Do's and Don'ts

Get started off right with your contact lenses by going to a doctor who provides full-service care. Full-service care may include the following items: a thorough eye examination, an evaluation of your suitability for contact lens wear, the lenses, necessary lens care kits, individual instructions for wear and care, and follow-up visits over a specified time. The initial visit and examination can take an hour or longer. Here is a list of other specific do's and don'ts to lead you to successful wear.

Do:

• Always wash your hands before handling contact lenses.
  
  
• Carefully and regularly clean contact lenses, as directed by your optometrist. If recommended, rub the contact lenses with fingers and rinse thoroughly before soaking lenses overnight in sufficient multi-purpose solution to completely cover the lens.
• Store lenses in the proper lens storage case and replace the case at a minimum of every three months. Clean the case after each use, and keep it open and dry between cleanings.
• Only fresh solution should be used to clean and store contact lenses. Never Re-use old solution. Contact lens solution must be changed according to the manufacturer's recommendations, even if the lenses are not used daily.
• Always follow the recommended contact lens replacement schedule prescribed by your optometrist.
• Remove contact lenses before swimming or entering a hot tub.
• Avoid tap water to wash or store contact lenses or lens cases.
• See your optometrist for your regularly scheduled contact lens and eye examination.
  
  

Don't:

• Use cream soaps. They can leave a film on your hands that can transfer to the lenses.
• Use homemade saline solutions. Improper use of homemade saline solutions has been linked with a potentially blinding condition among soft lens wearers.
• Put contact lenses in your mouth or moisten them with saliva, which is full of bacteria and a potential source of infection.
• Use tap water to wash or store contact lenses or lens cases.
• Share lenses with others.
• Use products not recommended by your optometrist to clean and disinfect your lenses. Saline solution and rewetting drops are not designed to disinfect lenses.

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