Do's and Don'ts

Learn How to Care for Your Contact Lenses

Caring for your lenses properly will greatly reduce the risks that you will have any adverse effects from wearing your contact lenses. And it is the best way to keep the lenses comfortable and the vision clear.

Do's

• Wash your hands with soap and water and dry them with a clean, lint-free towel before touching your contact lenses. Use soap with no moisturizers or perfumes
• Sit or stand close to the sink while handling your contacts, to avoid dropping them on the floor. And close the drain in the sink
• Reclean contact lenses that have been dropped
• Use fresh solutions every day
• Dump all of the solutions out of your case every time you put your lenses on
• Rinse and rub your case with a solution daily. When not used, leave it open to dry
• Replace your case every 3 months
• Avoid contact with sprays / aerosols like hairspray, paint, cleaners
• Apply hairspray, cologne, and deodorant before lens insertion. And keep your eyes tightly closed until the spray has settled
• Avoid harmful vapors and fumes while wearing your lenses. Wear safety glasses and work under a hood
• Avoid dusty environments, wear eye protection
• Keep a storage case and a small bottle of solution with you at all times for emergency use
• Apply cosmetics after inserting contact lenses, including lotions, foundations, and eye cosmetics such as mascara and eye shadow
• Take your contact lenses out before going to sleep
• Replace our contacts as often as your eye doctor recommends
• Carry a pair of glasses with you, just in case you need to remove your contact lenses
• Remove your contacts and call your eye doctor if you experience pain or discomfort, redness, or blurred vision. Untreated eye infections can lead to eye damage or even blindness
• Schedule an eye exam with your eye doctor every year

Don'ts

• Don't ever store your contact lenses in water. Dangerous germs live in water. They can attach to your contacts and cause serious, even blinding, eye infections
• Don’t reuse or “top off” the solutions in your lens case. Doing this has been linked to serious eye infections
• Don’t sleep in your contact lenses, unless approved by your eye doctor. And remember, sleeping in any type of contact lens, even one approved for overnight wear, can increase the risk of an eye infection by 4x
• Don’t wear your contact lenses while swimming. Don’t EVER wear your contact lenses in a hot tub
• Don’t try to save money by wearing your lenses for more days than recommended. Disposable contacts were developed to prevent long term complications that can develop from wearing the same lenses for too many days
• Don’t wear the lenses if they are consistently uncomfortable. Try a new lens. If it is also uncomfortable, call your eye doctor- it may be an eye problem, not a contact lens problem
• Don’t wear lenses that are torn or chipped
• Don’t move around if you drop a lens. Check your lashes, clothes, shoes, and the immediate area
• Don’t touch open solution bottle tops to any surface
• Don’t wear a soft lens that was left out and was brittle
• Don’t wet lenses with saliva or tap water
• Don’t use eye drops (Visine) while wearing your contact lenses unless approved by your eye doctor
• Don’t peel a soft lens that has folded over itself. Soak it in solution and gently massage it open
• Don’t rub contact lenses with towels, tissues
• Don’t wear your contacts if you have a cold or the flu
• Don’t apply eyeliner above the lower lash line
• Don’t forget to see your eye doctor every year or any time you experience any discomfort with your contact lenses

Contact Bis-Man Eye Care Associates to schedule an appointment.