7 Things You Should Never Do With Your Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a convenient solution to poor vision, but it’s important to look after them properly in order to avoid damaging your eyes. Here are 7 things you should never do with your contact lenses:

Handle Your Contact Lenses without Washing Your Hands

Always remember to wash your hands before inserting or removing your contact lenses. We touch a lot of things during the day, making our fingers and palms a house for bacteria. Avoid infecting your eyes by washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water and then dry them on a lint free towel.

Reuse Contact Lens Solution

Contact lens solution is an effective disinfectant, but it loses its power once it’s been lying around for too long. Empty and refill your contact lens case after every use. This way, you minimise the risk of eye infections caused by harmful bacteria.

Wear Your Contact Lenses For Longer Than Recommended

Whether you wear monthly, weekly or daily contact lenses, the general rule is never wear them for more than 12 hours. Our eyes need to be exposed to oxygen, so it’s important to let them rest in between. Try to wear contact lenses for less than half a day if possible.

Sleep With Your Contact Lenses In

It’s likely that you’ll wake up from your sweet dreams into a nightmare if you sleep with your contact lenses in. Forgetting to remove contact lenses before snoozing can lead to irritation of the eye, infections and in some cases, blindness.

Shower or Swim with Contact Lenses In

Don’t ever shower or swim with your contact lenses in. Water harbours dangerous bacteria that can cling on to the plastic of your contact lens and cause infections or loss of vision. You don’t need to have perfect vision when showering or swimming, so take ‘em out and play it safe.

Forget to Clean and Dry Your Contact Lenses In Lens Case

Contact lens cases need to be cleaned, the same as contact lenses. Wash your case at least once a week with contact lens solution or gentle soap and water, and then leave to dry completely. This will kill off bacteria, giving your contact lenses a safer place to rest.

Use Water or Saliva to Clean Contact Lenses

Don’t ever use water or saliva to clean or hydrate your contact lenses. It can be tempting to use an alternative method when you don’t have a contact lens solution with you, but water and saliva both contain a party of bacteria that can cause infections. If your eyes are prone to dryness, carry eye drops around with you.

When you practice good habits around handling contact lenses, your eyes are more likely to stay healthy. You can buy contact lenses online at LensesOnline. We have a wide range of products, including the popular Acuve Oasys.

This article was originally posted in our sisters company Lens World