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CONTACT LENS CARE

Contact lens care

 

If you need glasses to see clearly, contact lenses are a great way of giving you clear vision, free of distortion and with full peripheral vision, and they free your face from glasses.

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But you need to take care with contact lens wear.

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There is nothing natural about contact lenses.  They are foreign objects – pieces of plastic – sitting on the surface of the eye.  If not used with care, they can cause complications, including:

  • abrasion

  • infection

  • permanent scarring

  • permanent loss of vision and even

  • loss of the eye. 

 

So here is how to use your contact lenses with care.

 

Have your lenses fitted professionally by a contact lens practitioner, usually your optometrist.  The lens fit must be right for the size and shape of the surface of your eyes, or pain, ulceration, infection and scarring can occur.

 

Have a pair of glasses with your current prescription in them with you at all times.  The reason is that if you have any problems with your contact lenses, the first aid treatment is to remove them as soon as possible and wear your glasses instead.  You need glasses that you can see with to be able to do this, especially if you need to drive home!

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Practise careful hygiene if you want to wear contact lenses. This means:

  • washing and drying your hands before handling the lenses

  • cleaning the lenses with the correct sterile solution as instructed every time you remove them

  • placing them in a case which has been cleaned with sterile water and air dried (the really dangerous bugs live in moist environments)

  • replacing your lenses and their case regularly and as recommended.

 

Allow your eyes to breathe and receive nourishment. This means:

  • floating your lenses on a healthy tear film while they are on your eyes

  • using preservative-free tear replacement drops if your tear film is not healthy (this happens with age, sun damage and ocular surface disease causing dry eyes)

  • blinking while your lenses are in to move them around on the eyes

  • taking your lenses out at night to rest your eyes​

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The risks of infection increase significantly if you:

  • practise care-less hygiene

  • wear your lenses overnight

  • smoke.

 

If you experience any problems with your eyes while wearing contact lenses:

  • take the lenses out

  • lubricate your eyes with sterile saline solution or eye drops

  • seek prompt attention from your contact lens practitioner or doctor

  • take the lenses and their case with you for examination and culture

  • tell the practitioner you are a contact lens wearer.

 

Your eye care is in your hands. Take care of your eyes, and seek prompt professional help if you have any problems with your contact lenses at all.

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Please Contact the Clinic if you would like to know more.

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