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 serious risks 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 infections or permanent vision loss can be the negative result. When you practice good contact lens hygiene and care, you are safeguarding your sight!
Choose the right contacts
It’s important to tell your optometrist about your lifestyle so that an appropriate contact lens can be chosen to reflect that. If you are less diligent about your hygiene habits, then perhaps daily disposable lenses are for you. If your doctor fits you with 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 optometirst. 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 multi-purpose 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 within one year. In addition, your prescription may change from one year to the next, which is why seeing your optometrist on a yearly basis is recommended. At your yearly eye exam, your optometrist will not only renew your prescription, they will also check to make sure your eyes are still healthy enough for contact lens wear.
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 optometrist 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!