Do you know that over a million people prefer to wear contact lenses in Australia? Whether they do it once in a blue moon or they wear it on a regular basis, the total number of people who wear contact lenses sums up to a total of 45 million across the United States of America. While wearing contacts is just one part of the deal, making sure that they are kept in the best care is another. Just as much as placing them in your eyes is important, it is also very important that you’re aware of how well protected they are in their contact cases. After all, contact lenses are used in your eyes and you have to make sure they don’t create infections. We often forget about hygiene and because of our regular usage or even occasional ones, we result in becoming lazy in maintaining the perfect care of our coloured contact lenses. So when that happens, then you should be prepared to spend countless dollars on an eye-care specialist if you choose to wear them. Today I am going to present a few handful hygiene tips which will ensure your contact lenses remain safe. At the same time, maintaining these hygiene practices, you can also save your eyes from getting infected. So without further ado, let’s get into the details. Wash Your Hands Before You Touch Your Contacts Hands are the first thing that you need to make sure is clean when you’re planning to wear contacts. Whether you’re planning to take them out of their case and place them in the eyes or the other way around, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before you put on or take off your contact lenses. Hands are a major source of contamination and contain millions of microscopic bacterias which can contaminate the human eye. When wearing contacts, these bacterias can easily transfer to the surface of the lens and easily enter into your eyes creating a severe infection. Nowadays, coronavirus has become quite a common threat for the lives of human beings and one of the ways this virus can travel into your body is through your eyes. What if you touch someplace exposed to covid 19 virus and then retouched your lens? You can actually give leeway to the virus so it can easily enter into your eyes and make you ill. Don’t take the risk, wash your hands thoroughly before touching your contacts. Use the Right Cleaning Solution to Clean Contacts Some people are naive and when they drop one of their contact lenses in a public place, they simply pick them up and wash them under normal tap water. Sometimes, if they can’t find normal water, they use distilled water instead but what they fail to understand is that the lens is simply depositing more germs. Yes, you heard me right! Normal water has tiny microscopic bacterias which are harmful. Every lens manufacturer provides a separate cleaning special solution which is used to rinse the lenses in the contact lens case. If you’re a wearer, then you’re well aware of the fact and if you don’t have the solution with you at that particular moment when you dropped it, it’s best you hold on until you reach home. Clean your contact lenses using only the special cleaning solution provided, nothing else. Also, make sure to keep an eye out for the expiration date of the cleaning solution so you don’t end up using expired solutions to rinse your contacts. Replace the Solution in Your Contact Lens Case Twice a Week Keeping a case for your contact lens will definitely keep it well protected from all the external bacterias, but don’t forget, the case itself is just a hollow filled with sterile solution to kill the germs. Keep changing the solution inside the hollow case of your contact lenses at least twice a week so it stays clean & clear. While changing the contact lens solution is one thing, you also need to make sure to keep replacing the case every three month just in case if the case gets deteriorated overtime. A contact lens case isn’t that expensive but it is best to change it on time in order to ensure that your eyes remain safe from contamination. Cases themselves can deposit bacterias or molds that you don’t realize but still use them. Keep Your Fingernails Clean If You Wear Contact Lenses Do you have long nails? In case you do then it’s best that you keep them away from your eyes, especially when you are planning to wear contacts. Large nails can deposit microscopic bacterias that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Hence, it is best that you either don’t use your lenses or cut them short for safety. Keeping your fingernails short will be like killing two birds with a single stone. Not only will the short nails cut down the chances of bacteria infecting your human eye, but at the same time it will cut down the risk of hurting your eye when placing your lenses. Besides, short nails are in fashion and look good on you. So no more accidental pokes, and even if you do it by mistake, it won’t be anything sharp on the flipside. Do Not Extend the Life of Your Contact Lenses Unnecessarily Many of us have a bad habit of getting attached to our accessories and some of us also do it with the lenses. Well, if the expiration date on your lens is way past due, it’s best that you dispose of them. Instead, revisit your ophthalmologist and ask him to write a new prescription. Get a new pair of eye lenses, I am sure they will not cost you a fortune. However, they will make sure that your eyes remain safe from all kinds of bacterial infections. It will also make sure that they don’t damage your eyes while wearing them beyond their usage period and it will ensure that you keep a healthy eye. So there you go, here are my important hygiene lessons for you if you’re a lens wearer. Have a good time.
