Contacts

[AStudent]

We've always been told in undergrad NOT to wear contacts during the labs, but it was never really enforced, kind of a "don't ask don't tell" sort of deal.

My question is: I have only contacts, no glasses, will I be able to wear them in anatomy lab in medical school or do I have to invest in a pair of glasses??

</stupidquestion>

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[thackl]

Nobody seemed to care at my school.

 

[erin682]

Some people in my class were bothered by wearing contacts in anatomy b/c of the fumes. I wore mine all the time though and never had any problems. I would wait and see if it bothers you before I bought any glasses.

 

[randomstudent]

I never had any problems with my contacts in my undergraduate labs, but I did in anatomy lab. I think a lot of it had to do with general irritation from eyestrain (too much reading and micro), and not enough sleep.

You should probably have a back-up pair of glasses anyway, just to be safe. If you ever have any kind of eye injury, you wouldn't be able to wear your contacts. It usually takes at least a few days to get a pair, so suying a $100 pair of glasses is worth it for the piece of mind!

 

[chameleonknight]

I had to stop wearing my contacts in lab because I got conjunctivitis. Most people have no problem though.

 

[dara678]

never heard of that. never considered NOT wearing contacts to lab because well ... i don't want my glasses to fall into the cadaver.

 

[medic170]

We've always been told in undergrad NOT to wear contacts during the labs, but it was never really enforced, kind of a "don't ask don't tell" sort of deal.

My question is: I have only contacts, no glasses, will I be able to wear them in anatomy lab in medical school or do I have to invest in a pair of glasses??

</stupidquestion>

Never bothered me in Chem lab or in undergrad anatomy lab.

 

[felipe5]

you'll just pretty much have to check and see for yourself........I don't wear my contacts into lab, and my eyes still burn after a few hours of having my face hover over the fumes. I have sensitive eyes, and wearing contacts when I am expecting to be concentrating visually on something for awhile dries them out and bugs the hell out of me. Plus, since they pretty much are a permeable membrane that can trap fumes etc in my eyes, I just stay away from wearing them in lab.

 

[Adcadet]

My eyes would burn if I got too close to the body for long periods of time. Looking into the chest or abdominal cavity was the worst. Wearing glasses was a little easier, I suspect because they provided a (small) extra barrier. I've often carried my glasses with me and kept a contact case and saline in my locker, so if my eyes are bugging me I can switch to glasses. I've also kept a razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and hairgel in my locker, though.

 

[TheRussian]

If you wear contacts get a comfortable pair of plastic goggles in lab and it will decrease the irritation you may get from the fumes.

 

[Winged Scapula]

The last suggestion is the one I was going to make. A surgical face mask would probably not work as the fumes can come in around the sides, but a pair of goggles should work fine. These days you can often get a cheap or even free pair from drug reps and that are *almost* like regular glasses (ie, not the O Chem types with a rubber band to hold them on your head), or if ya wanna splurge Oakley makes some OR goggles as well which seem to be popular with some of the male OR nurses.

 

[hypersting]

I was like you and thought I could just wear contacts in anatomy lab, as I always wore them in undergrad. I did that a couple of times and the fumes destroyed my contacts. I couldn't even wear that pair anymore. At one point, one of them ripped in half while taking it out. This is in addition to the worst eye irritation I had ever had. I suggest wearing the glasses, its a much wiser decision.

 

[Aero047]

I was like you and thought I could just wear contacts in anatomy lab, as I always wore them in undergrad. I did that a couple of times and the fumes destroyed my contacts. I couldn't even wear that pair anymore. At one point, one of them ripped in half while taking it out. This is in addition to the worst eye irritation I had ever had. I suggest wearing the glasses, its a much wiser decision.

Oh shiet! I was wearing my contacts during lab today and my eyes did become a bit uncomfortable, but I had no idea they could destroy lenses completely. Would you discourage wearing contacts during chem labs, as well?

 

[nala]

We were told that contacts actually trap formaldehyde under the lenses and hold it closer to your eye...I always wore my contacts and the fumes never really bothered me too much. I have the 2 week kind (which I often keep for a month) so if you want to really keep your contacts for a while, I know some people actually bought a few boxes of daily disposables to wear just on lab days, then they wore their "regular" contacts the rest of the time.