Steps To Clean Contact Lenses Properly

Contact lens is one accessory that needs to be used with utmost care and sanitised state. Negligence to do so causes damage to the eye externally and internally. Improper insertion of contact lens can scratch or cause tear. Wearing improper set of contact lens, an unclean pair or ones that are not properly cleansed can also cause infections and damage the vision in some cases.

So it becomes very important to clean the contact lens on regular basis as instructed by the manufacturer and recommended by your doctor. Care must be taken not to clean contact lens with water. Bugs and parasites present in normal water can cause severe infection to the eye.

There are several brands of contact lenses in the market and several cleansing materials available to maintain them. Each of these products or solutions has specific methods and instructions that need to be adhered for optimum results. These instructions could be in the form of how long to rub the lenses to clean them, how long to soak the lenses and how long to rinse the lenses depending upon the type of solution. Sometimes you might even be instructed not to rub the lens. One must never clean contact lens using saliva as germs present in one's saliva can result in unwanted infection to the eye. Contact lens must be kept moist at all times. Hence care must be taken not to clean contact lens with agents that dry the lens beyond permissible limit.

Following are a few steps need to be taken to clean contact lens

Washing Your Hand
This is first and foremost important step to clean contact lens. Preferably, clean your hand with an anti-bacterial soap or cleanser. You can choose a hand sanitiser in case washing is not an option. You don't want germs and bacteria's lurking in your hand to enter your eye.

Quality Solutions
Always prefer a quality cleansing solution to clean contact lens. Do not compromise on price over quality. Make sure the solution sold to you is recommended either by your doctor or the lens manufacturer. Not all solutions go with all type of contact lens.

Cleaning Lens
Remove lens from your eye and clean it with the recommended solution as instructed by your supplier or the doctor. Cleaning removes eye-produced residue, cosmetics or other debris that would have settled onto the contact lens thereby impairing lens comfort. It is recommended that you rub the lens in the palm of your hand with a few drops of solution.

Soaking Time
There are different soaking methods for different contact lens. It is important to know from your supplier for the optimum soaking time for your contact lens. Place the lens in your clean lens case or lens holder and fill with fresh solution. Make sure you never rinse or soak your contact lens in water or saliva making it dry and infested.

Clean The Holder Case
Make sure you have not touched or infested your hands in the time of the above process of soaking. If so repeat the first step before you place your lens into your eye. After inserting your lens, rinse the case with fresh solution and allow it to air dry fully. Do not leave it to dry with old solution or wash it with water.

While following these steps make sure of the following:

While rubbing solution onto lens, do so firmly in a straight back-and-forth motion

Keep your fingernails short and clean

Change your storing solution daily

Never switch cleaning-solution brands unless authorised to do so by your eye doctor or your supplier.