Don't Worry For These Myths About Contact Lenses!

Believe it or not, basketball players, musicians, rappers, and a number of other celebrities are among the people who currently think the Earth is flat! That’s right — these incredibly silly folks subscribe to a myth most of our ancient ancestors didn’t believe, despite perpetual myths stating otherwise. Perhaps these same goofballs think George Washington actually cut down that infamous cherry tree, Julius Caesar was born by caesarian section, and a contact lens can get lost behind your eyeball!

Unlike historical myths that add to your cool rep at the water cooler, medical myths serve no purpose and can actually cause harm. So let’s set the record straight once and for all and debunk these myths about contacts.

Myths and Facts About Colored Contact Lenses

A contact lens can adhere to your eye permanently

• This can’t happen unless you’re a super realistic wax statue at Madame Tussauds or you used super glue instead of rewetting drops! Yes, contacts sometimes get stuck, especially when they dry out, but this situation is typically easy to remedy.

Contact lenses are such a pain in the neck — oops, eye

• On occasion, contacts can cause irritation, especially when you first start wearing them. After a brief adjustment period, contacts are so comfortable, you may forget you’re wearing them. And that in itself can cause serious eye problems, so don’t forget!

Contact lenses can get lost behind your eye

• We can’t understand why the question can a contact get lost in your eye persists. Like the flat Earth theory, this is one of the crazier contact lens myths out there! Unless you’re a character in a sci-fi movie, this is an impossibility. A thin membrane (conjunctiva) covers the sclera (white of the eye) and connects to the inside of the eyelids. There’s no way a contact lens can migrate behind your eye and get lost! If a friend tells you this happened to them, they likely blinked and lost their contact in their 1980s shag carpet.

You can wear contacts day and night without taking them out

• The cornea (front of the eye) where contacts are placed has no blood vessels. The contact lens prevents nourishing oxygen from reaching it. Leaving contacts in too long can cause oxidative stress and lead to inflammation, dry eye, red eye, abrasions, allergies, infections, eye ulcers, and permanent damage to your sight.

Contacts are not an option for people with astigmatism or a high prescription

• Certainly, that was once true, but welcome to the 21st century and a world of ever-evolving medical technology. Nowadays, a huge array of toric contact lenses are available for individuals with high degrees of astigmatism. Moreover, nearly all nearsighted people can wear contact lenses, no matter how high their prescription..

Contacts are too expensive

• A high-quality pair of eyeglasses is generally far more expensive than contacts. Even daily disposable contacts that were once considered a luxury are highly cost-effective. And you can optimize savings even more by using AutoFill.

Contacts can permanently alter your eye color

• As actors know who change their eye color for roles, colored contact lenses only alter your eye color when you’re wearing them! If you always wanted blue eyes instead of brown, you’ll have to learn to live with this or wear colored contacts!

Bottom line … are contacts safe? Yes, however, like any other medical device, you need to follow simple directions and precautions and avoid doing foolish things that sound more like urban myths than reality!