Are contacts lenses hard to take care of?

It differs from lens to lens. Oxygen permeable contact lenses, which last for years, need daily cleaning and disinfecting but generally no enzyming, since their slick surface resists deposit buildup. Daily disposable lenses are worn once, then discarded, with no maintenance required. Weekly soft disposables are rubbed and rinsed at the end of the day, then soaked in disinfecting solution until tehey're worn again. Since they're discarded before dposit buildups occur, they don't need to be soaked in an enzyme solution. Other soft lenses usually require daily cleaning/disinfection and weekly enzyming.

Warning! Even though your contact lenses are shipped factory sealed and sterile, if you fail to use good hygiene or the recommended solutions correctly, you may cause an eye infection. Also, do not open the contact lens vials unless you have the proper solutions and a lens storage case. Never share your contact lenses with others or use their color contact lenses.

Soft Contact Lens Care

You have purchased contact lenses and viewed the instructions on how to insert, remove, and clean them. Do you need to know more? Yes! Following are some tips and information for new contact lens wearers. Before opening your lenses and removing them from the sterile container they were shipped in, make sure you have your contact lens storage solution, case, and cleaning supplies on hand. Contact lenses need to be stored correctly to avoid bacteria getting onto the lenses and into the eyes and causing infection.

*INSERTION- Always wash and dry your hands before handling your contact lenses. Remove the lens from the package. Make it a habit of handling the right lens first which will prevent you from mixing up the lenses. Place the lens on your index finger. Check that the lens is clean and the right side is up.
 

Hold your upper lid open with your left hand's index and second finger. At the same time hold your lower lid open with the second finger of your right hand. Look straight at your eye in the mirror, and slowly and gently place the lens on your eye. Then carefully release your eyelids and blink. You can gently massage your eyelid to center the lens.

REMOVAL- Look up and hold your lower lid down. Pull the lens downwards, and gently with your index finger and your thumb pinch the edges of the lens and remove it from your eye.(Fig.4)*

DISINFECTION- Always before inserting the lens and after removing it from the eye, rinse the lens with contact lenses solution suggested by your practitioner. After wearing your lenses, store them in a case filled with fresh contact lens solution. If you do wear your lenses infrequently, change the contact lens solution in the case with fresh solution once a week.

Do's and Don'ts

• Always wash your hands before handling contact lenses, and be sure your contact lenses are clean as well.
• Clean, rinse, disinfect and soak your contact lenses with lens solution. E.g. Bausch & Lomb's "RENU" solution or Alcon's "OPTIFREE Express" solution, to maintain sterility when not wearing the contact lenses.
• Always handle your right lens first and your left lens last. 
• Do not let hair spray or other cosmetic aerosols come in contact with your lenses. 
• Put your contact lenses in after applying hair products like hairspray, and before applying cosmetics, especially eye makeup.
• Remove your lenses before taking your makeup off. 
• Do not lend your lenses to anyone. They are only for one patient at a time. 
• Do not participate in any water sport with your lenses on. 
• Remove your lenses before going to sleep. Your cornea may not get the necessary oxygen while you are sleeping. 
• Insert your lenses before putting makeup on. 
• If you work in a hazardous environment, or with chemicals, you should not wear contact lenses to work. Gases and solutions can get behind your lenses and cause permanent eye damage.
• Make sure you don't catch a contact lens in between the edge of your case and the top of the case. Push the contact to the bottom of the case before closing the lid on that side. 
• If one eye starts to bother you more than the other, switch it by placing it on the different eye for a few minutes to determine if your lens is bad. If, during the switch, the same lens continues to bother you, you probably are over-wearing the contact lens and need to give your eyes a rest. Try cleaning the contact lens. If cleaning doesn't help, the contact lens will probably need to be replaced.
• If your eyes get red and irritated or if you feel any pain remove your lense and contact your eyecare practitioner. 
• Keep your contacts either in your eyes or in your case. 
• Remember regular check-ups and always follow the advise of your eyecare practitioner. 

Only sterile normal saline solution and hydrogen peroxide should ever come in contact with your soft lenses. If you are using a commercial preparation -- follow the instructions for that preparation. Please remember the great majority of the problems we see with contact lenses are due to improper cleaning and handling. 

Enjoy Your New Lenses!!

*Provided by cl-tinters.finland.net