Submitted by todaylens2017 on
Your eyes are an incredibly important part of your body, so looking after them with the right techniques is crucial.
One of the best methods for doing this is to be aware of the potential pitfalls when cleaning your contact lenses, with six of the most common mistakes listed below.
Avoid: Poor hand hygiene
The first technique to avoid is likely our most obvious, though also one of the most important. Having clean hands is essential when touching your contact lenses, as any dirt, debris and bacteria will be passed onto them, which then has a high chance of ending up in your eye.
This can cause discomfort and even infection, so ensure that you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before beginning the cleaning process.
Avoid: Cleaning with excessive force
After squirting a couple of drops of solution onto your contact lens, the general cleaning method is then to make a circular motion with your finger, lightly rubbing the lens before rinsing and returning to your case.
In this step, rubbing too strongly can result in a torn, or damaged lens, so take extra caution in being soft when cleaning your contact lenses.
Avoid: Reusing content lens solution
One of the shortcuts that some contact lens wearers take, to the detriment of their eye health, is to reuse solution for days, or weeks in a row.
Solution is not designed to be used in this way and this can quickly lead to an eye infection, so ensuring that you completely empty your eye case before refilling is essential.
Avoid: Using saline solution for storing and cleaning
Saline solution is not to be used for storage, cleaning, or disinfecting purposes, with its sole use being to rinse your lenses. This often catches people out, as they are unaware of the differences between the solution types.
Multi-purpose solution, however, allows you to use one single product for disinfecting, rinsing and storing, making it a vital product for cleaning your contact lenses.
Avoid: Using tap water
Another common pitfall to avoid is using tap water in cleaning your lenses, or contact lens case. Water, including bottled, distilled, tap and other types, should never be used in cleaning your contact lenses at any time.
Avoid: Not replacing your contact lens case
It is generally recommended to replace your contact lens case every three months or so, though you should also be regularly cleaning it after each use. Routinely cleaning and changing your contact case helps to stop bacterial growth and prevent potential eye infections, so is certainly worth doing.
In summary
Ensuring that you stay away from these common pitfalls of cleaning your contact lenses will help keep your eyes in the best possible condition, while minimizing the chance of discomfort, or infection.
Please note that if you do experience any changes to your eyes or vision, including discomfort, redness or other sensations, then call your eye doctor immediately.
