Proper hygiene is essentially important for your eyes if you are using contact lenses. Many contact lens users fail to practice safe hand hygiene while handling their contact lenses. Improper hygiene leads to the build-up of microorganisms in your lens which can infect and damage your eyesight.
Eye infections typically occur when you do not follow basic hygiene routines like cleaning, disinfecting, and storing your contact lenses in approved lenses solution and failing to remove the lenses before taking a shower or sleeping in your contact lenses.
Follow the simple hygiene steps mentioned below to prevent your eyes from any severe eye infections.
Maintain proper hand hygiene:
It is extremely important to wash your hands properly with clean water and mild soap before you put on your contact lenses. After a thorough cleaning, dry your hands with a lint-free cloth. Follow the same procedure when you remove the lenses to prevent any risk of infection.
Strictly follow the prescribed time to wear your contact lenses:
Always follow the wearing instructions written on the package or as prescribed by your Optician regarding the time duration for wearing your lenses. You can use Daily Wears for more than ten hours in a day without any problem if you avoid water at all costs as bacteria in the water will deposit on your lenses and damage your eyes. Remove your contact lenses before you go to bed. If you use Extended Wear lens, it is always recommended to follow the instructions and advice of your Eye Doctor.
Use approved solutions to clean your lenses:
Always use approved lenses solutions to clean and disinfect your lenses. Rub and rinse your lenses with the solution to remove any dirt attached on your lenses. Store your lenses overnight in multi-purpose solution as the solution will clean, disinfect, rinse, and kill any bacteria lodged in your lenses.
Disinfect your lens case and replace it every three months:
Always make sure your lens case is sterile and clean. Your lens case stays warm and moist at all times and serves as a breeding ground for bacterial contamination. Throw away the old solutions in the case and avoid reusing it. Wash your lens case with the solution and keep it dry and open between cleanings. Refill the lens case with fresh solution to soak your lenses. Replace the case every three months to protect your eyes from bacterial infections.
Wearing contact lenses does not cause any eye infections. Poor hand hygiene and careless handlings of contact lenses result in damaging your eyes. Most of the contact lens users use water or saliva to clean their contact lenses. Eye Doctors advise against such habits as water and saliva contains microorganisms that breed on the lens and infect your eyes once you insert your contact lenses. Use approved disinfectant solutions to reduce bacterial infections. If you do not have solutions to disinfect your contact lenses, go for daily disposable contact lenses rather than the reusable ones. A wide variety of genuine contact lenses ranging from Daily wears to Extended wears are available in the market or you can browse and place an order for the one which suits you best from Eye Contacts Australia.
Dirty lenses lead to severe eye infections like, Acanthamoeba Keratitis, a corneal infection which will threaten your eyesight resulting in blindness. Maintain strict hand hygiene and schedule an appointment with your Eye Doctor depending upon your eye health needs. If you experience any swelling, redness, blurry vision, discomfort, or itchiness in your eyes while wearing contact lenses, visit your Optician immediately and get your eyes treated.
Tags: contact lens, eye health, eye hygiene, eyes, optical health
