Conference quark::mennotes-v1

    I've worn glasses for about 28 years, and just a couple of months
    ago got my first set of contact lenses.  For me, contacts were not
    an option until recently because of my astigmatism.  Even now, though,
    the contacts are not quite as good at correcting my vision as
    the glasses.
    
    I am told I look "better" without glasses, but it is really just
    "different".  Both contacts and glasses have their respective
    annoyances, and contacts are much more expensive and time-consuming
    to maintain.  I think it is a matter of taste.  I haven't yet decided
    whether the contacts are worthwhile.
    
    I am not really aware of any image problem for men who wear glasses -
    at least not to the extent of that for women.  In ads and movies
    you sometimes see women attracted to men with glasses so that they can
    take the glasses off and reveal the "real man" behind them.  I never
    quite figured this out.  But glasses are a necessary fact of life
    for many of us.
    				Steve

       
       
       	Personally, I like contacts much better than glasses.. I've
       been wearing extended-wear contacts now for about 3-4 years.
       I don't think I'll ever do without them. I hate myself in glasses.
       Probably a carry-over from the days when I thought I was goony
       looking in them..  'sides, I think they hide my eyes.. :-)
       
       		Willing to do the extra work for contacts,
       	
       							mike

    I don't mind glasses on a man...but it depends on the man!
    I've worn contacts now for 8 years and much prefer them, but
    the glasses are an advantage for some women...When they're off
    every woman is beautiful!  I suppose that goes both ways!

    And, when you can't see, the other senses have to compensate!    

    
    Sorry for not having all the facts, but I recall hearing on the
    (radio) news the other day, that a recent study confirmed the fact
    job interviewees who wear glasses have a better chance of getting
    the job than those who don't have specs.
    
    "jackin' the house", Bob

    I prefer contacts. I wore glasses from the 1st grade thru my last
    year of high school. I heard every four eye comment and other line
    under the sun during that time. After that many years I had(have?)
    a real complex about it aand actually felt that I was ugly with
    glasses. When I finally was able to wear contacts(soft lens were
    approved,I couldent wear the other types) I finally came out of
    my shell. Before that time I dident date(never asked) and was more
    or less a wall flower I even feel that same way whenever I'm forced
    to wear my glasses. 
    For me the only way to go is sans glasses call me vain if you wish
    but I remember those other years far too well and prefer never to
    visit those feelings again.
    
    -j

    I agree with .4 .  Wearing glasses to a job interview will have
    a positive impact on a job prospect.  They make the interviewee
    look more serious, intelligent, confidant.  If I didn't wear glasses,
    I would probably buy a pair of frames with pseudo lenses for the
    purpose of interviewing only.  So if your interviewing someone in
    the future think about that.  Does this person come across as more
    qualified for the job because he or she wears a handsome pair of
    frames?  Probably. 
    
    I've worn glasses to all the interviews I've had in the past and
    I've always thought they've definately helped more than hurt.  I
    don't have to wear glasses for seeing things nearby.  But always
    do in an interview cause hey they can't hurt.
    
    Bryan

    Re. 6
    
    	I disagree. I've interviewed about 50 people in the last 7 years
    for various job openings, and I base my judgement on the skill-sets
    needed, not on weather they have " GLASSES " or not. To be honest,
    I can't remember if the last two people I interviewed in March had
    glasses or not.
    
    	Red Newsham

    I have been wearing glasses since 6th grade and I haven't purchased
    or care to purchase contact lenses. There are some really distinct
    styles of frames as compared to some "Nerdy" type of UnCool styles
    of frames. I have been wearing wire frames for along time and find
    them comfortable and stylish.
    
    I was buying some new perscription lenses for my sunglasses on 
    Newbury Street in Boston the other day, and I saw at least 5
    men come into the store to purchase "Attitude" glasses. Lenses
    with no perscription. Some of my really "Cool+Hip" friends ;-) at
    Rhode Island School of Design have been wearing "Attitude" glasses
    for awhile now....who are on the Cutting Edge Of Trendiness in the
    '80s.
    
                               -O^O-
                                 |    -Arthur
                               )---(
                              

    I just got my first pair of glasses a month ago so I haven't
    really had them long enough to develop strong opinions. They
    are a weak prescription and I could get by without them if I
    didn't work at this tube all day.
    
    I can't see getting contacts at this point. The glasses aren't
    much of a bother and if I forget them it's not a big deal. Can
    you buy one contact? Only one eye needs any help at all. I can't
    stand to think of touching my eye to put in and take out contacts
    either. Don't tell me I'll get used to it. I have no desire to
    try. Since I don't need them for sports or other active stuff I
    don't see any advantage to contacts. Except perhaps vanity. Things
    would be different if I needed them all the time I guess.
    
    As for vanity, the woman in my life likes the way glasses look on
    me so actually I feel pretty good about wearing them.
    
    			Alfred
    

    RE: .9
    
    Yes, you can get just one contact. A friend of mine did so to correct
    his vision in one eye. 
    
