1. Not washing your hands
Your hands are definitely one of the dirtiest parts of your body, and touching your contact lens with dirty hands provides your eye an unhealthy dose of germs. Even worse, said bacteria will stay on your eye as long as the lenses do, increasing the risk of infection.
2. Wearing them longer than recommended
Whether they’re for extended use or disposable, most people do wear their contact lens over extended period of time, more than they should. Some even switched out lenses when the lenses start to cause irritation, an extremely unsafe practice. Eyes can become infected, especially if you sleep in lenses not designed for such.
3. Topping Off Old Solution
It’s easier to squirt a bit more solution to fill up the bowl than to rinse and replace but the easy route is not helping your eyes. When your lenses are soaked in the solution, the disinfectant in the solution is used up, rendering it useless for cleaning a second time. To make sure your solution is actually cleaning your lenses, completely empty and refill the bowls.
4. Not cleaning your lenses properly
Before you soak your contacts in solution for the night, you should give them a quick, gentle massage between your fingers. Doing so will help to loosen any deposits that might be stuck on the lenses during wear.
5. Washing your lens case wrongly
If you rinse your case with water, or not at all, you’re exposing your lenses to a host of organisms. Proper cleaning involves emptying out the solution, rinsing the case, drying with a lint free towel, and storing with the caps off. Your eye is a moist environment, and bacteria that thrive there won’t survive in a dry case.
6. Sleeping with your lenses
Could be the worst out of all the bad habits that are on the list. Sleeping with your lenses on will deprive your eyes of oxygen much more than in the day as your eyes are closed most of the time. Your lenses get “stuck” in your eye and during removal, there is a higher risk of your lens tearing.
You wear contacts to improve your sight, so why risk your vision through improper lens use or care? If possible, you should try to wear glasses a couple of times a week to give your eyes a break.
Eye infection and oxygen deficiency from contact lens overwear can cause cornea ulcer, which may be a problem if you’re considering ReLEx®SMILE or LASIK in the future.
For more information, contact us at atlaseye@atlaseye.sg or call us at +65 6737 9119
