Eyewear such as contact lenses has to be given proper amount of care, or else they will become dusty, and may tear easily especially when it comes to kids.
A person who gives emphasis on hygiene factors quite often and is consistent in keeping things to order is the best prospect for lenses.
Soft contacts are delicate as compared to hard contact lenses but even then both are to be handled properly or else you might damage your eyes leading to allergies like red eye etc, and in worst case scenario may even lead to infections such as Keratitis and Fungal Eye Infection.
In order to get yourself away from such infections, the first thing to keep in mind is to clean your contacts quite often using proper prescribed solutions for them.
Here are few steps that will provide you with the best cleaning solution for your contacts.
Steps to Keep in Mind
Step 1: Grab Appropriate Solution
The most imperative part for the cleansing of your lens, therefore, keep in mind that always use fresh solution every time.
Also make sure you are using proper solution for your kind of contacts, your optometrist may prescribe the best one.
Saline solutions should not be used for cleaning as they don’t contain cleansing agents and are of no use. Multi-Purpose solutions are best as they are “no-rub” solutions; used for rinsing, disinfecting and storing purpose. This enzymatic cleaner helps in removing protein from the lens that are dangerous for eyes; leading to irritations and infections.
Step 2: Prepare a Container
Next thing recommended is to get ready with the container you’ll put lens in so that you place lens directly in their compartments and not paper towel or hand after rinsing, in order to prevent the risk of letting the lens catch dirt, debris and scratches.
Clean the lens to remove dirt (if any) and add appropriate solution you want to use for lens cleansing.
Make sure you have grabbed a fresh new container if you’ve been using old one for about 2 weeks.
Step 3: Wash Your Hands
Washing your hands frequently is a good habit but in case of cleaning contacts you have to be more sophisticated and cautious.
Never use fragrance soaps or oil soaps, instead rinse your hands with Anti-Bacterial soaps and thoroughly dry your hands with Microfiber towel also known as lint free towel as they remove bacteria to a 98.9%.
Step 4: Clean the Lens
You should be really firm when cleaning contacts otherwise they may get scratched and tear. The following methods are to be done with utmost care:
- Place the convex part of your lens on your palm (facing down).
- Pour only one drop of the prescribed solution and allow it to soak for few seconds.
- Gently cover the lid with your index finger and slowly move up and down and left and right. Note that moving in circles may lead to tearing.
Step 5: Place Lens in the Proper Container
After rinsing put the lens back to its container and shut the caps tightly. Then shake the container firmly (lens may damage if shook hard). This process helps in removing dirt and deposits to a high extent.
Make sure you keep lens in the compartments for as long as mentioned on the container, varies from few minutes to several hours, depending on the dirt level.
Other Solutions
The steps shown above may not always work in cleaning your lens properly maybe because of the reason that your lens are filled with thick dirt and debris. Moreover, the reason could be that you have been using same contacts for more than its life span.
If your lens is very dirty, you may use strong solution like Hydrogen Peroxide (HP) for cleansing purpose but note that this solution should not be used as the only source but instead rinse with saline solution too. HP is a strong solution and may damage your eyes, even lead to dangerous infections therefore don’t put lens directly after cleaning it with HP solution.
Even then if you are facing cloudy vision and the haze is still not removed, set a schedule with your optometrist and get yourself prescribed with the best method possible.
