Focus Dailies Toric Contact Lenses

...The dailies I used were Focus and were supplied by Specsavers, my optician.

****What are they****

As its name suggests the Focus dailies are contact lenses that are designed to be worn for one day only. You open the packet, put them in and then at the end of the day pull them out and throw them away. It really is that simple.

You don't need to clean them, which is a chore in its self, meaning there ...
...other daily lenses before the Focus variant and I can honestly say that these are the best, since they seem to be the ideal shape and size for my eye.

I appreciate that everyone is different and whilst these lenses are great for me they may not suit everyone and could be quite painful. Prior to getting these dailies I went to my optician and tried other variants (mainly cheaper ones because they were going to be for holiday use only) ... more

Monthly contact lenses are a fantastic invention, however, the wearing of monthly contact lenses is a chore. They need daily removing, cleaning and storing and they need to be treated with so much care it is like looking after a pet, well not quite, but you get where I am coming from.

Whilst planning a holiday a few years ago I realised that my monthly contacts would be no good. I would be going to the beach (and risk getting sand in my eyes which would probably damage the lenses), I would be swimming in the sea (and risk getting salt in my eyes which would probably damage the lenses), I would be undertaking white water rafting, paragliding and other extreme activities (and risk the lenses 'falling' out) and I would be drinking (and risk actually forgetting to take them out and clean them at the end of the night which would lead to them being lost).

I considered taking glasses but I can be clumsy and forgetful and would probably lose these too.

The only thing for it was to take nothing, and whilst my eye sight is not really bad, I would be 'blind' and not fully enjoy the scenery, surroundings etc or really see where I was going.

The only solution was daily contact lenses. If they got damaged by the sand and salt it wouldn't matter I could replace them. If they fell out during the extreme activities it wouldn't matter, and after a night out drinking I could just pull them out and throw them away without having to clean them. Problem solved!

The dailies I used were Focus and were supplied by Specsavers, my optician.

****What are they****

As its name suggests the Focus dailies are contact lenses that are designed to be worn for one day only. You open the packet, put them in and then at the end of the day pull them out and throw them away. It really is that simple.

You don't need to clean them, which is a chore in its self, meaning there is no locating the lenses case, no filling it up with solution, no cleaning the lenses (which is a delicate operation if you want to avoid damage and prolong the life to ensure they last the full term) and no storing them in a safe place overnight.

Whilst my optician advised that I shouldn't really wear these for more than 12 - 14 hours at a time I have worn them for just over 20 hours (whilst travelling) and had no problems with them whatsoever. My eyes did not dry out, the lenses did not start biting, they were as comfortable as when I first put them in and the vision had not deteriorated in any way.

****In the box*****

The Dailies come in a box of thirty pairs. This is meant to be a months supply, which is fine for four 5 months of the year, being February, April, June, September and November but for the other months you're going to need a back up plan.

Some people may hold back the 2 remaining pairs from February (unless it is a leap year of course!) for the longer months but overall there is still going to be a hole to fill.

This 30 day box size appears to be the same with all contact lense manufacturers. It is ridiculous. Why can't they contain 31 pairs? Is this a ploy to get more money out of the consumers or am I just being sceptical?

****The lenses****

The lenses are individually wrapped in a plastic case with a foil top on. Inside the case is sterile solution to ensure that the lenses are clean.

The box specifically states not to wear any lenses that are in a damaged or (worse still) an open case to re-iterate the fact that lenses should be 100% sterile and clean.

Personally, I would never put a lens in that came out of a damaged or opened case since I would not run the risk of a dirty lens. In my opinion sight is a precious sense and I would be devastated if I lost it, therefore, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise it. Whilst you can repair and replace many parts of the human body the eyes are not one of them.

The lenses are very thin, much thinner than monthly ones. Since these lenses are only designed to be worn for a day they will not be subjected to the same abuse that a pair of monthly lenses will. These lenses do not have to endure the cleaning process, being put in and taking out on a daily basis and will not be subjected to the elements, such as wind (which dries them out) and other things like traffic fumes which also dries them out. As a consequence these lenses can be made much thinner and still achieve the same level of vision that monthly ones can.
These lenses are not so durable and being very fragile they need to be treated with a lot more care than monthly ones do.

****Inserting them in the eye****

Inserting them in the eye is a bit more tricky than inserting a pair of monthly lenses.

Because they are so thin, locating the actual lens is more of a challenge. Because they are so fragile, getting them out of the case is more of a challenge.

Getting them out of the case is where I had the most fun. I have quite rough fingertips, and being naturally heavy handed, I found that I was damaging the lenses quite frequently. They would tear in half or split, or worse still I would manage to pull a tiny piece off that wasn't noticeable until the rest of the lens was put in my eye and then there would be excruciating pain. Lens wearers will know the feeling I am referring to.

Once out of the case the next challenge was correctly positioning them on my finger tip for insertion. Once again, I had to be really careful here. One thing I should point out is that these lenses move around a lot. Monthly lenses will 'stick' in place, these don't. If you haven't wiped all the excess solution off your finger, or the lens is slightly too wet, then the lens will be all over the place.

Whilst the above are problems I had I assume that those people with nice, smooth finger tips who are not heavy handed in any way will have no problems, although just be aware that they are more delicate than your monthly lenses.

****Comfort****

Once in these are the most comfortable lenses I had ever worn. I could hardly tell that I had anything in my eyes, although this is obviously down to them being much thinner than my normal monthly lenses.

I have worn other daily lenses before the Focus variant and I can honestly say that these are the best, since they seem to be the ideal shape and size for my eye.

I appreciate that everyone is different and whilst these lenses are great for me they may not suit everyone and could be quite painful. Prior to getting these dailies I went to my optician and tried other variants (mainly cheaper ones because they were going to be for holiday use only) but these weren't as comfortable. Some even hurt.

****Price****

I paid £24 for 30 pairs of lenses. These are not the cheapest, by a long way, and I have seen daily lenses on the internet for as little as £4.99 per box (providing you buy a two months supply).

I wonder why these are so cheap. I would never risk buying lenses of the internet in any case, as I have previously mention my sight is everything to me and I will not jeopardise that. Experience with other dailies (at my opticians) has shown that some just don't suit the shape and size of my eyes. If I bought some of the internet and they were wrong but I felt no pain, what would prolonged wearing do? Would it cause irreparable damage? These are questions that cannot be answered, and in my opinion, represent a risk not worth taking.

****Conclusion****

Daily lenses are absolutely brilliant and if it weren't for the expense (£24 per 30 days supply compared to £12.99 per month) and my heavy handedness and rough fingers then I would only wear these and get rid of my monthly lenses.

These lenses do not require the daily chore of cleaning and therefore eliminates the need of solution and cases hence saving on space making them ideal for those with smaller bathrooms.

These lenses are really thin and so comfortable that you don't even know you are wearing them. They are a bit tricky to insert but provided you're careful and take your time I can't see this posing too many problems for those smooth fingered and non heavy handed people.

The Focus dailies are expensive but there are cheaper ones out there. I would advise against getting them off the internet, no matter how cheap they are, and visit your optician and get a ''proper' fitting appointment.

In my experience, some lenses will suit some people and not others and it depends upon the shape and size of your eye. In my opinion, eye sight is a something that you should not play Russian roulette with and taking risks is nonsensical since, whilst other body parts can be replaced or transplanted, your eyes can't.

(Originally posted on Dooyoo under the name of Yackers1) 

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