Many people use contact lenses for one reason or another. They’re a convenient and easy option for vision correction when eyeglasses aren’t an adequate fix.
While they are pretty convenient, they’re not risk-free. A few avoidable contact lens care errors may result in infection, permanent damage to your cornea, and even vision loss.
So before you slip your lenses in for a long weekend, here are a few tips for proper contact lens care. Read on!
1. Not Cleaning Your Lenses Regularly
Not cleaning contact lenses can result in the buildup of dirt and debris on the contact lenses. This leads to uncomfortable symptoms such as dry eyes, an aching feeling, and the risk of infection. The dirt buildup can reduce the clarity and quality of your vision and can lead to excessive tear production and eye irritation.
To avoid this problem, it is important to clean your lenses daily, either by rubbing them gently with a multipurpose solution or a hydrogen peroxide system and rinsing them with a contact lens solution before inserting them.
2. Not Replacing Lenses Often Enough
By not replacing lenses often enough, eye redness and tearing can occur, as well as a greater risk of infection. To avoid this mistake, it is important to replace lenses according to manufacturer instructions and follow your eye care professional’s order.
For these reasons, single-use lenses should be disposed of after one use, and multi-use lenses should be replaced every two weeks or each time the lens case is cleaned.
3. Sleeping in Lenses
It is unhealthy at best to not remove and store contact lenses when sleeping as this can be detrimental to eye health and can cause uncomfortable side effects. When sleeping in contact lenses, the lenses can dry out or not get the nutrients they need to stay healthy, leading to infection and irritation.
To avoid this contact lens care error, lenses should be removed before sleeping and stored in a contact lens case with solution. This solution helps to disinfect and lubricate lenses, keeping them healthy and comfortable for use.
4. Using an Expired Disinfecting Solution
Expired solutions can lead to a reduced level of disinfection, allowing bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens to survive on the surface of contact lenses. This can increase the risk of adverse reactions such as eye irritation, infections, and more serious conditions such as ulcers and other corneal diseases.
To avoid these risks, one must always check the expiration date of any disinfecting solution before using it. Always throw away any open bottles after the expiration date. It is also best to buy a new contact lens cleaning solution and discard old ones regularly every three months.
5. Storing Lenses Improperly
Storing lenses improperly is one of the most common contact lens care errors that can cause a great deal of discomfort or even infection to your eyes.
To avoid these errors, it is important to use only fresh, chemically-balanced solutions and regularly discard the old, dirty solutions. Always empty and clean the contact lens cases with the new solutions and then let the cases air dry after each use.
Avoid Contact Lens Care Errors Today
Wearing contact lenses is a common and convenient choice for vision correction, but it can be hazardous if the wearer is not careful. To remain safe and healthy, contact lens wearers must properly care for and clean their lenses each day.
Try our tips today to avoid contact lens care errors.
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