Contact lenses are a convenient way to improve your vision every day, but for many people, wearing them can change their rhythm

If you wear contact lenses, you are not alone. In fact, if you’re in the US, you’re one of about 45 million people who wear contact lenses instead of glasses (according to the CDC), and one of countless people around the world. The benefit of the clear vision they provide.
Contact lenses are a convenient way to improve your vision every day, but for many people, wearing them can change their rhythm. However, anything that involves putting something directly into your eye every day comes with its own set of challenges: when you start misusing your contact lenses, things can quickly go wrong.
But wearing contact lenses doesn’t have to be a nightmare. In fact, you may have developed a habit that makes your contact lenses harder than they should be. With these simple tips, you can ensure a secure fit, prolong life, and keep your eyes healthy. Let’s take a look at our top tips for contact lens wearers.
Before you start thinking about wearing contact lenses, there’s one more thing you need to decide: hand hygiene.
According to a survey by the College of Optometrists (according to Optometry Today), it’s very important to wash your hands before touching contact lenses, but about 30% of people don’t do it at all. This is a big problem. “Thoroughly washing and drying your hands will reduce your chances of getting a serious and potentially eye-threatening infection,” says optometrist Daniel Hardiman-McCartney. Germs can get into your eyes from your hands and cause some nasty things.

Contact Lens Solution
solution? Wash your hands people. Start by carefully dipping your hands into the water, then rub the soap between your palms and then your fingers (according to Eyeland Opticians). Then move on to the wrists and rub each wrist regularly with a soapy hand, then focus on the backs of the fingers and thumbs. Finally, clean under the nails by rubbing the nails in a circular motion on the palm of your hand, then rinse your hands thoroughly and dry them thoroughly. hey hurry up! You can go now!
Contact lenses are an easy way to keep your 20/20 vision, but let’s face it, they don’t come cheap. Regular contact lens wear can cost you up to $500 a year, depending on the type of contact lenses you use, according to Healthline. So it’s no surprise that people are always looking for ways to cut costs, and you can think of contact lens solution as an unnecessary cost cut. However, we strongly discourage this.
Contact lens solution is essential to keep your lenses clean and protected from infection, and switching to water can have a number of adverse effects on your eye health (according to the CDC). All-purpose solutions are suitable for most people and can effectively clean and disinfect lenses, but be careful to use a fresh solution every time you change lenses. If you are intolerant or allergic to universal solutions, your optometrist may offer you a hydrogen peroxide solution, but you must use it correctly (following your optometrist’s instructions) to avoid eye irritation.
Saline solutions are also widely used, but be aware that they do not have disinfectant properties and can only be used with other solutions.
It’s easy to assume that touch is touch, and often all people are used to wearing is what they wear for life. But there are many different types of contact lenses, and knowing the different styles will help you make the best choice for your individual needs.
Generally speaking, people wear soft contact lenses, which fall into two different camps: disposable and extended wear (according to the FDA). The disposable contact lenses that most people choose are usually used daily and are usually thrown away after the first use. On the other hand, long-wear contact lenses are lenses designed to be used for a longer period of time, from a few nights to a month. While long-wear contact lenses are useful for general buyers, you can’t wear them as often as your eyes can rest.
However, soft ties are not the only option available. Permeable hard glass (or RGP) contacts can provide users with better overall visual clarity and may be more brittle than their softer counterparts. However, they may be less tolerant of the eyes and may take some time to get used to.
If you’re a bit of an individualist, we love your style. You’re a free soul, you live on the edge, you’re not bound by rules, man. But honestly, even if you’re the type to change them every day, one place you really shouldn’t mind the status quo is your contact lens routine. Sticking to a contact lens wearing routine will help you do it safely every time—and most importantly, don’t mix up the lenses you need to wear in each eye—as per your prescription (according to WebMD).
