GP Contacts

[Beattyann]

I have worn hard/GP contacts for 48 years.  Have never had a problem until this year when my vision would blur when I blinked.  Since they were 12 years old, my doctor recommended new ones.  The new ones are cloudy within minutes of putting them in.  In addition, after I take them out, I continue to experience the cloudiness when I put my eyeglasses on.  Prior to these contacts, I never had a problem switching over to the eyeglasses.  My doctor cleaned them with a stronger solution and that didn't work.  He then polished them and that didn't work.  Now he wants me to switch cleaners at home and see if it helps.  Any suggestion or help you can give would be appreciated.  Thank you.




This discussion is related to Contact Lens Getting Cloudy and 'Goopy'.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

An eye that crosses because it needs glasses is called accommodative esotrophia. (sometimes bifocals are used even in kids and infants).

Crossing that is corrected with glasses or contacts is not helped by surgery.

JCH MD

[Beattyann]

Thank you for your reply of Sept. 5.  I will seek another opinion as suggested.  May I ask another question?  Since age of 2, my right eye has turned in and was fitted for glasses to help correct the problem.  Glasses/contacts make it almost undetectable, although this recent pair doesn't do as well.  What is the current thinking in helping with this problem as far as the prescription goes.  Thank you very much.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

The success with contacts drops steadily as we age. There are few 50 year olds or older that wear contacts. Just like there are a lot of things that you could do physicially 30 years ago that you can't do not that's what time does. Best you can do is switch to a different contact fitter and try again. If it doesn't work you'll probably look great and see great in glasses.

JCH MD

[2ndsight]

I think Dr Hagan has stated in answering other posts that it is very common for people who have worn contacts for a long time eventually to develop intolerances to them. I wore hard contacts for 30 years and eventually switched to soft disposables. According to one article I read some peoples eyes have more protein and it causes the lenses to cloud.

[JodieJ]

You might try consulting another eye care provider who specializes in fitting contact lenses for a second opinion.

I wore hard contacts for about 30 years when I started having problems with cloudiness and discomfort.  These problems were eliminated when I switched to soft toric contacts.  I guess that my eyes had become drier when I reached middle age (but not so dry that I had to give up contact lens wear.)  I don't know if this issue is relevant to your symptoms.