How Can you Take Care of Your Contact Lenses

Wearing contact lenses comes in handy but is a hassle. Eyeglass wearers finds a little easier when it comes to taking care of their eyewear. Contact lenses help millions overcome various sorts of vision defects but can cause potential eye infections and irritations because of their direct placement over our eyes. Additional factors that can contribute to eye infections are poor hygiene, environmental factors, not enough water exchange beneath the lens or use of long-lasting, extended wear contact lenses. With eye infections leading to vision loss, one has to be incredibly careful when dealing with contact lenses.

Perils of eye infections vary according to the lens type worn with daily contact lenses, used only once, being the safest of all soft contact lenses when it comes to reducing the risks of infections. The safest alternative would be the rigid gas permeable lenses beating even soft contact lenses. Following an appropriate lens care regimen that is prescribed by ophthalmologists or eye care professionals is necessary so as to avoid any eye complication. The best advice would be to follow the doctor’s instruction and care for the lenses recommended by your optometrist. Here are some essential lens care tips regardless of the type of lens you wear:

• Only after washing your hands with soap and water and drying them properly should you handle your contact lenses. The soap should not contain oils, lotions or perfumes as these leave behind a film on your hands and could easily transfer to your lenses making your vision blurry.
• This goes without saying but cutting your nails short reduces the chances of you injuring the lens/eye or risk of infections.
• If you happen to use hair spray or similar spray products, use them before you put in your contacts.
  Any eye makeup should be done after you’ve worn your contact lenses and should be removed after you’ve taken them out.
• Never rinse your lenses with tap water because even distilled water houses a lot of germs and tiny bugs that can hurt your vision or cause infections, so tap water can be extremely dangerous.
• Similarly, using saliva or putting the lens in your mouth is strongly discouraged.
• The lenses should come in minimum contact with water, so take them off before you get into the hot tub or go swimming.
• Even saline solutions or rewetting drops should not be used to sanitise or clean your lenses, they cause more problems than they help.
• Depending on the type of contact lenses you must take proper care as prescribed by the doctor. Make use of eye drops, disinfection solution provided and enzymatic cleaners recommended by your optometrist. Read up on which eye drops or products are not safe for contact wearers.
• Clean your contact lenses in the following manner: Rub the lens gently with the help of your index finger. This gets rid of surface buildup.
• Always rinse the case for your lenses with fresh solution before leaving it to air dry. It is recommended to wash your case each time you use it and replace it every 3 months.

Similar to eyeglass prescription, lenses also expire and keeping that in mind you must purchase new ones as advised by your doctor.