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5 tips for wearing contact lenses

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5 tips for wearing contact lenses
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Many people who have eye difficulties choose to wear contact lenses rather than glasses or at least like to have the option.  Contacts are often a good solution to avoid some of the problems of wearing glasses everyday.  However there are a few things that you should know before you start to use contact lenses.  There are some things that you should do and other things that you should avoid at all costs.  Here are 5 tips for wearing contact lenses! 

1/ Daily, bi-monthly or monthly?

In general, the less that your lenses are reused the more hygienic they will be.  In fact a pair of contact lenses worn only once per day has less chance of causing annoyance or eye irritation.  These irritations are often caused by the presence of bacteria or dust which settle in one of the lenses or even both.

However, you have the choice of which type of lenses you’d prefer.  You can use one pair of lenses for a month, (monthly), have two pairs of lenses per month, (bi-monthly) or your can use a new pair every day (dailies).

With certain mobile applications you even have the possibility of receiving notifications to remind you to go and collect your new lenses from your optician or even to change the lenses that you are wearing.  However if you want to avoid taking a trip to the optician you can even get sent your lenses straight to your door with yearly contracts which you can cancel or alter when you need to.

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2/ Always wash your hands before touching your lenses

Once you have chosen how you’d like to use your lenses so that they suit you the best, you are now going to have to touch these supple, cup-shaped lenses.

You need to remember that your eyes are very sensitive to bacteria and dirt.  It is better to take every possible precaution before putting your lenses in your eyes.  Wash your hands thoroughly and then dry them with a clean towel. After you have done that you can touch your eyes and place your lenses in your eyes with no worries.

Watch out, remember to place the lens at the end of your finger either the middle or index , avoiding your nail.  Your nails can damage your contact lenses or can scratch your eye.

3/ Clean lenses kept in a good condition

Before putting your lens into your eye you need to check its condition:

  • It must be clean, dust free and dirt free,
  • You shouldn’t see any faults, 
  • It shouldn’t be ripped or scratched.

A contact lens in a bad state could cause really itchy eyes and irritate this sensitive area.

4/ Don’t wash your lenses with water

Daily contact lenses are normally placed in small container which are already filled with cleaning liquid.  This is often the case for bi-monthly and monthly lenses.  That being said, these lenses need to be cleaned every night when you remove your lenses.  However you should never use water.  Instead always use a rinsing liquid specially for your lenses.

Tap water can often contain lots of bacteria, lime and dust.  If you wash your lenses with tap water you could damage your lenses or contaminate them.

5/ In case of problems

Even with high quality lenses and heath care, no one is completely risk-fee of suffering from some slight problems.  Bacteria, germs and dust can often get trapped under one of your contact lenses.

If this happens you should immediately remove your lens and then clean it.  If you notice any of the following symptoms you should contact your optician :

  • Eye ache or pain
  • Reddening
  • Burning sensations
  • Excessive tears
  • Eye difficulties
  • Hypersensitivity

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