Lentil recipes: Megathread

Jerry Lee14 said:Kevin Cook11, does the contact lens actually cover your entire pupil?

The pupil, yeah—but not the iris (that's the black part in the middle, while the iris is the colored part around it... brown, green, blue... ugh, how do I even explain this?). Anyway, those first ones I ever got didn't even cover my pupil if my pupils were slightly dilated, so I was constantly seeing the edge of the lens in the bottom outer corner and it totally cut off my vision.

Chris Morgan67 said:I’m quite fond of soft contact lenses; they’re incredibly durable and I haven't run into any issues with them.

However, I would suggest a specific combination that works best for my Bausch & Lomb Boston lenses: using their solution for storage and a dedicated cleanser. You can only pick them up at Ghetaldus, but in my experience, nothing else compares...👍

What’s the damage on the price? I usually go with the R Plus from Solek and both items are $20.

Kevin Cook11 said:What’s the damage on the price? I usually go with the R Plus from Solek and both items are $20.

all together $40 which seems almost too good to be true...🙏 🙏

Kevin Cook11 said:The pupil, yeah—but not the iris (that's the black part in the middle, while the iris is the colored part around it... brown, green, blue... ugh, how do I even explain this?). Anyway, those first ones I ever got didn't even cover my pupil if my pupils were slightly dilated, so I was constantly seeing the edge of the lens in the bottom outer corner and it totally cut off my vision.

I totally get what you mean. I definitely overthought things that first time. 😬

Jerry Lee14 said:I totally get what you mean. I definitely overthought things that first time. 😬

The main thing is that we're on the same page 👍

Chris Morgan67 said:all together $40 which seems almost too good to be true...🙏 🙏

Awesome, thanks for the heads up... next time I'm definitely going with their 🙂

Jerry Lee14 said:A friend of mine once had to crash on my couch because she missed the last bus home. She ended up sleeping in her contact lenses since she didn't have any supplies with her, and she was totally fine. Apparently, she does that quite a bit. She wears soft contacts too.

Look, you aren't going to go blind if you accidentally fall asleep in your soft contacts once or twice, but personally, my eyes start feeling gritty and dry after only thirty minutes of sleep. You really need to watch out for your corneas, ladies—mine actually got damaged, which is the whole reason I even have to wear lenses now, and that’s a heavy situation to deal with. It’s honestly not that much trouble to toss some solution and a case in your bag so you're prepared wherever you go. If it happens by accident, don't sweat it, but please, don't make it a habit. Protect those corneas!

Chris Morgan67 said:I’m quite fond of soft contact lenses; they’re incredibly durable and I haven't run into any issues with them.

However, I would suggest a specific combination that works best for my Bausch & Lomb Boston lenses: using their solution for storage and a dedicated cleanser. You can only pick them up at Ghetaldus, but in my experience, nothing else compares...👍

Honestly, Boston is hands down the best. The biggest win for me is that I don't even have to mess around with those extra protein-stripping tablets or whatever they call them to get the gunk off my lenses; this detergent is so powerful that it deep cleans everything perfectly every single day. It’s not like I'm breaking the bank, either—one bottle of the solution and one bottle of the detergent easily last me about three months. And look, you aren't just stuck finding this at Ghetaldus; you can pick up Boston at basically any local pharmacy or drugstore around town.

Look, you can play around with stuff like Pur or whatever other nonsense they try to sell you, but you really shouldn't mess around when it comes to your eyes—that’s some serious business right there!

swiftcrane13 said:Look, you aren't going to go blind if you accidentally fall asleep in your soft contacts once or twice, but personally, my eyes start feeling gritty and dry after only thirty minutes of sleep. You really need to watch out for your corneas, ladies—mine actually got damaged, which is the whole reason I even have to wear lenses now, and that’s a heavy situation to deal with. It’s honestly not that much trouble to toss some solution and a case in your bag so you're prepared wherever you go. If it happens by accident, don't sweat it, but please, don't make it a habit. Protect those corneas!

