Contact lenses are a great option for people in need of vision correction. However, contact wearers need to keep safety and cleanliness in mind at all times to prevent eye injury and infection. Germs from hands, eyelids, and the environment can be potentially dangerous to eye, causing eye infections or corneal ulcers.
Therefore, remember the following tips for contact lens safety:
- Get your contact lens prescription from a qualified eye care professional. Be sure your lenses are fitted correctly for you.
- Do not sleep in your contact lenses overnight.
- Don’t reuse contact lens solution. The disinfecting quality disappears after the first use, so although you may be saving money by reusing, you are doing nothing to disinfect your contacts.
- Only use disinfecting solution for disinfecting- saline solution will not do the job. Saline solution is sterile salt water, it is not a disinfectant.
- Don’t wear your contact lenses in the shower or while swimming.
- Replace your contact lens case every two to three months.
- Remove contacts when eyes become irritated.
- Do not use your saliva as a means to wet your contacts.
By adhering to common sense practices with contacts, most wearers have great success. In addition, the variety of lenses available today is encouraging for those wearers who may have not had success wearing lenses in the past. See your eye care professional for information on choosing a lens that’s right for you.