Overcoming the fear of seeing clearly through small pieces of plastic can certainly be among the greatest feats for some people when it comes to wearing contact lenses. However, underestimating the care required for these micro petri dishes can lead to severe consequences.
Therefore, the following are some things you should avoid when wearing contact lenses.
Handling Contact Lenses without Washing Your Hands
Handling your contact lenses without washing your hands can result in bacterial transfer to our lenses. It can irritate your eyes by transmitting germs and bacteria through your lenses. Therefore, it is highly recommended by credible ophthalmologists to always wash our hands before applying or removing contact lenses.
Reusing or Leaving Used Contact Solution in Your Contact Box
Never make the mistake of saving your contact lens solution by reusing it more than once. Contact solutions are meant to disinfect your lenses, but if you recycle your eye solution, then bacteria will most likely take control of it.
Similarly, a solution that has been in your lens box for days can accumulate bacteria over time and become far from being sterile. Therefore, to avoid any risk of infection always air-dry your lens box when you are not using it, and regularly change your lens solution.
Forgetting to Clean Your Contact Lenses Daily
Forgetting to clean your contact lenses can lead to accumulation of debris, protein, and bacteria over time, and these deposits can trigger certain reactions, such as giant papillary conjunctivitis. In this condition a person develops several tiny bumps on their eyes, and eventually losses tolerance to contact lenses.
So, to avoid this gently wash your contact lenses with a cleaning solution before wearing them. It will remove traces of debris and significantly reduce any risk of infection.
Sleeping While Wearing Your Contacts
Over-wearing contact lenses is quite common among individuals. Exceeding the wearing time for your lenses or wearing them while you sleep overnight or nap can significantly irritate your eyes, and leave them swollen. In extreme circumstances, they can even make a person blind.
Therefore, make sure to wear your contact lenses for the duration they are made. For instance, if you have bought daily wear then you should not wear them for a couple of hours or 12 hours to a maximum. You can consult your eye specialist to clear up any confusion you might have regarding the desired duration your contacts should be worn.
Keeping Your Lenses on When they are Irritating
When you are in a rush or are a little careless, you may ignore irritation or redness in your eyes after applying contact lenses. Always remember irritation happens for a reason, and it can be an infection, or your lenses might have expired.
Regardless of the reason, make sure you take off your contact lenses immediately if you experience even a slight level of irritation. Then thoroughly wash them with fresh eye solution to disinfect them before applying them again, and keep a check on their expiration date.
Conclusion
The ideal way to ensure that you do not experience any problem while wearing contact lenses is to make a routine visit to your optometrist. In addition to that remember to take all precautionary measures while purchasing your pair of contacts.
Sources:
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/advice/a47595/contact-lens-mistakes/
