How To Care For Your Contacts

Properly caring for your contact lenses is synonymous with caring for your eyes.

Contact lenses are safely used by millions of people everyday. They do, however, carry a risk of eye infection if worn or cleaned improperly. Your eyes allow you to see and experience the world around you, so it’s important to protect them, especially if you wear contacts.

Safeguard Your Sight

Unfortunately, a whopping 40 to 90 percent of contact lens wearers don’t follow care instructions for their contact lenses. If contacts aren’t worn and cleaned as directed, eye infection and even vision loss can be the unhappy result. When you practice good contact lens hygiene and care, you are safeguarding your sight!
 

Choose the right contacts

It’s important to choose contact lenses that fit your personality and lifestyle. If you are less diligent about your hygiene habits, then perhaps daily disposable lenses are for you. If you choose two week or monthly contacts, daily cleaning is required.
 

Wear as directed

The first step in caring for your contacts is wearing them as directed by your eye care provider. Follow the appropriate replacement schedule and don’t try to stretch them out longer than they are meant to last. That goes for cases as well–they should be replaced at least every three months.
 

Develop proper cleaning technique

Basic cleaning care for contact lenses consists of five easy steps.

• Wash your hands. The last thing you want to do is transfer germs from your hands to your eyes!
• Rub the lens. Using a few drops of the recommended solution, rub the lens in the palm of your hand. This will clean off any debris or protein buildup.
• Rinse. To get off any loosened debris, rinse the contacts with solution taking as long as the package directs.
• Use fresh solution to store. Never use your old solution from the day before. This solution will not properly disinfect your contact lenses and can cause infections.
• Repeat. Simply repeat these steps for your other lens!

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Consult your optometrist

Remember, contact lens prescriptions expire, typically within one year. In addition, your prescription may change from one year to the next, which is why seeing your eye care provider on a yearly basis is recommended. At your yearly eye exam, your optometrist will not only renew your prescription, they will also check for infection and make sure your eyes are in tiptop shape.
 

Another reason to see your optometrist is if you are looking to switch care regimens. Some products aren’t compatible with each other and can harm your eyes if used incorrectly. If you’re wondering what routine and products are best for you, call us or come into our office!
 

We Love To Hear From You

Regularly seeing your eye care provider is crucial to ensuring your vision health. So whether you have questions about proper contact lens care or simply want to set up your yearly appointment, we’d love to hear from you!
 

Our patients mean the world to us!

Top image by Flickr user Steven Leonti used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
 

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.