Properly caring for your lens and following the guidelines for your type is important in protecting your vision and ensuring your contacts are comfortable to wear. See if you've been making these following mistakes that could be ruining your contacts and possibly harming your eyes.
The first mistake is that Cleaning Your Lenses With Water. Your eyes are very sensitive and can easily become infected when you do not clean your lenses properly. The lens develops a build up of deposits that can irritate the eye. Lens cleaning solutions will break down the deposits and disinfect the lens.
Moreover, water and homemade saline solutions are not clean enough for cleaning contact lens because they can contain micro-organisms, chlorine and other minerals that can damage the lens and harm your eyes.
Unless you are wearing disposable lenses you must clean your contacts after every wear. Use an appropriate lens case for storage and clean the case and allow to air dry between uses.
Secondly, some users wear contact lens longer than the recommended amount of time, stated on the box. Some contacts are meant to be thrown out after one day of wear. Others can be worn for a week or a month without removing them in between. Most require removal and cleaning every day. It is important to know the schedule your contacts are intended for to prevent problems with your eyes.
Lastly, the hygiene of your eyes is very important. You have to make sure that anything like hands that will contact to your eyes is clean.
When you remove or insert your contacts be sure to handle them with clean, dry hands. It is better to avoid washing your hands with soaps containing perfumes or oils and don't allow sunscreen, hand cream or nail polish remover to come in contact with them.
You can use eye drops or natural tear to remoisten your contacts when they are dry and irritated while wearing them rather than trying to take them out. In fact, if your eyes do feel dry and the contact is sticking try to remoisten your contacts before attempting to remove them.
If you wear makeup you should insert the contacts before applying cosmetics and remove them before washing cosmetics off. Powders and sprays can irritate contact lens wearers so be careful when applying powdery shadows or hair spray when wearing contact lens. If irritation occurs DO NOT rub your eyes; remove lenses first and clean them in the cleaning solution before wearing again.
Your eyes are precious - take care to protect it from harm. If you do think you've injured or infected your eye do not wear your contacts until you have been seen by an eye care specialist.
