Contact Lenses Care

Handling such small, delicate objects takes some practice. In time, as you develop your own technique, you’ll be able to relax and insert, center, remove, and clean your lenses on autopilot.

Always wash and dry your hands before handling the lenses. Prepare your work area, be it sink or tabletop. Establish your routine and then stick to it to avoid mixing up the lenses. It’s advised that you always start with the right lens. I place a tiny dot on the rim of the right lens of my patients to allow them to distinguish it from the left lens and to banish the right-or-left problem forever. Whenever you rinse your lenses with water, be certain the water is cool. Never use hot water. Read the rest of this entry »

Occasionally a lens will be displaced from the cornea onto the white of the eye or under the eyelids. This may occur during wear, or during a faulty insertion. You’ll know that the lens is not in place by covering the other eye: if your vision isn’t sharp, then the lens is not on the cornea. Don’t worry that the lens will be lost behind the eye: anatomical barriers (the conjunctiva, which covers the sclera and underside of the eyelids in a continuous sheet) prevent this from happening. Don’t panic when the lens decenters; theoretically, a lens can remain decentered on the sclera for hours or even days, and there’s no harm done. I remember a patient of mine who came in to have her eyes examined. Read the rest of this entry »