CONTACT LENS CARE

Handling Contact Lenses

Maintaining cleanliness is vital when it comes to caring for your contact lenses. To ensure proper handling, it’s important to have clean hands free from any foreign substances. Always follow these steps:

1. Thoroughly wash your hands with a mild soap, ensuring a complete rinse, and dry them with a lint-free towel before touching your lenses.
2. Avoid using soaps that contain cold cream, lotion, or oily cosmetics before handling your lenses, as these substances can interfere with successful wearing by coming into contact with the lenses.
3. Use your fingertips to handle the lenses, being cautious to avoid contact with your fingernails. Keeping your fingernails short and smooth can be helpful.
4. Make it a habit to follow these proper procedures consistently until they become automatic.

Cleaning

Step 1: Apply at least 3 drops of multi-purpose solution to each side of the lens surface. Gently rub the lens for 20 seconds. It is important to use fresh solution for cleaning and disinfecting your contact lenses.

Step 2: Rinse each side of the lens thoroughly for 5 seconds using multi-purpose solution.

Step 3: Place the cleaned contact lenses in a lens case and fill it with fresh multi-purpose solution. Allow the lenses to soak for at least 4 hours. Remember to always use fresh solution and discard the solution from the lens case after each use.

Your contact lenses are now ready to be worn. If there is any debris remaining on the lenses, rinse them with multi-purpose solution before inserting them.

Storing Lenses: If you are not wearing your contact lenses immediately, store them in a closed lens case. Do not use simple saline as a substitute for multi-purpose solution, as saline solution does not disinfect. You can store the lenses in the unopened case for up to a maximum of 5 days. If you store your lenses for longer periods, make sure to clean and disinfect them with fresh multi-purpose solution before inserting them.

Contact Lens Care Routine

For safe contact lens wear, follow your lens care routine

 

Always wash, rinse, and dry hands before handling contact lenses.

 

Always use fresh, unexpired lens care solutions. Use the recommended lens care system and carefully follow instructions on solution labeling. Different solutions cannot always be used together, and not all solutions are safe for use with all lenses. Do not alternate or mix lens care systems unless indicated on solution labeling.

 

Always remove, clean, rinse, and disinfect your lenses according to the schedule prescribed by your eye care professional. The use of any cleaning solution does not substitute for disinfection.

 

Do not use saliva or anything other than the recommended solutions for lubricating or rewetting your lenses. Do not put lenses in your mouth.
Lenses prescribed in a frequent replacement program should be thrown away after the expiration of the wearing period prescribed by your eye care professional.

 


Never rinse your lenses in water from the tap. There are two reasons for this:

1. Contact lenses should never be stored in tap water, nor should they be rinsed with tap water. Tap water contains micro-organisms that can latch onto the lenses, encouraging eye infections – which if left untreated can lead to permanent vision loss. Make sure you always use a lens solution. Tap water should also never come into contact with your lens case for the same reasons and you should always use a contact lens solution to clean your lens case.

 

2. You might lose the lens down the drain.

Steps For Contact Lens Care

1 – Clean one lens first (always the same lens first to avoid mix-ups), rinse the lens thoroughly with recommended saline or disinfecting solution to remove the cleaning solution, mucus, and film from the lens surface. Follow the instructions provided in the cleaning solution labeling. Put that lens into the correct chamber of the lens storage case. Then repeat the procedure for the second lens.

 

2 – After cleaning, and rinsing, disinfect lenses using the system recommended by your eye care professional. Follow the instructions provided in the disinfection solution labeling. To store lenses, disinfect and leave them in the closed/unopened case until ready to wear. If lenses are not to be used immediately after disinfection, you should consult the labeling of the storage solution for information on lens storage.

 

3 – After removing your lenses from the lens case, empty and rinse the lens storage case with solution(s) recommended by the lens case manufacturer; then  wipe with a clean tissue and allow the lens case to air dry face down. When the case is used again, refill it with fresh storage solution.

 

Replace lens case at regular intervals.Your eye care professional may recommend a lubricating/rewetting solution to wet (lubricate) your lenses while you are wearing them to make them more comfortable.

Lens Case Care

It is essential that you follow your eye care professional’s directions and all labeling instructions for proper use of lenses and lens care products, including the lens case. Contact lens cases can be a source of bacteria growth.

 

Lens cases should be emptied, cleaned, rinsed with solutions recommended by the lens case manufacturer, and allowed to air dry each time you remove the contact lenses from it. Lens cases should be replaced at regular intervals as recommended by your eye care professional.

Adverse Reactions

Ask yourself these three questions, each time you wear your lenses:

 

Do my eyes feel good with my lenses? — no discomfort
Do my eyes look good? — no redness
Do I see well? — no unusual blurring with either eye.

 

If the answer to any of these questions is no then leave out your contact lenses and contact your eye care professional, who will advise you on what to do next.

 

If you notice any issue with your contact lenses such as eye stinging, burning, itching, eye pain, comfort less than when lens was first put in, abnormal feeling of something in the eye, excessive watering, unusual eye secretions, redness, reduced sharpness of vision, blurred vision, rainbows or halos around objects, sensitivity to light or dry eyes you should immediately remove your lenses.

 

If the discomfort or problem stops, then look closely at the lens. If the lens is in any way damaged, do not put the lens back on your eye. Place the lens in the storage case and contact your eye care professional. If the lens has dirt, an eyelash, or other foreign body on it, or the problem stops and the lens appears undamaged, you should thoroughly clean, rinse, and disinfect the lenses; then reinsert them.


After reinsertion, if the problem continues, you should immediately remove the lenses and consult your eye care professional. When any of the above problems continue, a serious condition may be present.

 

You should keep the lens off your eye until your eye care professional can identify the problem. Regular check-up examinations by your eye care professional are an important part of wearing contact lenses.

 

We recommended that you follow your eye care professional’s directions for follow up examinations. Be sure to keep all appointments for your check-up visits.