First, place the contact lens for the first eye in front of you, and then carefully move the lens from the case to the middle of the palm of your hand. After washing with a solution, apply it to your fingertips, preferably on your index finger. Then, with your other hand, open your eye from above and place your other finger on your contact lens hand, keeping it open at the bottom. Gently place the lens on the iris, slide it back into place if necessary, and blink slowly. If desired, close your eyes and rub gently. Once the lens is fixed in your eye, repeat for the other lens.
Now we’re not going to whitewash things here: wearing contact lenses for the first time is pretty crazy. Take a little hat and put it right over your eyes? Sorry, but now is not the best time, as most people think. That’s why, as the experts at CooperVision say, if you’re a first-time contact lens wearer, it’s important to relax and take it slow.
It seems that the worst can happen quite naturally (i.e. the lens disappears into the back of the eye and is lost forever), but trust us, this will not happen. If you are nervous, there are a few things you can do to deal with your fears. As the experts at PerfectLens recommend, before you start using your lenses, try a “trial run” where you practice putting on your lenses without actually inserting them. This will help you get used to touching your eyes and assuage any fears about it. Of course, just make sure your hands are clean.
It may also be helpful to spend some time with your eyes wide open, as if you were putting in contact lenses, to get used to not blinking, which can be helpful when putting on contact lenses.
When it comes to proper contact lens care, cleaning them thoroughly is the most important thing you need to learn to extend the life of your contact lenses and protect your eye health. But the problem is that in most cases we are only taught on the first contact and never again.
That’s why we thought it would be useful to break it down again. Make sure your hands are clean and dry before handling or removing lenses, says optometrist Rachel M. Keywood (via Dean McGee Eye Institute). If you remove your lenses, make sure that any old cleaning solutions you use are disposed of so you don’t mix old and new. Then you should clean the case with a cleaning solution and wipe it with a paper towel. Remove the lens and place it in your palm, then add a few drops of the solution and wipe gently. Then place it in the case and fill it with cleaning solution to submerge it in water. If possible, you should also regularly use a new case every month.
So you’re the one who wears the glasses, and this is the first time you’ve been in touch. You get to the part of the web page where you type in your prescription, you think “Well, those are just my glasses, of course” and click on it without hesitation. Or maybe you forgot your eyeglass prescription – hey, that can happen – but you’re just… guessing. How bad?
Well, we recommend that you don’t. It is very important to wear contact lenses correctly and to provide and renew your eyeglass prescription and eyeglass prescription (via VisionDirect) regularly. The reason is simple (according to Specsavers). When your glasses are on your nose, a little further away from your eyes, your lenses are in your eyes, which means they need to be different in strength in order for you to see correctly. If you simply give your eyeglass prescription to your contact, your vision will not be as good as expected. It is also important to remember that, just like wearing glasses, the prescription may be different for each eye.
It’s natural for people to be a little nervous about what’s in their eyes, especially when touching them and especially when trying to fish something out of them. However, by learning how to safely remove your contact lenses every time, you will greatly reduce the worry around your precious eyeballs.
First, make sure your hands are completely clean and dry (according to WebMD). Take your non-dominant hand (which you don’t use for writing) and use your middle or index finger to pull the top eyelid down. Then, with the middle finger of the other hand, pull the lower eyelid down. The goal is to expose as much of your eye as possible so that your lenses are easier to remove. Gently squeeze the contact lens between the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand to remove and pull it out. If this is a little difficult, use your index finger instead to slide it to the bottom of the eyeball and pinch it. Do the same for the other eye and save the contact lenses once you have removed them.
Anyone who has seen a box of contact lenses might be a little confused as to what everything on it means. What is a base curve? Is the diameter the diameter of your eye, or the diameter of a contact lens, or the diameter of the Earth, or something else?
Well, thankfully, you don’t have to be an optometrist to understand what these elusive terms mean. Your contact lenses can be made using three main categories: diopters, base curvature, and diameter (according to Vision Direct). Literally, diopter refers to the prescribed power of a lens, while base arc is the curvature of the eye that must match the lens as closely as possible for a perfect fit. Diameter, on the other hand, refers to the width of the lens. If you have astigmatism, you probably have two other categories: cylinders and axles. The axis refers to the angle of correction needed to achieve line of sight, and the cylinder refers to how much additional correction you need.
