You must clean your contact lenses properly in order to prevent irritation and infection. You’ll also notice that you have better vision and more comfort when wearing clean lenses.
Important tips for wearing contact lenses!
DO’s
- Always wash your hands before touching your lenses. Be sure to rinse all the soap off!
- Use fresh solution every day (pay attention to the expiry date and the shelf life after opening) to disinfect and store your lenses.
- Always close the bottle of solution after use!!
- Replace your contact lens case when using a new bottle of contact lens solution.
- Take your contacts out before going swimming or use one-day lenses and swim goggles.
- Take your lenses out if your eyes get irritated. Come get your eyes checked if the irritation continues.
- Make an appointment for a check-up every six months or when your vision seems to have declined.
DON’Ts
- Do NOT wear your contacts longer than prescribed.
- Never scrape your contacts across a hard surface.
- NEVER wear damaged contacts.
- Never touch the top of your bottle of contact lens solution with your fingers, the contact lens or your eye.
- Never reuse contact lens solution.
- Never use eye drops or other solutions that are not intended for use with contact lenses.
- Never trade contacts with someone else.
- Never use hairspray after you’ve put your contacts in.
How do I clean my contacts?
There are two methods for cleaning hard contact lenses.
Separate cleaner and storage solution
- Cup your hand and put the contact lens in your palm.
- Add some cleaning solution.
- Using the index finger of your opposite hand, rub the contact lens clean for approx. 20 seconds. (Be careful if you have long nails!)
- Then rinse the lens using the storage solution.
- Then put the lens in the correct part of your case.
- Add some storage solution until it reaches the rim and close the caps.
Hydrogen peroxide solutions
This is a cleaner, protein remover and disinfectant, but may never be used directly for rinsing or putting your contacts in! Read the enclosed instructions carefully!!
- Put the lenses into a case specially designed for this purpose.
- Add the solution up to the line on the case; the silver-coloured disk, which should already be in the case, will do the rest of the work.
- Close the cap and let the lenses soak in the case as prescribed by the supplier (usually at least six hours).
- Only put your lenses in once the solution has been fully neutralised!
- You can, if desired, rinse the lenses with a saline solution after soaking them.