due to protein buildup.

According to this article (though it's a tabloid with no referenced source) these lenses are near identical apart from the base curve. I know that different lenses use different polymers but I think they're just a variation of one or the other.

I just thought this could potentially save me a few hundred bucks a year just on contact lenses :P

General Discussion

Comments

  • tonester on 16/07/2013 - 01:20

    how much do you value your eyesight? no eye transplants and artificial eyes aren't as good as bionic ears yet…

    with care one can double the intended usage period - ymmv - but of course it's not recommended
    http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/27669#comment-283270

  • CSR on 16/07/2013 - 07:46

    I used to wear daily disposables twice. Used them for playing sport so they were worn for maybe a few hours at most. Never had any issues.

  • GNIC on 16/07/2013 - 10:36

    I wear daily contacts for 2 full days. A rinse and light rub is all thats required on day 2. If anything I find that the lenses are more comfortable on the 2nd day. I have experimented with a 3 day cycle but the lenses are uncomfortable on day 3 so would not recomend 3 days. More info re extending wear of daily lenses is available on the internet

    • iSamurai on 17/07/2013 - 00:57

      Alright, I might try this :)

  • Smulder on 16/07/2013 - 10:38

    I have always found daily contact lenses much less rigid than 2-weekly ones, and they seem to lose a lot of their shape after being worn and removed, to the point that they feel uncomfortable if I put them back in. That might just be the brand I use though.

    Whether it is safe to do so though, I have no idea.

  • c64 on 16/07/2013 - 12:22
    +3

    your eyes are one of your greatest assets you have. stop being so stingey and risking your eye health

  • krayz on 16/07/2013 - 16:05

    personally, I use my fortnightlies for about a month. seem to be ok, i replace them when they feel uncomfortable

  • kristo on 17/07/2013 - 00:38

    I have tried them but found them uncomfortable, stuck with my gas perm lenses.
    I know a couple of people using daily disposable lenses for years and swear by them, who both use them for 4-6 weeks, or when they start tearing. you have to spend more money for weekly solutions to clean them properly, though, or the protein will build up and distort / cloud your vision, as well as not feeling comfortable as the eye constantly shifts the lens to try to clear the debris. you should not need worry about infections provided you soak them every night in a cleansing solution, and make sure your hands, case, etc are all keep clean. bear in mind lenses vary from one manufacturer to another, shape/weight/thickness/etc no matter what your script is. you could try a few different brands before finding one that suits your eyes and see how long you are comfortable wearing it — if it gets unfortable after just a week of use, try another brand.

    as Mattgal and Tonester suggested — don't skimp on the cost of your eyes — buy from a quality trusted brandname, buy the recommended brand of solutions (avoid inferior Chinese rubbish), replace them regularly, replace your cases every 3 months at least, don't use solutions more than a few months after opening, make sure you keep everything super clean. of course there is a lot of biased information from pharmacies, optometrists, and manufacturers desperate to sell you more and more stuff, but if you use common logic and take care (ie. get your eyes checked if you get an infection) you'll be fine.

    • iSamurai on 17/07/2013 - 01:32

      Re Mattgal and Tonester - thanks for raising that. I do think it's very important to look after my eyes and to follow the correct wearing schedule.

      At the moment I use my contact lenses as prescribed. After throwing them away at the end of each day I thought they're a bit of a waste especially when I play sport in the arvo and only wear them for half a day. Even J&J admitted daily and fortnightly disposables are made of the same material but marketed differently.

      Now obviously I'm not going to wear daily disposables for an entire two weeks because you can physically tell that it's more flimsy and less comfortable to wear. I find that Trueye is more comfortable than Moist and even Oasys, so hence the reason why I'd really like to see if people have worn them for more than a day (after cleaning and soaking of course), and if it's possible to get an extra week out of fortnightly lenses.

      Re cleaning solution — a small bottle has lasted me two months so the cost of that is small if used to rinse daily disposables. I clean my lenses thoroughly and keep everything super clean. I think there's more chance of an infection due to unhygienic cleaning and storage practices than reusing daily disposables for an extra day, but I'm no doctor :P

  • KBZ on 17/07/2013 - 01:34

    I was bit of a tight arse (aren't we all but with health its a grey area) I used to wear my dailies for a 4-5 days, until I switched to fortnightlys which I wore for 3-4 weeks.

    They do get uncomfortable for longer than recommended so I just chucked them till that happened, in regards to cleaning just made sure hands were clean and popped them in solution everyday, seemed to do the trick.
    Don't think 'cleaning' and rubbing them is necessary unless you got junk on it as you'll more likely tear stretch it out.
    I used the cheapest solutions to the expensive ones and surprisingly found the cheap brand (Gelflex etc) more comfortable.

    Now I got lasik surgery and no more glasses/contacts.

  • kasumi on 18/07/2013 - 22:37

    Get Lasik. Once you do it, you wonder why you didn't get the procedure ages ago.
    Best money spent

    • Smulder on 19/07/2013 - 08:55
      +1

      My sister in law had Lasik surgery which went badly. She now has frequent intense stabbing pain in her left eye requiring her to stay in a darkened for days on end. Her quality of life her reduced significantly.

      Millions of people have a successful surgery, but it is not a cure-all for everyone.

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