If you wear daily contact lenses this information isn’t for you, as you enjoy the convenience of a fresh new lens every day without having to worry about having to clean or store your contact lenses.    If you wear fortnightly or monthly contact lenses, cleaning, and storage play an important role in ensuring your vision, comfort and eye health safety is maintained for the entire wearing schedule. Even after wearing contact lenses for years we all slip into bad habits and so a refresher in contact lens & eye care is good from time to time, so here goes;

Wash your hands with a mild antibacterial soap / handwash for at least 20 seconds and then dry them with a lint free towel so you avoid any fluff getting stuck on the lenses.  The soap will remove any oils, perfume, make up and other bacteria coming into contact with your eyes and lenses as you insert them.

Once your lenses are in, turn your attention to your contact lens case, throw away the solution that your lenses have been soaking in, add new solution or saline and rinse the case leaving it to air dry, so it’s sterile ready for the next time you use it.

When it comes to removing your contacts repeat the washing of hands step before you touch your eyes and contact lenses.

Once removed, to clean your contact lenses place them in the palm of your hand and add a couple of drops of contact lens solution and gentle rub the lens with a finger into your palm for about 30 seconds, this helps to loosen any impurities and surface dirt, then rinse your lens with a few more added drops of solution.

Place the lens into the correct side of your sterile contact lens case and fill with contact lens solution until it covers the lens, seal the lid.

This is the simple day to day care needed to keep your eyes protected and your contact lenses clean, so they deliver clear vision and comfort for the full wearing schedule.  Let’s face it there is nothing more frustrating than purchasing monthly contact lenses and they only feel good for 2 – 3 weeks!

Here’s a couple of other suggestions that can help; It’s a good idea to give your case a little scrub with a new toothbrush, kept for this task, every week and then replace your case every month or when you purchase new contact lens solution which usually comes with a new case as part of the pack.

For those who don’t use their contact lenses every day, you should be replacing the solution that your lenses are being stored in, every 72 hours / 3 days to prevent bacteria from building up.

If you find that your contact lenses sting when you’re inserting your lenses due to the solution, look for a preservative free option such as Bausch & Lomb’s BioTrue, this is my personal favorite.

Never ever use water from the tap, boiled, purified, or distilled as it can still contain bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause serious eye infections.  Water will not clean or sanitize your contact lenses, but it can cause the lenses to change shape or stick to the eyes resulting in discomfort and blurry vision. There is no substitute for proper contact lens solution which doesn’t just sterilize and keep your contact lens clean but keeps them hydrated and in shape too.