    As far as being squeamish about touching your eye, so was I at first.
    I thought, HOW is this lens EVER going to get into my eye? 
    
    When the lenses arrived, my doctor called and we set up an appointment.
    His technique, which I thought was good and which I use to
    this day (out of habit), is to look as far to your left as 
    you can when you insert the lens into your left eye, and as far 
    to your right as possible when you insert the right lens. That way 
    you can see the lens just enough to insert it but not ``head on.'' 
    Another way is to look as far up as you can when you insert each
    lens. 
    
    I have the soft kind, and when they are wet (as they should be at
    all times), they form a little ``bowl'' that naturally floats and
    covers your cornea when you insert the lens. You have to form this
    bowl before you put the lens in, and you can put it in on one side
    only.
    
    It really does become habit; and after all, you don't really put
    something in your eye that's not sterile anyway. People run into
    problems only when they don't clean and enzyme the lenses regularly
    or when a piece of dust or hair is on the lens. Sometimes, though,
    people just can't wear them. I'm at a point now where I _have_ to
    wear 'em, but that's ok with me.  
    
                   

    
    
    Personally I prefer glasses as they enhance the mediocrity that
    was provided me at birth.

	For me, soft contact lens' are the next best thing to having
    A1 eyesight.
    	When I was a child, I wore glasses. So in school sports I was
    rather handicaped since I had to remove them before participating
    which meant most of the time, I was guessing where damn ball was
    and if that blurr half way down the field was in my team or not.
    The glasses often got broken in the usual mayhem that boys tend
    to get involved in, because broken glasses were preferable to a dented
    ego even though mother did not neccessarily agree (probably something
    to do with her paying for their repair). Contacts would have been
    a distinct advantage in those days !
    	I find contacts don't steam up, don't fall off, give me A1 vision
    even at the peripheries (i.e. the lens always centres on the iris).
    I even think I look better without glasses, the vanity being on
    par with paying a little bit more for clothes than what is strictly
    neccessary to remain warm and respectable.
    
    Advice wanted : I will need to renew my lens. The optician is trying
    to sell a type of soft lens call "extended wear" which I think means
    it is OK to sleep in them occasionally, like what often happens
    after a few pints of good beer. What are the pros and cons of this
    type ?
    
    Richard
    

    re-.1
    I wear the extended wear lens. You can sleep in the every night
    with no ill effects for periods up to 2 weeks at a time.
    You time may be more or less as the "in time" depends on many
    things such as protien build up, environmentals like dust pollution
    ect. I've worn mine for a month without problems but I do not advise
    doing so I did it by accident.
    I too broke countless pair of glasses in my days mostly playing
    sports a problem I'm glad to be rid of.
    I also agree with the comments about vision being better with contacts
    I have gotten so used to it that when I wear glasses I tend to walk
    into corners, ect because of the blind spot that glasses have and
    contacts donot. 
    
    
    -j
    

       re:-2
       
       	Get the extented wear. I've had them for 3-4 years.. Just
       	don't wear them more than 2 weeks.. I take mine out once
       	a week for 2 days just to rest my eyes. They are sensitive
       	to crap in the air but I've had them in for 4 weeks with no
       	major problems..
       
       	Oh yea, Trust me, you can get knock-down, pissed off your
       	arse with them.. It's great.. :-)
       
       						mike

    Re -.1, -.2,
    	Thanks for the advice chaps, I think I'll go for the extended
    wear. When you said they are sensitive to crap in the air, do you
    mean more so than standard soft lens ? Also, when you say they can
    be worn for upto 2 weeks at a time, do you ever need to take them
    out at regular intervals (i.e. every morning) to clean them? How
    often do you need to apply protien removing tablets ?
    
    	In my earlier note, I neglected to mention I was offered the
    choice of these extended lens with a thinner profile, the optician
    saying that they are cheaper, more comfortable with the stronger
    prescriptions, but require handling more gently since they are more
    prone to tearing (hence they are not offered to first time wearers).
    does anyone have any experience of this type ?
    
    Thanks in advance,
    			Richard

    re: last few
    
    	I have had extended wear for a while now.  I use Bausch & Lomb
    lenses although there is a drawback with those.  B&L lenses are
    made out of the same material as the daily wear, the only difference
    is that they are ultra-thin; prone to tearing.  There is a new contact
    on the market made by softmate, they are supposed to be thicker
    but they are more comfortable.  What's this "...they can be worn
    for up to 2 weeks at a time..."???  they are EXTENDED WEAR  come
    on guys, we're talking months here.  I wear mine about 4 months
    before I have to take them out, I don't have any problems.  I know
    your probably saying, what a jerk, but I have a forgetful mind too
    and when I do remember to take them out it is not usually convenient
    to do so.  I hate glasses, and I won't wear them anymore.  I enzymatic
    them every time I take them out, with good reason.  my eyes are
   04/-550 in prescription, so they are not that good, but with the
    contacts there is no comparison.
    
    Paul.

    
    All contact lenses exclude oxygen from the Cornea to a greater or
    lesses extent depending on type. The important think is to get your
    eyes checked regularly.
    
