Contact Lens care

Caring for Your Contact Lenses

When cared for properly, contact lenses can provide a healthy, comfortable and convenient vision correction option. NewSight VisionCare Centers has created a one-page guide to caring for your lenses that will help you to enjoy the benefits of contact lenses.

Why is contact lens care important?

Like all synthetic materials, contact lenses are subject to a build-up of micro-organisms and deposits. If not removed, these deposits and absorbed materials can build up on the lens surface which over time may result in the reduction of comfort and vision as well as an increased risk of contamination. This is why lenses need to be cared for on a regular basis using various types of solutions, which are not only compatible with the lens materials but also with the eye itself.

Why can't water be used for rinsing contact lenses?

Tap water contains chlorine, minerals and metal particles, which can damage both the lenses and the eye. Among other things, water contains organisms, which can lead to serious infections of the eye through microbial contamination. Home made saline, purified or distilled water does not disinfect contact lenses and should not be used for rinsing the lenses.

Important Things to Know about Lens Care

Cleaning and Disinfection

Cleaning and disinfecting are important to kill micro-organisms responsible for eye infections.

Storage

Contact lenses must be stored in solutions approved for contact lens storage.

Re-wetting

Use drops approved for re-wetting contact lenses as needed to alleviate symptoms of lens dryness. This is not an actual lens care step, but can be used for extra comfort.

The Lens Case

Data indicate that lens cases are a significant source of microbial contamination. Proper lens case cleaning and frequently replacing your case are essential for minimizing the risk of contact lens-related eye infections. Always follow the directions on the packaging insert for detailed instructions on cleaning your lens case.

Tips for Success

When cared for properly, contact lenses can provide a healthy, comfortable and convenient vision correction option. Whether you are new to contact lenses or have been wearing them for years, the following tips will help you to enjoy the benefits of contact lenses.

Ongoing Professional Care

For your own safety, NewSight VisionCare believes that you must seek the care of a licensed eye care professional before you use contact lenses. In fact it is required that contact lenses only be fit by eye care professionals – and not bought without eye care professional oversight in such places as gas stations, beauty stores or flea markets. Only your eye care professional is educated, trained and licensed to examine, and properly fit the lens to your eyes. By visiting your eye care professional, you can be sure that you will receive the right contact lenses for your eyes and personal vision correction needs, as well as instructions on how to properly care for them.

Click here to find a NewSight VisionCare Center eye care professional near you.

Furthermore, proper follow-up care by your eye care professional is essential to ensure eye health throughout your life. Over time, your eyes and lenses can change, often without symptoms or warning signs which may put you at risk for developing potentially serious complications, including vision loss. Regular ongoing professional care can help to ensure a lifetime of good vision and eye health. Please consult your NewSight VisionCare eye care professional for a recommended visitation schedule, which usually varies between every 6-12 months.

Following a Wearing Schedule

Different lenses are made for different wearing schedules. While some lenses can potentially be worn for a week or even a month of continuous wear, others are meant to be taken out daily. To protect your eyes from serious complications, it is important that you follow the wearing schedule that your Newsight VisionCare eye care professional recommends. Please consult your doctor if you have any questions about the proper wearing schedule of your lenses.

Inserting and Removing Your Lenses

It is important that you wash, rinse and dry your hands thoroughly each time you handle your lenses. Good hygiene helps to eliminate germs which can cause eye infection – especially for smokers. Do not insert a lens into an eye that is red, irritated or painful. In these instances, you should contact your eye care professional immediately before continuing contact lens use.

Caring for Your Lenses

Depending on the type of lens you are wearing, there are many different options for cleaning and disinfecting your lenses. Some lenses, such as daily disposable lenses, require little to no lens care – they are simply thrown away after each use. However, if you wear lenses that your doctor has recommended that you take out and re-insert into your eye, they should be cleaned and disinfected after each use. Proper care for your lenses can help your lenses stay clean and comfortable for you to wear. Your eye care professional can help you decide what lens care solutions are best for you.

Reduce the Risk for Infection

Clean and safe handling of contact lenses is one of the most important measures contact lens wearers can take to protect their sight. The following are a few tips you can follow while cleaning and wearing your contact lenses to help avoid any adverse events:

1. Always wash and dry your hands before touching contact lenses. 
2. Carefully and regularly clean your contact lenses.
3. Never use water direct from the tap to rinse your lenses or your lens case.
4. Use fresh solution each time you place your lenses in a lens storage case. Do not "top off." ("Topping off" is adding a little more solution to the solution that is already in the case.)
5. Rinse your lens case with solutions recommended by doctor and according to the manufacturers’ guidelines.
6. A new lens case should be used with each new bottle of solution.
7. Do not swim without protective goggles while wearing contact lenses. Swimming while wearing contact lenses can cause serious problems and is not recommended. Ask your eye care professional for specific advice regarding swimming with lenses.
8. Use only solutions intended for usage with contact lenses and never reuse your solutions.
9. Replace your contact lenses as recommended by your doctor as well as the manufacturer of the lens.

Problems

If you experience any problems with your contact lenses, please remove your lenses and consult your doctor right away. Discomfort can be an early sign of a more serious complication, and early treatment can have a significant impact on overcoming problems.

Insertion and Removal Tips

General Tips:

1. Hands should be washed and thoroughly rinsed before handling lenses
2. A soap which is free of oils, lotions or perfumes is recommended
3. Hands should be dried with a lint-free towel
4. Use finger tips to handle lens (avoid finger nails and sharp objects)
5. Check lens is clean, wet and damage-free

How To Insert Your Lenses

Place the wet, clean "right" lens on the tip of the index or middle finger of your dominant hand (if you're right-handed this would be your right hand), and pull down the lower lid with the middle or ring finger of the same hand. Use your other hand to hold the upper lid firmly open.

Look directly at the lens or look directly into a mirror and place the lens directly on the cornea (the large colored circle in the center of your eye).

Slowly release your hold on the lid. If there are any air bubbles beneath the lens, close your eye, and with the eye closed, roll the eye gently. Another way of getting rid of air bubbles is to massage the lids very lightly. Under no condition, however, should your rub your eyes.

Removing the lens

Look up. With middle finger, hold down lower lid. Use forefinger to slide lens to lower part of eye. Pinch lens with thumb and forefinger and remove without excessively folding the lens.

Cosmetic Tips

Being a contact lens wearer does not mean giving up wearing eye make-up.

1. Make-up should be applied after lens insertion. Lenses should be removed before removing make-up
2. A fast-drying, fiber free mascara is recommended
3. Eye shadow in cream form or as a compact powder has been shown to be the best type for lens wearers
4. Liquid eye-liner can lead to some tinting of soft contact lenses
5. Eye-color pencil should not be applied directly on edge of lower eyelid – better to apply on edge of lower eyelash
6. For removal of eye make-up, it is best to use a rich eye make-up remover or water-soluble cleaning emulsions
7. Hand creams, sunscreens and nail polish remover should not be allowed to come into direct contact with the lenses; they can penetrate the lens
8. Care should be used when applying deodorant spray, hair spray, perfume, etc. Aerosols should be avoided when lens case or lens care bottles are standing open. Eyes should be closed when spraying!
9. In an incident: Contamination from cosmetics should be treated with contact lens cleaning solutions only

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