Do soft contact lenses actually protect the cornea somehow?
Because I heard from this one woman that her contacts were the exact thing that messed up her cornea...
Then again, I don't know much about this stuff, so my bad if I'm wrong 🙂

They shouldn't cause any damage to your cornea if you use them correctly. For instance, my doctor warned me not to go skiing with contact lenses because a fall could lead to corneal injuries, much like how athletes in contact sports have to be careful about eye safety.

silentraven13 said:Do soft contact lenses actually protect the cornea somehow?
Because I heard from this one woman that her contacts were the exact thing that messed up her cornea...
Then again, I don't know much about this stuff, so my bad if I'm wrong 🙂

Nah, it’s actually the opposite for me—I have this condition where my corneas bulge outward so much that they could basically pop without lenses, which would mean going blind. For me, those soft lenses act like a physical barrier to stop them from protruding any further.

That's why I realize just how precious your eyesight is, and I never, ever cut corners when it comes to lens hygiene.

Alright, sounds good then.
So, I saw my doctor yesterday and she recommended soft contacts... I gave them a shot—well, she basically shoved them in my eyes for me—and man, I was tearing up for the first five minutes. After that, I started getting used to them... even though I was blinking like crazy every second... But after about 30 minutes, I adjusted and they actually feel great 🙂
The catch is, I won't get them until Tuesday 😢... and then there's probably another two weeks of getting used to them...
Honestly, they seem totally fine to me right now... even if the whole process of putting them in and taking them out is such a pain

silentraven13 said:Alright, sounds good then.
So, I saw my doctor yesterday and she recommended soft contacts... I gave them a shot—well, she basically shoved them in my eyes for me—and man, I was tearing up for the first five minutes. After that, I started getting used to them... even though I was blinking like crazy every second... But after about 30 minutes, I adjusted and they actually feel great 🙂
The catch is, I won't get them until Tuesday 😢... and then there's probably another two weeks of getting used to them...
Honestly, they seem totally fine to me right now... even if the whole process of putting them in and taking them out is such a pain

During my first few days, I was spending about half an hour just trying to put them in and take them out because they can be pretty uncomfortable at first. Since you aren't used to having something in your eye, they tend to pop out more often... But you'll get fully acclimated in maybe ten days tops. It’s really nothing to sweat. For me, they actually ended up slightly improving my vision too.

swiftcrane13 said:During my first few days, I was spending about half an hour just trying to put them in and take them out because they can be pretty uncomfortable at first. Since you aren't used to having something in your eye, they tend to pop out more often... But you'll get fully acclimated in maybe ten days tops. It’s really nothing to sweat. For me, they actually ended up slightly improving my vision too.

Ugh, I had no idea they fall out that much... 🙄
Did you stick to that rule where you wear them for 3 hours on day one, then 3.5 hours on day two, and work your way up to 8 hours? Because that’s gonna be a little awkward for me since I have school...
Oh, one more thing (once you're fully adjusted and wearing them all day)... Say I want to hop in the shower or wash my hair in the middle of the day and take them out... Do I need to do that whole deep cleaning routine again, like I do before bed? Or can I just pop them right back in from the case? (lol, sorry, just overthinking this stuff until I finally get them and get the hang of it 🙂 )

Maybe it’s smarter to practice when you aren't in class. You might be a little clumsy at first, so getting used to putting them in and taking them out at home prevents any awkward moments at school. Personally, I didn't really stick to the rules; my contacts didn't bother me much, so I just wore them longer. But once I started college, I stopped wearing them altogether.
I mean, I shower, wash my hair, and even wash my face with my contacts in.

Yeah, you definitely want to keep them in their case at first; otherwise, you might end up damaging them or just losing them entirely. Honestly, I don't think I ever stretched those multi-hour sessions out longer than necessary—I can't quite recall the exact timing anymore. They used to bug me so much that I’d be counting down the minutes until I could finally pop them out, especially since my eyes get incredibly dry and I have to use drops. You'll see what I mean. Just stick to the rules from the jump.
I go about washing my face with them in on perfectly fine, but only once you've actually gotten used to the sensation. In the beginning, they’d occasionally pop out while I was applying makeup or if I accidentally rubbed my eyes a little too hard, but that was mostly just during the adjustment phase. Like I said, you need a bit of time to get acclimated, and after that, you just live your life exactly like you did before you even had them.
As for taking them out and cleaning them—it really depends. If my hands feel even slightly oily or dirty, I make sure to wash them thoroughly with some dish soap, because if you don't, the lenses get all cloudy. And man, you really have to watch out for stray hairs; being blonde, I swear a few fly in there unnoticed all the time. Regarding keeping them in the solution during the day—if you aren't wearing them and you take them out for a quick errand, the main thing is making sure they don't sit out in the open air for too long, as I think that can actually damage them. They really need to soak in the solution for at least six hours every single day to stay comfortable enough to wear. Sometimes I’ll oversleep, and if they haven't been in the solution long enough overnight, it feels like I'm trying to shove two pebbles into my eyeballs in the morning. It’s not like you have to scrub them with soap and dunk them in solution every single time you take them out for a quick break, but you should definitely follow the basic guidelines—everything you need to know is right there in the instructions provided with the cleaning solution. Just respect the process at the start.
Oh, and if you're using powder eyeshadow—I always put my contacts in first before doing my makeup, because if I don't, the powder tends to drift into my eyes and it's super irritating. Also, when I first started, black mascara was a total nightmare for me, so I switched to a clear one immediately, and honestly, I still only use that to this day. But again, my eyes are pretty sensitive, so I doubt everyone runs into the same issues.

