Taking Care of Soft Contacts

So 10 years ago you came in for your very first contact exam. It went great! You got fantastic contacts that felt great on your eyes and you got great vision out of them. You got the whole rundown (hopefully) from your optician and from your optometrist on how to properly take care of your lenses and what could happen if you don't. Well, we realize this conversation might have been a long time for a lot of people, and due to their responses to our questions at their exams, they have probably faltered a little to a lot from their care regimine with their contacts, so here is a brush-up.

Keeping to your Schedule

• All parts of our body except for our eyes receive oxygen through blood. Our eyes on the other-hand get their oxygen through their surfaces. That is why we need to pay close attention to how often we are replacing our contacts since contacts block their oxygen flow. Each brand of contact lens has a specific amount of time you can wear them so your eyes can breathe comfortably the entire time you have the lens. This is determined by your optometrist and should be adhered to strictly to keep your eyes comfortable.
• Sleeping in contacts likewise reduces the amount of oxygen to your eyes. Therefore it is only recommended to sleep in contacts that your doctor allows you to. Even if you do sleep in your contacts it is recommended to take them out for one night a week to give your eyes a break.
• Helpful ways to remember are to take them out the same night every week, set a reminder in your phone, or go to accuminder.com to set up a recurring text or email to remind you when you need to take them out. You can customize the Accuminder for your specific regimine. I don't delete the Accuminder e-mail until I actually take them out.

A Clean Contact is a Happy Contact!

• Always wash your hands before handling your contacts. Another tip is that if your contact case is grungy on the outside and you wash your hands before opening it and then you open it, you will get the bacteria that was on the outside of the case in your eye! So a better option is to open you case and then wash your hands, or just keep a clean case on the outside and inside.
• Every time you put your contacts from your case to your eyes rinse them off with solution. This gets any debris off your contact before it goes in your eyes. Also, rub your contacts before putting them in your case. Always rub them in a cross design and not in a circle. Rubbing in a circle is more likely to cause tearing and ripping.
• Once you have your contacts in your eyes make sure to rinse your case with either solution or tap water and leave the caps off. This way it can be free of debris and it can air dry. Your contact lens case is similar to tupperware. It's beautiful in the beginning, but after a comple of months no matter what you do you can not get it clean. This is why a new case is definitely recommended every three months. All that buildup is bacteria that can eventually get in your eye and cause an infection.

Solution is the Solution

Not all solutions are treated the same. In our office we recommend Opti-Free Pure Moist and/or Clear Care. The difference between Opti-Free Pure Moist and generic brands is all in the moisture particles. In Pure Moist the moisture particles are nice and small. This allows them to find snugly in the pores of your contacts and keep them moist longer. If the moisture particles are bigger than the pores in your contacts then they will slide off with every blink, and sooner rather than later will be gone and of not use.
Clear Care is a great solution for people who need a deeper clean for their contacts. Make sure to read the instructions on the box very carefully. It is dangerous to your eye to use clear care solution as if it were a regular solution.

Yikes!

If you are allowing your eyes getting irritated to be a reminder to change your contacts you are waiting until the damage is done before you change them instead of preventing the damage in the first place. If you follow the above rules and tips you will be much more likely to be as happy with your contacts as you could possibly be and we won't see you in our office with an infection!



Let's get back on track!

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