Caring for your Lenses
 

Following your contact lens fitting appointment you will have thorough instruction on the application and removal of your lenses, and how to care for them. If you have any queries at any point in your contact lens wearing life, especially in the early days, do not hesitate to contact us.

Here are a few hints and tips for successful contact lens wear:

Don’t be a stranger! Always come and see us when advised.
We make sure the lenses are safe and healthy for your eyes, that you’re seeing as well as you can in them and that you are getting the best possible treatment. There are also regular updates to contact lens technology which we can let you know about. We are also not legally allowed to supply you with lenses without an up-to-date contact lens prescription.

Never get your lenses into contact with water - including tap water, showers, swimming pools, hot tubs and saunas.
Water contains small living organisms like bacteria and amoeba, even when chlorinated like in swimming pools. Acanthamoeba is one of the most serious, and can quickly cause a serious infection of your cornea which requires hospitalisation or even corneal transplant surgery. You can purchase swimming goggles that correct your eyesight, so that you do not have to wear contact lenses in the pool.

 

Always wash and dry your hands when handling your lenses.
Good hygiene is one of the best ways of reducing your risk of infection.

Clean lenses and use the solutions advised by your optometrist.
For monthly and fortnightly lenses, ensuring proper cleaning reduces your risk of infection and improves lens comfort. Using the correct solutions for your lens type, ensures they are kept in best condition and remain comfortable while you are wearing them.

Never wear your lenses for longer than recommended, and dispose of them as recommended.
Wearing the lenses for longer than recommended starves your eyes of oxygen. In time this may cause the eye to develop new blood vessels and become hazy, both of which are a health risk to the cornea. Keeping the lenses for longer than is recommended again increases the risk of infection, even if you do not use your lenses every day in a given fortnight or month. So pop the date in your diary or set your phone up to remind you! There are even several mobile apps available for this purpose.

Never sleep in your contact lenses, unless advised by your optometrist.
Contact lenses limit a certain amount of oxygen to the cornea, as does closing your eyes to sleep. The combination of these increase the risk of the complications described above.

Never top up your solutions.
Solutions should be completely changed after every wear and on a weekly basis if you have a hiatus (for example, if you are ill).

Rinse your lens case with solutions and leave them to air dry when you are wearing your lenses.
Both of these reduce the risk of infection.

Change your contact lens case regularly, at least every 3 months.
Contact lens cases harbour microbes which may cause infection