While you can wear sunglasses until the sun goes down, contact lenses will be changed every day for the rest of your life. Given that contact lenses are things that are placed directly on the cornea, it’s important to give your eyes a little time to breathe from time to time – literally.
According to the Dean McGee Eye Institute, wearing contact lenses prevents the full supply of oxygen to the eye, which can lead to eye inflammation. So, how much time without contact should you devote to your eyes each day? Usually the problem is solved within a few hours. “I recommend removing contact lenses an hour or two before bed to give your eyes a rest,” says optometrist Rachel M. Keywood. Also make sure you never sleep in your contacts. “It is important to wear glasses after removing contact lenses,” Caywood adds, “this ensures that your vision remains clear without the need to constantly attach lenses to the cornea.

Contact Lens Solution
Do you miss the days when, as a child, you could dive headfirst into a pool, open your eyes underwater, and swim gracefully with near-perfect vision (well, short of getting chlorine in your eyes)? Everyone does it.
So for contact lens wearers, it’s natural to assume that once you take off your glasses, you’ll be able to do the same thing again. Unfortunately, contact swimming is one of the worst things you can do for eye health (according to Healthline). This is because your lenses essentially act as a trap for any bacteria or pathogens lurking in the water, which, crucially, cannot be completely killed by chlorination. When you swim, these pesky insects can enter porous lenses, make contact with your eyes, and stay there, increasing the chance of eye infection, irritation, and even corneal ulcers. Also be aware that swimming in fresh water can be worse than swimming in a pool, as natural water can contain more pathogens that your eyes can’t resist.
It’s been a long day. You’ve been working outside, you’ve been to a bar, and now you’re tired. Somewhere along the way, you forget that you have contacts – otherwise you won’t be able to get them. Hey, there’s no judgment here, that’s all. But it is our duty to warn you that the risk of sleeping in contact lenses will not benefit your eyes and may even be very dangerous.
“Sleeping in contact lenses is dangerous for the eyes because it reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the corneal cells,” warns optometrist Rachel M. Caywood (via the Dean McGee Eye Institute). When this happens, new blood vessels begin to form in your cornea or scratches and irritations appear, increasing the chance of infection. While some eye infections can be mild and unexpected, others can be especially harmful to your vision.
On the other hand, some contact lenses may be designed to be worn at night. However, if this is your case, be sure to follow the specific instructions your ophthalmologist gives you.
The eyes, like any other part of the body, are impervious to water. Sometimes nasty bugs or bacteria can get into your eyes, which is usually more likely if you wear contact lenses (according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology).
One infection to watch out for is keratitis, an infection of the cornea. This may be due to improper use of contact lenses, sleeping in them, or improperly cleaning them, and is more common in people who use extra-long contact lenses. You may notice some eye pain or irritation, blurred vision, and possibly increased sensitivity. While keratitis can go away easily, in some cases it can become more severe and lead to corneal scarring. In these cases, surgery or a corneal transplant may be required to restore vision.
However, you can greatly reduce your chances of getting an eye infection if you follow basic contact lens handling practices, handle them properly, and clean and replace them regularly.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, all eyes are unique (believe it or not, you and only your eye color is different) and they vary greatly in how dry they are. If your eyes aren’t too wet, this might make you a little nervous about wearing contact lenses. However, if you have dry eyes, you don’t need to avoid contact lenses completely. You just need to take enough precautions to make sure you wear them safely and comfortably (via Specsavers).
If you have dry eyes, try silicone hydrogel contact lenses, which provide oxygen to your eyes and keep them moist. You may also want to consider keeping your eyes a little longer each day without contact lenses so they can rehydrate after wearing the lenses. Be sure to keep it clean; you can also avoid hydrogen peroxide solutions, which can cause additional discomfort.
However, if you continue to feel dry, talk to your doctor about the impact and how you should look after your eyes in the future.