If you use reusable contact lenses, that is, monthly or biweekly, you will already be used to cleaning contact lenses and disinfecting them every night after wearing them all day. But have you ever stopped to think about whether you’re doing it right?
Maintaining good care and hygiene of your contact lenses is essential for them to be comfortable and adapt well to your day to day, but above all to guarantee the good health of your eyes, thus avoiding infections derived from poor hygiene. Therefore, in Optics & University Audiology we want to offer you the keys to ensure proper care and so you can enjoy all the advantages of wearing contact lenses, so if you want to know how to clean contact lenses correctly pay attention to this article. In addition, cleaning contact lenses is a process that only requires a few minutes a day, so you will no longer have an excuse not to follow the following recommendations.
Recommendations to clean contact lenses correctly
Before knowing the steps you must follow to clean the lenses correctly, it is important to take into account essential aspects that you must make sure you are complying with before starting to clean the lenses.
Clean your hands before handling contact lenses
Although it may seem obvious, washing your hands before touching contact lenses or your eyes will prevent most infections that we can contract during the process of putting on and removing contact lenses, since the dirt of what we touch is stored on the hands throughout the day.
Use the right products
When you must clean contact lenses, make sure that you are only using the products recommended by your specialist, and follow the instructions he has given you to keep them in good condition. It is also important that you store all products in a clean and fresh place and that you try to have all containers with the lid closed to avoid possible external contamination.
Keep the case clean
The carrying case is the container in which your contact lenses will be as long as you do not wear them in your eyes, so it is also essential that it is clean. To do this, you can use soap and water and rinse it thoroughly. To finish, we must dry it well with absorbent paper. It is recommended that the portal case is changed once we finish the maintenance solution since with each new solution comes a new case that we must use.
How should you clean contact lenses?
Having clean contact lenses is not only a matter of hygiene, but if you take care of them correctly they will remain in better condition until the day you must replace them with a new pack. Therefore, it is important that you follow the recommendations for use and care indicated by vision specialists and clean them properly.
- Once your hands are clean, fill the case with your usual cleaning solution.
- Take off the first contact lens. Try to always start the process with the same eye to make sure that you are following all the steps and that you are not making the wrong eye.
- Place the contact lens on the palm of your hand, which should be clean and dry, always handling it with your fingertips.
- Apply a few drops of contact lens liquid and rub with the tip of one of your fingers for 10 and 15 seconds on each side of the lens.
- Apply a few more drops to finish rinsing the lens and place it in the case that we have previously filled with maintenance solution.
- Close the case checking that the lens is completely submerged.
- Repeat this same process with the other lens.
What you should never do to clean contact lenses
Although vision experts insist on following very marked patterns of use, over the years a series of myths of contact lenses and their use have spread that have been accepted in society and that have normalized practices really very dangerous for the visual health of our eyes. There are certain precautions that are harmful and that you should never carry out to clean contact lenses.
1. Clean contact lenses with water
If we run out of maintenance solution we should never immerse contact lenses in water. Keep in mind that water contains microorganisms and particles that could contaminate and dirty contact lenses and, consequently, cause a serious infection in your eyes.
2. Use the same contact lens liquid for several days
This is also a very common mistake among those who use reusable contact lenses, and the contact lens liquid must be thrown away, clean the case and add new maintenance solution every time we go to clean the contact lenses. Just as it is dangerous to reuse contact lens liquid, the liquid should not be transferred from one container to another.
3. Lengthen the time of use of contact lenses
Trying to extend the life of your reusable contact lenses beyond the time recommended by the manufacturer means exposing your eyes to possible infections, irritations, blurred vision and other discomfort. Therefore, you have to follow the instructions stipulated by each contact lens manufacturer. In our online store Optics & University Audiology you can find a wide range of brands of contact lenses that will fit your needs and you can even try contact lenses for free for a month to check how comfortable they are.
Were you following all the steps when cleaning contact lenses? If you have discovered that you were misusing your contact lenses, you are still in time to introduce these recommendations into your daily routine of maintaining your contact lenses, whether monthly contact lenses or biweekly contact lenses.