Personally, I’m pretty strict about my routine—I wash my lenses with detergent every single time and swap out the solution every other day. My one little slip-up is that I rinse them under the faucet. Also, since I pop them in first thing in the morning, I don't take them out until the evening, even though technically they should be out and cleaned after about 8 hours. Still, I rarely deal with protein buildup making things look blurry. And no, I never touch artificial tears.
I always make sure to wash my hands before I touch them to take them out or put them in.
For me, it's way easier to do my makeup first and then slide the lenses in. I've gotten so used to it that I can just pop them right in by opening my eyes wide without even having to stretch my eyelids with my fingers.
If your lenses keep popping out on their own, it usually means the base curve isn't quite right for your eye.

Kevin Cook11 said:Personally, I’m pretty strict about my routine—I wash my lenses with detergent every single time and swap out the solution every other day. My one little slip-up is that I rinse them under the faucet. Also, since I pop them in first thing in the morning, I don't take them out until the evening, even though technically they should be out and cleaned after about 8 hours. Still, I rarely deal with protein buildup making things look blurry. And no, I never touch artificial tears.
I always make sure to wash my hands before I touch them to take them out or put them in.
For me, it's way easier to do my makeup first and then slide the lenses in. I've gotten so used to it that I can just pop them right in by opening my eyes wide without even having to stretch my eyelids with my fingers.
If your lenses keep popping out on their own, it usually means the base curve isn't quite right for your eye.

As far as rinsing your lenses with tap water goes—honestly, I think it's totally fine. I mean, you wouldn't want to get the cleaning solution directly in your eye anyway, so the lenses definitely need a rinse.
Regarding switching out the solution every two days—well, I'm a bit more intense than that; I change mine every single day, so I never let them sit in the same liquid twice. And honestly, nobody ever told me that I had to clean them specifically after an 8-hour wear period. But hey, it just goes to show how differently we all handle this stuff. I guess you just have to find the routine that works for you, as long as you stay on top of keeping those lenses clean.

I’ve always been told you absolutely have to rinse your lenses in solution first because there could be some kind of bacteria lurking in the tap water (honestly, I can't even remember the name) that causes serious issues—we're talking stuff that could actually lead to blindness... but hey, I still wash them that way.
As for the storage solution... you don't need to rinse that. That's what the folks at the eye clinic where I get my contacts told me. They even mentioned that some people use the solution meant for hard lenses almost like artificial tears.
I totally agree that you have to swap out your contact solution every single time. It’s not that I’m trying to be cheap or anything, it’s just that I honestly can't be bothered to scrub the case with detergent and rinse it all out every time.
Supposedly, if you wear hard lenses, you should take a 15 to 30-minute break every 8 hours or so... but in 11 years of wearing them, I have never once done that.
We can try to help girls who wear contacts by sharing our best tips and habits, but at the end of the day, everyone eventually figures out what works best for their own eyes.
By the way—and I know plenty of people who do this too—if I'm outside and something gets stuck under my lens and starts scratching, I'll just pop the lens out, put it in my mouth, and then pop it right back in my eye (assuming I haven't eaten or drunk anything, obviously)... I know, it sounds totally gross, but it really works for us. Though, I don't do it that often.

Alright, thanks a ton everyone...
I'm getting them on Tuesday, so we'll see 🙂...
If I run into any more trouble, I'll give 🙂 a shout...