Contact Lens Care

Whether you have contact lenses or glasses, you need to know how to take care of them. Consider this: if you wear glasses you have it kind of easy. After all, no matter how well you maintain your glasses (or don’t) you won’t impact the overall health of your eyes. This is certainly not the case with contact lenses. It is for this reason that it is in your best interest to recognize how to take care of your contact lenses.

Caring for Your Contact Lens

Your contact lenses sit directly on top of your eye. As a result, they can introduce contaminants into your eye that can lead to serious problems if you do not take precautions. Do not worry though. You can take proper care of your contact lenses and avoid these issues. Follow these simple rules:

1. Use soap and water to wash hands before you put in your contact lenses, every time. If your eyes burn when you put in your lenses, you might be contaminating your lenses without realizing it. Contact lenses will retain substances that they come into contact with including oils from your skin, soap, lotion, or makeup. This can create a burning sensation when you put them in. It is for this reason that you need to make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before you touch them and before you touch your eyes.
2. Clean and store your contact lenses in fresh contact solution, not the old solution. And never use an older solution.
3. Wash your cash with a solution, not water. Let the case dry in between use. Replace your case every three months.
4. Never store or clean the contact lenses in water. There are harmful microorganisms in all water, no matter how clean it seems. These things love to bury themselves in your contact lenses and eventually in your eye.
5. Pay attention to any instructions on how long you should use your contacts before you replace them.
   

Avoiding Infections

It is important to avoid infections and irritation by taking care of your lenses. Make sure you follow these rules:

1. Avoid rubbing your eyes. Rubbing your eyes regularly can dislodge your contact lens or damage it. You can also introduce oils and germs into your eye from your finger. Rubbing it will make an irritation much worse.  
2. Stay hydrated. If you wear contact lenses, you need to help your eyes to stay hydrated. Do this by blinking often and using eye drops. Dry eyes are not fun for anyone. But they are especially not fun for people who wear contact lenses.
3. Follow your instructions. Only wear your contact lenses overnight if they are designed for that. Make sure you have received permission from your Lebanon Optometrist before you do so. The surface of your eyes get oxygen from the air, and if you wear your contact lenses for too long, you deprive your eyes of that oxygen. This can cause serious discomfort. If you wear your lenses for too long, it can also lead to dry eyes and infections.

Related Article: Answering your questions about contact lenses

If you put your contact lenses in and something feels wrong, you are not alone. It is normal for wearers to deal with discomfort from time to time. Short episodes of discomfort do not usually mean there was a severe problem, or that you should stop wearing your contact lenses. However, long-term discomfort is something you should get checked out.

To determine the cause of your discomfort, and what remedies to take, you will need to visit your eye doctor. They can help rule out underlying problems. Remember that if your eyes do not feel good, or you cannot see well, you probably need a check-up by your doctor. Minor irritation, if you leave it unchecked, can develop into a serious problem. Serious problems might be sight-threatening, and no one wants that.

If your contact lenses are giving you problems, visit your Lebanon Optometrist. If you have trouble putting in your lenses, you feel like there is a problem, or your eyes are continually irritated, then visit your optometrist. They are there to help! Schedule regular checkups so that they can help you keep your eyes healthy.