For the 30 million of us in the United States who wear contact lenses, it’s important that we learn how to take care of them. They are vital medical devices for so many of us. But a surprising 40-90% of wearers don’t care for them properly. This can land wearers in the doctor’s office–or worse, in the hospital for a more serious issue. Here’s how we recommend taking care of your contacts and eyes for healthier vision.
Dos
- Always wash your hands before handling contact lenses. You don’t want to transfer germs to your eye! Plus, as most of us know, fibers and hairs can get on our hands and fingers, which can cause pain if it gets on your contact and then into your eye.
- Use proper contact lens solution. Using non-sterile solutions can result in eye infections and other eye complications.
- To clean your lenses, place one at a time in the palm of your hand and apply solution. Then gently rub the lens with your finger using a back and forth motion.
- About every three months, replace your storage case.
- Keep track of the days you replace your contact lenses. This makes it easier to know when to switch.
- Do you wear makeup? Check your eye makeup for an “ophthalmologist tested” or similar label. Some makeups can stain your contacts or cause other issues.
- Apply your makeup after putting in lenses. This helps prevent getting irritating cosmetics or stains on your contact lenses.
- Treat colored and “costume” lenses the same way as regular lenses. You’ll also need to get them from an eye doctor, not just online. It is illegal to sell colored lenses without a prescription! So be sure you get your doctor’s OK, even if you don’t need corrective lenses. Why does it matter? Because these are medical devices, you’ll have to make sure that they fit your eye and that you won’t have any irritation or reactions.
- Wear goggles, glasses, and other protective wear during sports. Most of us don’t notice contacts all the time. But they still get exposure to the world, particularly when playing sports or swimming. Jumping in the pool, especially, is a good time to wear goggles to keep your contact lenses safe.
Don’ts
Of course, there are also important things to avoid. While wearing contact lenses doesn’t mean you’ll get infections, some practices of contact lens wearers can put you at a higher risk.
- Never use water or saliva to rinse or moisten a contact lens! Both have contaminants you don’t want in your eye.
- When storing your contacts, never re-use solution or mix old solution with new. It seems tempting, especially as a solution saver. However, that solution is no longer sterile, and can carry harmful bacteria and pathogens.
- Don’t wear your contact lenses longer than prescribed. Whether they are daily, monthly, or extended wear, be sure to throw them out when your doctor tells you to.
- Also, don’t sleep in contacts unless your lens type is specifically meant to wear to bed (i.e. extended wear). Only these are FDA-approved for sleep. Sleeping in other lenses makes you more likely to get an eye infection.
- If you experience irritation, discomfort, or redness that’s out of the ordinary, don’t keep wearing your contacts. Switch to a new pair, and go see your eye doctor to make sure you don’t have an infection.
Have a question about your contact lenses? Call us today!