Contact Lens Hygiene and Handling Advice
Every time you insert a contact lens, which is essentially a foreign body, you are increasing your risk of an eye infection. This infection risk is very low and is reduced significantly with the appropriate lens care regime. Here are some pointers as to the best practice for your contact lens lifestyle.
The moral of the story here is common sense hygiene. ALWAYS wash your hands before handling your lenses and make sure that the lenses are clean before insertion. The golden rule for contact lens handling is NEVER use or let you lenses come into contact with tap water, or any other non-sterile liquids for that matter such as when showering or swimming. If you find that your lens is torn or damaged in any way before insertion then dispose of it and use a new lens. For insertion tips and tricks please click one of the videos to the left where you will find a visual breakdown of how to handle you lenses. |
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Cleaning Your Lenses
There are various ways to keep your lenses clean and several different products on the market to do so. Most of these products are a "No rub, No rinse" all-in-one solution, however, we do not advocate the No-rub, No rinse" ideal. Over 80% of the debris and substances needed to be removed from the lens are done so by rubbing the lenses with a clean finger and solution alone. Skipping this step will leave the chemicals in the solution a lot to do with regards to dis-infecting the lenses. Therefore, it is far more effective to simply pour a small drop of solution onto the lens and gently rub both back and front surfaces of your lens in the palm of you had with your index finger. This can be done before insertion or after removal and takes only a few seconds but could be the difference to between an safe and infection free contact lens and a nasty incident.
Following the rub and rinse the lenses can be put into the case for the evening making sure that the lens is completely covered with fresh solution, ensure that the lens is totally in the case before closing, to avoid damage to the lens. The following day your lenses can then be inserted straight after removal from the case, that is unless you didn't rub/rinse them the night before.
If you are sensitive to any of the chemicals in the multi-purpose solutions then we may have recommended a peroxide solution such as AOSept® or OxySept®. These solutions are hypo-allergenic but have some strict instructions that you MUST adhere to. The cleaning of the lenses is performed by a very strong chemical known as Hydrogen Peroxide, which if inserted into the eye can cause a nasty burn. The peroxide is nutralised by a small platinum disc at the base of the case provided with the solution. It is very important that you check for the presence of the metal disc before use and that you use only the case provided with the solution, replacing it upon purchasing a new batch of solution. On insertion of the solution and the disc you will see bubbles forming in the liquid, this is the nutralising action of the platinum disc, which will be complete in no less than SIX HOURS, after which the solution will be nothing more than saline, salt water. If you were to get the neat solution in your eye or if you insert the lenses prior to the six hour soaking guideline, then your eye will become very painful and red. You must irrigate the eye immediately with sterile saline solution and contact the practice for an emergency check-up appointment.
Following the rub and rinse the lenses can be put into the case for the evening making sure that the lens is completely covered with fresh solution, ensure that the lens is totally in the case before closing, to avoid damage to the lens. The following day your lenses can then be inserted straight after removal from the case, that is unless you didn't rub/rinse them the night before.
If you are sensitive to any of the chemicals in the multi-purpose solutions then we may have recommended a peroxide solution such as AOSept® or OxySept®. These solutions are hypo-allergenic but have some strict instructions that you MUST adhere to. The cleaning of the lenses is performed by a very strong chemical known as Hydrogen Peroxide, which if inserted into the eye can cause a nasty burn. The peroxide is nutralised by a small platinum disc at the base of the case provided with the solution. It is very important that you check for the presence of the metal disc before use and that you use only the case provided with the solution, replacing it upon purchasing a new batch of solution. On insertion of the solution and the disc you will see bubbles forming in the liquid, this is the nutralising action of the platinum disc, which will be complete in no less than SIX HOURS, after which the solution will be nothing more than saline, salt water. If you were to get the neat solution in your eye or if you insert the lenses prior to the six hour soaking guideline, then your eye will become very painful and red. You must irrigate the eye immediately with sterile saline solution and contact the practice for an emergency check-up appointment.
For more detailed information please see the British Contact Lens Association website.