    The problem is that over an extended period of time, come users
    experince 'evasculation' or the cornea, that is to say, in order
    to compensate for the reduction in oxygen supply to the cornea,
    blood vessels begin to develop in what is meant to be a totally
    clear medium. 
    
    If this is detected, the wearer must either change to a different
    lense type, or stop wearing the lenses.
    
    That said, I've been wearing  Soft Lenses every day for 14 years
    with no problem - but I do wait about an hour after I wake up to
    put them in, and usually (not always) take them out an hour before
    I go to bed.
    
    Dave K

       RE: .16
       
       	I would reccomend against keeping contacts in that long.. I
       used to pop them out every 3 weeks, clean them, and pop them
       back in. Unfortunately, they built up protein deposits on the
       lense and where the deposits were, no oxygen got to the cornea.
       I scarred my cornea's good. But after not wearing them for a
       month and going back to a 2 week maximum schedule I'm fine..
       You really should enzyme at least every 2 weeks..
       
       RE: .15
       
       	Nope, no need to take them out at all each day. Maybe re-wet
       them. (I just drip some saline in my eyes.. alot cheaper than
       fake tears..)  I wouldn't worry too much about tearing them.
       If you have used contacts before them you'll understand to be
       gentle.. I don't have the B&L's. I have another brand that are
       thinner and more comfy... Just be careful and KEEP THEM WET!.
       Oh yea, I use a boiler for my lenses.. I got reactions to the
       cleaning solutions.. It also makes me feel better knowing they
       are definately sterile.
       
       	I don't believe they are more sensitive to crap in the air.
       Anytime you use any type of lense your eye is more sensitive..

       
       						mike

    A few of the men I've dated have had glasses - and I don't think
    they detract at all from their looks.  In two cases in particular
    the nicest thing about their wearing glasses was that I knew *I*
    was the only one who knew the full and undiminished power of their
    gaze....*sigh*
    
    -Jody
    

    Hi,
    
    Have any of you contact-wearers tried swimming with your lenses in ?
    I'm worried about losing them in the water. I keep my eyes firmly
    shut when I shower but like to keep them open in the pool !!
    
    Philippe.

    I swim with my lenes in all the time but, I keep my eyes closed.
    I don't imagine it would be such a good idea to get chlorine in
    your lenses.  The burning would be incredible not to mention the
    damage that could be done to your lenses.
    
    Personally I wouldn't reccomend opening your eyes.
    
    Renee

    RE: .20
    
    I, too, wear my (hard) contact lenses when I am beaching/pooling/
    swimming/showering.
    
    When I'm about to plunge into the water, or I see a humongous wave
    coming, I always remember to close my eyes. 
    
    Since I do wear hard lenses, water - per se - would not damage them.
    But I *am* afraid that the water might cause them to float off my
    cornea.   
    
      Alan
          

re:< Note 228.20 by EVOAI1::ROGGEBAND "OSI-t�t dit, OSI-t�t fait!" >
                           -< Contacts and water... >-

I always wear my contacts in the water. But I wear a *good* pair of
swim goggles. I use the ones that have silicon seal rather than foam
because you can make them act kinda like suction cups and they'll
keep the water out. You end up with funny rings around your eyes, but
being able to see when you swim is a wonderful thing.

Jenna

    
         I'll second that.  I, too, swim with goggles.  I have too many
    vivid memories of the time an errant raindrop caromed off my cornea
    and took a lens with it.
    
                                 Greg

    I have opened my eyes under water with my lenses in after taking
    an unexpected plunge I dident lose them however I did have VERY
    red and burning eyes for about an hour. After this happened I asked
    my eye doc about it he stated that the lack of salt in the water
    would cause the lens to adhere to the cornea very tightly which
    could cause problems. Either way I wouldent suggest it based on
    my experience.
    
    -j
    

    I have opened my eyes underwater while swimming a good number of
    times for short periods of time and had no problems with losing
    lenses or burning eyes, etc.   So I'm no longer afraid to do 
    that for short periods of time to get my bearings as to where
    I am in the water.
    
    I am nearsighted, and an interesing observation from snorkeling
    is that with a mask on, I can see almost as clearly without
    my contact lenses on as with them on...the refraction of the light
    due to passing thru the water and the front of the mask aparently
    changes to focal point to where I can focus easily.   Once I
    come out of the water, tho, all is a blurr....
    

I'm a four-year user of extended wear lens, but I take them out very night 
because I prefer sleeping without them.  The extended wear are still 
enough thinner than the other contacts that I like them (perhaps 
compensating for my first pair of hard lens, circa 1962).

.0 PSYCHE::WILSON 

>    Maybe we can also discuss the so-called image problem 
>    of men who wear glasses. 

Wow, reading that made me realize I've never been sweeties with a man 
who wore glasses all the time.  A guess: I hated my own so much that 
the sight of them probably depressed me and killed all romantic tendancies.

Meigs

    re .27  But Meigs, I know when to take them off !  ;-)