As a medical staff prepared a 65-year-old woman for cataract surgery in the summer of 2017 in England, they found and removed 27 contact lenses from her eye. Surprisingly, she had not complained about any irritation or discomfort. Two weeks after the lenses were removed, she told Optometry Today that she felt “a lot more comfortable,” and had thought the pain she experienced was just a “part of old age and dry eye.”
When worn responsibly and handled with care, contact lenses are a perfectly safe optical device. When not handled properly, however, contact lenses can cause an array of medical problems or lead to infections. Though it’s not every day someone has 27 contacts removed from their eyes, contact care and safety is something all contact lens users need to learn more about. This list of tips will educate you on how to better care for your contact lenses, and more importantly, your eyes.
Don’t Wear Overnight
One of the most common problems for contact lens wearers is forgetting to take them out at bedtime. The tears your eye produces during the day when your eyes are often open, don’t bring as much oxygen to your eyeballs when they are closed. At night, your eyelids are pressing whatever germs may be on your contacts directly into your cornea, which can lead to infection. Also, like the lady who was preparing for cataract surgery, you may forget you had them in and may try to replace them in the morning. Make it a nighttime ritual, like brushing your teeth. Before you go to bed, always remove your contacts.
Chart Your Changing Schedule
Make a handy chart to track your schedule so you always know when to change your contacts. Wearing a lens for too long can cause infection, dry eye, and corneal edema. You can also set a reminder on your phone to alert you when it’s time to change contacts.
Contact Cleaning Tips
Wash your hands thoroughly, and dry them with a lint-free towel before handling your contacts. Never use saline, rewetting drops, or saliva to clean or dampen your contacts before putting them in. Always use fresh solution to rinse and clean your lenses.
Store Contacts Properly
Use solution to clean your case as well, and replace the case every two to three months. Even if you clean the case regularly, scratches in the case itself may hold bacteria that can infect the solution—and eventually, your eyes.
Do Not Reuse Solution
Each time you store your lenses in their case, empty and replace the old solution. It may seem like a waste of money, but the old solution has lost its ability to disinfect the contacts after each use.
Remove Lenses Before Showering or Swimming
Water—whether from a natural source, like a lake or river, or even from a shower or your backyard swimming pool—can harbor dangerous organisms called acanthamoeba, which can cause serious eye infections. Always remove and safely store your contacts before hopping in the shower or going for a dip.
Know When To Seek Help
If you are experiencing eye irritation, take your contacts out immediately, and seek the help of a professional. Eye health is extremely important, and you should never take chances with your eyes. If a bit of time without wearing contacts followed by cleaning and changing your lenses doesn’t solve the problem, go to an eye doctor to figure out what’s going on.
Contact lenses can cause a large variety of medical concerns, most frequently bacterial infections. Most of these issues are reversible—if caught in time. Proper cleaning, handling, and replacement of lenses and cases should help you avoid these pesky complications. Though you may never be in a situation where 27 lenses are being removed from your eyes by medical professionals, you are always in a position to learn more about how to care for your eyes and your eyewear.
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Sources: [American Academy of Ophthalmology, Everyday Health, Livestrong, NPR, WebMD] featured image credit: Inform Overload via Youtube
