Happy Eyes, Happy Life! 7 Tips to Help You With Contact Lens Care

Have you ever felt irritation in your eyes? Are you new to contacts? Or are you just getting used to how your contact lenses feel?

If you can relate to any of these questions, learning a thing or two about contact lens care could be beneficial. Improper care opens the door to eye infections and irritations, after all. At best, you’ll experience discomfort when wearing your lenses. There's no use in paying for contact lenses if you aren’t sure how to take care of them. This will only push you to return to wearing glasses or buy new contacts over and over.

By following our expert contact care tips, you can fully enjoy the benefits contact lenses have to offer. You can have happy eyes and a happy life!

1. Always Wash Your Hands First

Never touch your contacts without washing your hands first! This goes for when you're taking out your contacts as well as putting them in.

Wash thoroughly with soap and don’t forget to also dry your hands. Try to avoid heavily fragranced soaps and towels that leave lint on your hands. You don't want any soap residue or particles to come into contact with your lenses.

Once this step is complete, you're free to handle your contacts and clean them, too. Proper contact lens care is always essential.

2. Do Each Eye in the Same Order Every Time

This step is really important if you have contacts with different prescriptions. Try to get into the habit of working on each eye in the same order every time.Otherwise, you risk mixing up your contacts. You don't want to end up wearing the right contact on your left eye or vice versa. Eye infections and discomfort may happen this way, not to mention poor visual acuity.

The best way to prevent this is to create a system for your contact routine. Always do one eye first and then the other. Keep this order whether you're putting your contacts in, taking them out or cleaning them. This will ensure that each eye is paired with its correct lens.

3. Don't Use Water to Clean Your Contacts

Never use tap or bottled water when cleaning your contacts. This can permanently damage the lenses, as water dries them out. You also risk serious bacterial infections in your eyes.

You never know what water contains, especially when it comes from the tap. It can host all kinds of bacteria without you realizing until it's too late. Also, make sure that you read the contact lens care instructions provided by your doctor before you start cleaning them.

4. Invest in the Products Your Doctor Recommends

Proper contact lens cleaning begins with the right solution. Not all contact lens solutions are made alike. This means that you can't just use your best friend's when you forget yours at home.

Your lens solution serves a particular purpose. Each type has a different composition and is made to clean specific lens materials. You don't want to mess things up by using something that is stronger or weaker than what your contact lenses need.

Some doctors will even recommend specific brands or contact care suppliers. Listen to them. The more closely you follow your doctor’s orders, the better your results will be.

5. Don’t Sleep in Your Contacts!

This is arguably the number one rule of wearing contacts and contact care. Never, under any circumstances, fall asleep with your contacts in! This can ruin your vision—permanently. Contacts can block vital oxygen flow to your eyes, causing serious pain and discomfort. In the worst cases, this can result in blindness.

You don't want to end up in a worst-case scenario. Keep your contacts and your eyes in top condition by taking each lens out every night. Make sure that you take your time as you do so.It's possible to rush your lens maintenance process and end up dropping or losing a contact. There's also a chance you forget to put fresh solution in the case. Always be diligent in following all your lens care steps each night.

6. Be Mindful of Your Sweat and Eye Makeup

Here's another thing to think about: external substances coming into contact with your lenses. It’s important to maintain your lens cleaning routine every night. But it’s equally important to be careful with your lenses during your other self-care tasks.

For instance, it's not a good idea to wash your face with your contacts still in. This can cause sweat and eye makeup to smear onto your contacts and eyes. It’s best to complete your lens care process before the rest of your nighttime routine.

In the morning, the process is somewhat reversed. It's better to complete your shower and facial prep before putting in your contacts. After your contacts are safely in place, you can do your makeup. But be careful when you’re doing your eyes!

7. Care for the Case Too

The final thing to think about when learning how to care for your contact lenses is your carrying case. Every person who wears reusable contacts has probably lapsed at least once in adequately caring for their lens case.

However, you don't want to make a habit of this. A dirty case makes for dirty lenses, regardless of how well you clean the latter! Good care of your contacts case means cleaning it with solution each morning. Then leaving it to air dry, face down and caps off in a clean, low humidity place all day. When you return in the evening, it will be ready for another round of storage!

The American Optometric Association also recommends replacing your contact case every three months, even when it looks perfectly fine.

Master Contact Lens Care

Contact lens care is not as high maintenance as it may seem. It's all about getting into the correct routine and sticking to it! Use the tips above to help you do just that.

Check out our blog article on contact lens solutions if you’re lost and need some help in that area.