How To

How to Care for Contact Lenses

Contributor

By eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating:

(2 Ratings)

Contact lenses can free you from the hassles of wearing eyeglasses, some of which you don't even realize until you no longer have them. However, if you don't care for your contacts properly, you'll find yourself back in eyeglasses, perhaps permanently.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Wash your hands and dry them with a clean towel.
Step 2

Remove one lens, place it in the palm of your hand and clean it with the solution recommended by your doctor and in accordance with his or her instructions. Place the lens in the appropriate storage container and cover with solution.
Step 3

Repeat with the other lens.
Step 4

Allow the lenses to soak in solution for several hours. It's not a good idea to repeatedly take your lenses out and put them in on the same day. Most people take them out in the evening and let them soak overnight.
Step 5

Wash and dry your hands again before reinserting lenses.
Step 6

Place each lens in the palm of your hand and rise with solution before placing it on your eye.
Step 7

Rinse the container with water and leave uncovered to air dry. Change your container with each new bottle of solution.

Tips & Warnings

To ensure that your eyes aren't damaged by using contact lenses, only wear lenses that have been properly fitted and prescribed by an optometrist. If your lenses ever feel uncomfortable or if you have problems with your eyesight, see your optometrist.
Never use a homemade lens cleaning solution or storage containers and never wet your lenses with saliva. These can cause serious eye infections.
Take care not to touch the tip of your cleaning solution bottle or vial to your hand, lenses or anything else.
Look closely to make sure each lens is sitting in the bottoms of its cup before closing the lids to avoid accidental tears.
Don't try to clean and reuse lenses that are meant to be discarded after use.

Who Can Help:

Resources