I bought and wore contact lenses for the first time last March 26, 2013. Dr. Pajaro, the eye doctor from Ideal Vision (SM Mall of Asia), had patiently briefed me about the costs of different types of contact lenses including the solution to clean and maintain them. That day after work, I also visited the rest of the optical stores in MOA, namely George Optical, EO Executive Optical, Unique and Sarabia Optical, where I asked for suggestions from staff and compared prices to get the best buy.
Since Ideal Vision offered me the best service and gave me the most valuable information I’ve been wanting to receive, it was hard to decline. I got the Air Optix Aqua Contact Lenses, thanks to Dr. Pajaro’s recommendation. He checked my eye grade and confirmed that it still hasn’t changed (I have 120/120 vision). He didn’t give up on his many attempts of putting contact lenses on my eyes.
Whenever the contact lens touched my eye, the immediate effect was that my eye would start watering profusely. Then I had to pause and breathe, calm down and signal to resume. The doctor again would clean the lens with the liquid solution and try again.
As the saying goes, “Hard work pays off.” We believe that and we were done after an hour. 😛
When I reached home, I happily announced to my family that I got contacts on. I watched videos online to learn how to remove them, before going to sleep. The tutorials on YouTube showed simple procedures, yet I could do not them myself. Daddy quickly did it for me instead. And that went on for the next three weeks, until I learned how to wear and remove them on my own. 😀
Why I Started Wearing Eyeglasses
Flashback eight years ago, I was seated at the third row from the front of the classroom. Our high school math teacher was writing mathematical equations on the whiteboard for the day’s lecture. The distance was only about ten steps away, but I could hardly see clearly. I kept on squinting my eyes, wondering if his handwriting was just too small or if the whiteboard marker’s ink was just too light. So I would usually have to go nearer to copy notes for my review. My other classmates would do the same; I was not the only one. Maybe, then, my reasons were right. And I could have remained wondering forever.
One day, I took the courage to have my eyes checked. My mom and I visited the optometrist nearest our place. According to the eye test, both of my eyes had 50-50 degree.
Finally, an answer.
So it was my nearsightedness. I had to wear eyeglasses — eyeglasses which I didn’t want to wear for a lot of reasons.
Why I Hate Wearing Eyeglasses
I could not wear glasses while dancing or doing other sports because they will fall off, causing deterrent and distraction on my focus.
I could not wear glasses when it’s raining. They are not equipped with wipers to wipe away the raindrops on the lenses.
I could not wear glasses when there’s a big change in temperature (the lenses tend to fog very easily).
I could not wear glasses because I tend to constantly adjust the edge of the frame from the bridge of my nose upwards. They are super uncomfortable.
I don’t want to wear glasses because I don’t feel confident with how I look when they’re on.
The distance between my eyes and the lens creates distortion, adding only to my poor peripheral vision. This is why I prefer wearing large-frame glasses.
Few instances led me to see in perfect vision through those lenses: when something is being projected from a computer and when the professor’s handwriting is tiny. I had to remove my glasses after class and proceed with seeing the world with my imperfect vision. That went on through college, even when my eye degree went up double, to the time I had my first job when I only wore glasses during meetings and presentations.
I did not consider wearing contact lenses then because I thought they’re high maintenance. Besides, I could not dare to deliberately place my finger to insert and remove the lenses onto and from my eyes. My eyelids would involuntarily close my eyes, like repelling automatically from some alien.
Why I Started Wearing Contact Lenses
So here’s the big question: “Why made me decide to wear contact lenses?”
Apparently, my “hatred” to wearing eyeglasses had been raging for years – so much so that I felt that I’ve had enough reasons (as stated above) on why I need to try wearing contact lenses.
I’ve read several blogs and websites say that contact lenses cater for more natural vision, as there’s no distractions, no weight and resulting discomfort. Also, there’s no frame constantly slipping down the nose, no annoying obstructions or reflections in view, and no collections of precipitation and fog that blur vision. Contact lenses, unlike framed eyeglasses, can match everything I wear. There’s also no glare and reflection that detract people from seeing my eyes.
Review of Air Optix Aqua Contact Lenses
After over a month of wearing contact lenses consistently, now is a good time to share my “Air Optix Aqua contact lenses” review.
Comfort: Air Optix Aqua contact lenses, compared to regular contact lenses, have higher oxygen transmissibility, the eye doctor says. The Air Optix Aqua contacts are designed for extended wear. Produced out of patented lens material, these contacts help minimize the rate of lens dehydration. This is why they can be even worn while asleep and up to 18 hours in a day and still retaining moisture. (But of course, I still limit the number of hours that I wear them.)
Its website claims that there’s “rich, nourishing oxygen flows continuously through the lenses – for white healthy looking eyes.” Oh, I was not aware that our eyes do “breathe” as well, so as far as that statement goes, I could probably relate to it to some extent. The contacts are pretty comfortable and I haven’t encountered any problem thus far.
Price for Value: At PHp 1350, the package I bought consists of six clear disposable soft lenses (three pairs, one pair per month). A normal pair of monthly disposable contacts (not hydrated ones) costs about PHp 150 only. Next time, I have to try wearing them also just to feel the difference and have a more meaningful judgment on whether or not the Air Optix contacts are worth the expense in every way.
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