Approximately 56 million North Americans prefer contact lenses as a form of vision correction. Are you planning to join these people and replace your eyeglasses with contact lenses? Here are our top 5 tips for starting your journey with contact lenses.
We have listed down tips on how to wear and care for your lenses so you can enjoy the benefits to the fullest.
1.Check If Your Contact Lens is Inside Out?
An important question for anyone new to contact lenses is: “How to know if your contact lens is inside out?”
To know, place your contact lenses on the index fingertip and carefully look at the shape. Ideally, your contact lens looks like a rim of a teacup should be pointing upwards. So, if your lens edge is flared outside just like a blooming flower, you know the lens is inside out.
Another way to figure out is if you can read numbers/letters correctly while holding the lens on your fingertip as some contact lenses have tiny marks of numbers/letters. Always make sure when you check, the lenses are oriented properly and ready to be inserted.
2. Never Go for a Substitute for Contact Lens Solution
Some people have sensitive eyes than others, your eye doctors recommend the contact lens after multiple tests that will not harm your eyes in any way. So, when you run out of contact lens solution, don’t feel tempted to rinse lenses with water or think of using saliva to clean or moisten your lenses.
Use of any substitute other than the contact lens solution your doctors recommended can prove out to be harmful to your eyes. Rinsing or rewetting contacts lens with other substitutes can produce harmful microbes to the eye causing infection.
That’s why doctors advise you to remove lenses before any activity that could wet the lenses such as showing, swimming, etc.
3.If You feel discomfort with your contact lenses, Take Them Out!
Some newbie lens users think it is ok if your lenses feel uncomfortable or gritty and you just need to get used to it. If you are one of those, then you are absolutely wrong. Contact lenses are designed to fit you comfortably. So if you are feeling any sort of discomfort, there has to be something wrong.
One of the reasons could be, there is dust or dirt stuck between your eyes and contact lenses, causing you irritation in the eye. So, when you feel discomfort, firstly remove your lenses with clean hands. After that, rinse the lenses inside out with the contact lens solution your doctors had recommended. Cleaning your lenses with a contact lens solution will probably eliminate the discomfort.
If you still feel discomfort or irritation after flushing your lenses, you should wait till the irritation or redness in the eye is gone and try to put the lenses back on. If the discomfort persists, remove lenses with clean hands and contact your doctor.
4. Make Sure To Use Contact-lens Friendly Eye Makeup
Have you ever gotten makeup in your eyes? It’s irritating and annoying, right? With contact lenses, it’s worse as makeup sticks to the lenses rather than flushing right out. Here is our recommendation regarding eye makeup and contact lenses.
- Always put contact lenses on before applying your makeup and always wash your hands so you don’t transfer any cosmetic like lotion or cream to your lenses.
- Always use only non-allergenic makeup.
- Use water-based formula around your eyes instead of an oil-based one.
- Keep your eyes closed while applying powder.
- Apply eyeliner on the portion of your lashes that is away from the eyes and not between lashes and eyes.
- Remove your contact lenses with washed and dried hands before removing makeup.
- Replace your makeup every 3 months otherwise, there will be bacteria in your product that can go to your eyes and cause harm.
- Don’t share your eye makeup with anyone
5. Follow The Hygiene Guidelines
You must follow the hygiene rules when it comes to contact lenses. Washing and drying your hands before you insert or remove your lenses is non-negotiable when it comes to your eye health. Cause not only it’s hard to grasp lenses with a wet hand, but it’s also harmful that contact lens comes in touch with tap water.
Oily or heavily scented hand wash tend to cling to the lens surface and thus cause irritation, so try avoiding those. Always keep in mind, if you accidentally touch lenses with moist or lotioned hands there is a risk of residual product entering the lens and cloud your vision.
Bonus Tip: Get an Eye Exam
Along with maintaining all the mentioned tips, you must get an appointment with your eye doctor so they can examine your eye health and check if any harm has been done due to contact lenses.
If you have any questions regarding contact lenses and want an appointment, Contact us at Advanced Eye Clinic!
