There are some simple mistakes you can make with contact lenses and we thought we’d help you out with ways you can avoid. You might think you know everything you need to know, but you probably don’t.
Let’s start with a few mistakes you can make by being a bit lazy or a bit cheap. Sorry, tough love.
Don’t sleep with your contacts in. Wake Up To Yourself!
Get up and get them out. That shut eye you’re looking for could turn to Glue Eye if you leave them in.
We all know that it can be pretty hard to get out of bed in the morning and it isn’t much easier when you’ve just gone to bed and then you have to get up again to take your contacts out, but it’s important. Remember, your eyes need oxygen to stay healthy and sleeping with your contacts in is like putting a plastic bag over your head. Most lenses are for daily wear, so say Good Night to leaving them in when you go to bed.
Use the proper solution or you’ll have problems.
Make sure you’re not using the wrong solution or an old solution. Come on, you know that stuff is past its Use-By date. That’s okay for a can of tomatoes, but we’re talking about your eyes here.
Tap water may seem harmless and good enough. There’s a solid amount of bacteria swimming in there that could be harmful to you because your eyes are sensitive. So try and see sense.
Not keeping them clean.
Before you handle your lenses, make sure that you wash and dry your hands thoroughly. Your hands come into contact with a lot of bacteria and germs. This is a big No-No. You don’t want any of it in your eyes. That’s just asking for a painful and often harmful infection.
Don’t wear them inside out.
How can you tell you have the lens the right way up? Here’s a handy tip.
Put the lens on your finger so that a cup is formed. Then hold up the lens up right in front of your eyes so you're looking at the cup from the side.
If the lens forms a ‘U’ with the top edges going outwards like a bowl, it's inside out. If the ‘U,’ looks flat edged like a ball cut in half, it's in the correct position.
Don't worry if you do put a contact lens in inside out.
The lens will feel uncomfortable, but it can't do any damage. Just change it.
Don’t give up.
The first few times that you wear contact lenses might feel a bit odd and even a little uncomfortable. That’s no reason to give up on them. It would be a bit weird if you thought it was all easy peasey and you didn’t even notice you had them in the first time. Stick with it and you’ll be surprised at how simple it is after just a short time.
Not giving them a chance.
There are a lot of misconceptions about contact lenses and how difficult they are to use. There’s some strange and silly myths going around too. Heard the one about the person (usually the brother of a friend of a friend) who "lost" a contact lens in the back of their eye? It’s bull, baloney, bogus and it’s untrue too. It’s actually impossible to have a lens get ‘lost’ in the back of your eye because there’s a membrane that connects your eye the back of your eyelid. Don’t believe the hype.
Don’t pay top dollar.
You don’t have to pay squillions on contact lenses. Despite some clever marketing and a lot of ‘expert advice’ from unnamed sources, you don’t need to buy your contact lenses from an optician.
Not getting the correct prescription.
A prescription for contact lenses is not the same as a prescription for glasses. Each one requires a different test.
There’s a few other things to keep an eye on.
You realise that you’ve had those lenses too long, but one more day won’t hurt. Oh, it will.
Don’t try and save a few dollars. Swap your lenses over and out.
Remember, old lenses carry the risk of infection. They can easily be scratched or dirty. Hello eye irritation! Contact lenses are just like your underwear, change them regularly.
While we’re on the subject of underwear – they’re something you wash regularly too.
It’s super-important to wash your contact lenses and clear away harmful germs and bacteria.
And DON'T put contact lenses in your mouth or use your saliva to wet them. Your mouth is filled with a banquet of bacteria, so putting that stuff on your eye is just inviting an infection.
A CASE IN POINT
Over time, the special case you keep your contact lenses in can get dirty, no matter how hard you try to keep it clean and sterile. Like with your toothbrush, bacteria and other foreign matter can build up. Change the case like you would a toothbrush. That’s every three months.
Don’t be lazy or act like a cheapskate when it comes to your contact lenses. Your eyes are just too important. End of story!
Now you know how to look after your eyes and contact lenses – see how easy it is to follow good advice?
Life is looking good with help from Mesmereyez.