Do you wear contact lenses? How careful are you about how you wear and clean them? For successful contact lens wear, with no problems, here are the dos and don’ts:
Do
- Always wash and rinse your hands with mild, non-perfumed soap and dry with a lint-free towel before handling your contact lenses to reduce the chance of irritation or infection.
- Rub, rinse and store your lenses in multipurpose solution before and after each use (except single-use lenses, which should be discarded after each wear). Try Life Brand Multipurpose Solution, which comes in a single or value pack of two bottles. Rub and rinse your contact lenses as directed by your eye care professional to remove any surface buildup.
- Clean your contact lens storage case with the multipurpose solution, wipe with a clean tissue, then air-dry after each use. Replace your contact lens storage case every 3-6 months.
- Always apply the same lens first to avoid mixing them up.
- Check each lens is not inside out before applying. Hold it on your hand and check the shape – if it is slightly flared at the edge, it is inside out, but if it is a perfect “U”, then it is fine.
- Apply makeup after you put in your contact lenses. And take them out before you remove makeup so that you do not get any makeup on them.
- If you use hairspray or other aerosols, make sure you have already put in your contacts and close your eyes so you do not get any spray in them.
- Wear your contacts only as long as your eye care professional recommends.
- To keep your eyes lubricated, use a re-wetting solution or plain saline solution, such as Life Brand Saline Solution.
- Remove your lenses immediately and consult your eye care professional if your eyes become red, irritated, or your vision changes.
- As with any prescription, contact lens prescriptions do expire — typically within one year. You should see your eye care professional yearly for a prescription check.
Don’t
- Don’t use any multipurpose solutions that are beyond the expiration date.
- Don’t let the tip of the bottle of multipurpose solution touch any surfaces, including fingers, eyes or contact lenses, or it could become contaminated. Keep the bottle tightly closed between uses.
- Don’t “top-off” the solution in your lens case. Always discard all leftover multipurpose solution after each use. Never reuse any solution.
- Don’t wear lenses left in the case for more than seven days without cleaning and storing them in fresh solution.
- Don’t expose your contact lenses to any water: tap, bottled, distilled, lake, or ocean water. Never use non-sterile water (distilled water, tap water, or any homemade saline solution). Micro-organisms can live in even distilled water, causing infection and sight damage.
- Don’t put your lenses in your mouth to wet them. Saliva is not a sterile solution.
- Don’t apply a lens if it is dirty, dusty, damaged or has been dropped without cleaning it again. Don’t wear them while showering, swimming, in hot tubs or for water sports.
- Don’t sleep with your contact lenses in your eyes unless they are “extended wear” contacts. Closed eyes don’t allow tears to carry a healthy amount of oxygen to your eyes.
- Don’t use any eye drops without advice from your eye care profesional.
- Don’t transfer multipurpose solution into smaller travel size containers. This can affect the sterility of the solution which can lead to an eye infection.