Soft Contact Lens: Care & Products
Proper caring of contact lens is very important to prevent eye infections and some factors that may lead to blindness.Contact lens care is made affordable, demands less time and less hassle than before, because of one-bottle care systems and disposable contact lenses.
Sample of one-bottle care system
But, that bunch of contact lens products in the corner of the supermarket or drugstores may confuse you in choosing the right care products for soft contact lenses. Read through and we will give you some tips in narrowing down your best choices for soft contact lens eye care products.
Precautions:
Always avoid using care regimens without your ophthalmologist advice because, there are products that are not suitable with each other and may damage your contact lenses or infect your eyes.
To know the best contact lens care product to grab you should understand first the basic procedure in caring the soft contact lenses. This procedure has been strongly advised to eye contact lens users and enthusiasts because of the outrageous issues of eye fungal infections which has been linked to a particular brand of cleaning/ disinfecting solution (the said particular product has been taken out in the market).Let’s call this procedure as CRD just to easily remember them; which mean Cleaning, Rinsing and Disinfecting:
- Cleaning - clears away the cosmetics, eye-produced buildup and other residues that discomforts the use of lens.
- Rinsing- is the most significant step in caring for soft lenses, to make sure that the residues are fully disposed.
- Disinfecting- it eradicates unwanted microorganisms on the lens.
Procedure:
- Wash your hands thoroughly to avoid the transport of dirt from your hands to your eyes.
Precautions: Using moisturizing soap is not suitable for contact lenses.
- Dry your hands with lint-free towel.
- Take off one lens and start cleaning it with the prescribed solutions.
Recommendation: As recommended by FDA, though you are using a “no-rub’ product, rub the lens in the palm of your hands with small drops of solution.
- Rinse the lens with the time recommended by your ophthalmologist or as directed in the package.
- Put your lens in a tidy lens case or lense holder; and fill it with fresh/disinfecting solution
Precautions: Don’t top off old solution. Check and follow the directions in your package because disinfection time differ with other products.
Products Guide
Rinsing and Storing
Saline Solution is used when you are following heat or UV disinfection system, enzymatic cleaning tablet or cleaning/disinfecting devices.
Precautions: Do not use saline products for cleaning and disinfection.
Cleaning
Daily Cleaner is used when cleaning contact lenses.
Directions: Drop few amount of the solution in the palm of your hand and rub your contact lenses with the time interval as advised in the package; 20 seconds is the usual time. Remember to clean both sides and use other products for rinsing and disinfection
Cleaning, Rinsing, Disinfecting and Storing
Multipurpose solution can be used for cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting and storing your contact lenses; all in one package. With this solution there is no need to use other contact lens care solutions.
Directions: Clean your lenses, same direction as you did with daily cleaner then, rinse and disinfect as indicated in the package and as often as advised.You may also rinse your lens two times; put them in the clean lens holder with the same solution to clean and disinfect and rinse it once again if you may want to use your contact lenses.
Hydrogen Peroxide Solutions can also be used for cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting and storing contact lenses.
Direction: Put your lenses in the prescribed basket and rinse them. To clean and disinfect the lenses, put the basket in it’s cup and drop a solution in the cup. For other lens case which uses hydrogen peroxide systems they have incorporated the package with neutralizer, however for other products you need to add neutralizing tablet. After disinfection and neutralization process, take off the lenses from the holder then you may wear them.
Precautions: Do not rinse your contact lenses with hydrogen peroxide solutions and put them straight to your eyes without going through the whole disinfecting and neutralizing step; it will cause a painful chemical injury to your eyes.
Here's proper care of Contact Lenses quick guide for you: