My On-Again Off-Again Relationship With Contact Lenses

I got my first pair of glasses when I was in second grade. They were big and ugly--the round metal rims decorated in some sort of gaudy floral theme that could only have been designed by someone's senile grandmother (in the dark). I consider this event in my life to be the beginning of "the awkward years" that would last well into my teens.

My poor eyesight is genetic. My parents both wear glasses, as did their parents before them. If the world still operated on the principles of natural selection, my genetic line would have long since fallen off a cliff or been hit by a bus. We just can't see worth a damn.

I wore a series of ugly glasses throughout my childhood, avoiding pictures whenever possible--attempting to destroying them when not. It wasn't until I turned 15 that I finally got contact lenses. I had wanted them for a few years already, but the thought of having to touch my eyeball to get them in did not appeal to my squeamish sensibilities. It took me several appointments over the course of a year before I was finally able to put a pair of contacts in without flinching, but from that point on I ditched my glasses and never looked back.

Until 2007. For some reason, that was the year I found myself pulling my glasses out of storage more and more often. It started with my eyes getting dry whenever I wore my contacts. For awhile I was able to solve this with re-wetting drops, but then I developed a red ring around the edge of the contact in my right eye--(why only the right eye, I have no idea). My eye would burn and itch and the only relief I would get was from removing the contacts and letting my eye heal for a few days. Yet as soon as the contacts went back in, the redness and accompanying burning sensation returned. Eventually my left eye started to react too and I finally went to see an Ophthalmologist who prescribed me steroid eye drops and told me to stop napping with my contacts in. (Yeah, fat chance.)

"You've just got a little conjunctivitis," she said. "It'll be fine."

They cycle continued for many months. I'd wear contacts, they'd irritate my eyes, I'd give them up for a week or two... wash, rinse, repeat. It really did a number on my self-esteem at the time, as I hated the way that I looked in glasses. Glasses always made me feel like a dowdy nerd--which I was--but as an aspiring hair stylist in a career field that valued beauty and non-nerdity, hiding my geekiness was important to me at the time. I just never really felt attractive in glasses...

The following summer was a rough one. My eyes continued to burn and the constant red circle left from the contact lenses was concerning. Since I was stuck wearing my glasses, I was unable to use proper sunglasses--making my already sore and sensitive eyes all that much more irritated. Finally I sought out a new eye doctor who suggested that I had developed an allergy to contact solution. He gave me a sample of Clear Care and told me to throw my regular solution in the trash.

It worked. The bubbly little hydrogen peroxide lens cleaner left my contacts clean and my eyes without itch or redness. I accepted the doctor's diagnosis of "allergy" without a second thought (or even a thought as to what particular component of the solution I was allergic to). By the time I got married in 2009, my eyes were as good as new and I've never had any further problems.

It was only after I got the results of my T.R.U.E test that it all began to make sense. It turns out that thimerosal was used as a preservative in most contact solutions during the time I was struggling with itchy eyes. Thimerosal contains mercury and while it does kill bacteria and prevent contamination, it's also very toxic.

It irks me that less than a decade ago, we were still using mercury as a preservative. I remember when I was a kid hearing people talk about mercury contamination in tuna, yet here I was, probably ten years later, putting mercury in my eye on a daily basis. And I had no idea.

While most contact solution has now been reformulated without thimerosal, this allergen still lurks in some vaccines, particularly multi-dose flu shots. I remember having quite the adverse reaction to a flu shot around the same time I was struggling with my contacts and have avoided them ever since (though I've been told you can get thimerosal-free flu shots now upon request).

I'm not sure when manufacturers started adding thimerosal to their lens solutions, but I do know that my allergy to it, like all type IV allergic contact allergies, did not develop overnight. I was slowly sensitized from continued use and my reaction grew stronger and stronger as my poor little eyes built up T-cells to fight off the perceived intruder. According to the information from my dermatologist provided me, thimerosal can still be found in some cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and hygiene products, though I have yet to find it any of the products I've seen. I'm hoping that's because this particular preservative is one that is on it's way out for good!

As for me and my relationship with glasses, we're on much better terms these days. While I haven't had a problem with my contacts since I switched solutions, I've slowly grown tired of popping them in and out daily. Over the past several years, I've noticed myself reaching for my glasses more and more--which is nice as it allows me an extra few minutes to sleep in in the morning and a few more minutes to read before bed at night. Plus glasses have become a lot more stylish and affordable in recent years! I've become addicted to Zenni Optical, which will send me a complete pair of really cute glasses (even with my ridiculously strong prescription) for under $30. I've collected over a dozen pairs the past few years.

I'm so glad that geek is now chic.