General Contact Lens Information -- The Keys to Success

Only 25 % of contact lens wearers have complaints with the recommendations of their eye care practitioners. Up to 75% do not follow directions in caring for their contact lenses. Here are things you should do to keep your eyes healthy and safe while wearing contact lenses.

1. All contact lenses (unless they are day-1 lenses) must be cleaned following the instrucitons included with the solution that your doctor has recommended to you. The cleaning process removes dirt, bacteria, proteins, and other substances from the lense making the lense not just safer but also more comfortable.
2. Different solutions cannot always be used together and not all solutions safe to uses with all lenses. Use only the lense care solutions recommended by your eye care practitioner, and do not change brandes without his/her approval.
3. The vast majority of contact lense problems and infecitons coe from not washing your hands. Dirty hands before handling contact lenses are the main source of contamination of contact lenses. Therefore, always wash your hands and dry them with a lint-free towel before handling contact lenses.
4. The second most common cause of contact lens contamination is dirty cases. It is recommended to replace cases every 3 months due to bacteria growth. Lens cases should be cleaned, rinsed and allowed to air dry each time the lenses are removed.
5. Never wear lenses longer than prescribed. The rist of infection with extended wear (sleeping overnight in contact lenses) is 15x higher than when patients do not sleep in contact lenses.
6. Disposable and frequent or planned replacement lenses should be thrown away after the recommended wearing period prescribed by your eye care practitioner. Increasing the wearing time of your contact lenses past the time your doctor recommended might increase associated complications like infections and inflammations.
7. Smokers are at a higher risk of contact lens complications than non-smokers. Therefore, contact lens wearers who smoke should take extra precautions and stringently follow all recommendations provided by our office.
8. Long time wearers are more likely to develop problems associated with contacts. Often this is due to relaxing the recommendations for proper lens care and wear.
9. Always follow your practitioners directions and call us immediately if you experience any problems with your contact lenses at 706-310-5050.

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