If you are new to contact lenses, you might be wondering how to handle the lens. Putting in and taking out your lenses are both quick and simple tasks once you’ve done it a few times. Follow our tips for how to easily put in and take out your contact lenses, as well as some general good practice for keeping your lenses clean and your eyes healthy. Soon, it should start to feel as natural as breathing.
How to put in your contact lenses
Step 1: Wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and soap. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel.
Step 2: Place the correct contact lens onto your finger. Inspect the lens to make sure it’s not inside out. The lens should have a bowl-like appearance, it shouldn’t be flattened at the edges.
Step 3: Pull down your lower eyelid of the corresponding eye with the hand that is holding the lens and pull up your upper eyelid using the other hand.
Stage 4: Place the lens on the white part of the eye and slide the lens across so that it covers the iris.
Stage 5: Repeat the above steps for the other eye.
It’s important to note that if you experience discomfort, you should remove your lenses, clean them and try putting them in again. If you experience discomfort, stop wearing your lenses and contact your optician for further advice.
How to look after your lenses
There are several steps you can take to ensure your lenses are clean and that your eyes are healthy.
Clean your lenses
If you wear two weekly, monthly, or yearly contact lenses, they should be removed, cleaned and stored in contact lens solution after every use.
Stick to the recommended wearing time
You should only wear your contact lenses for the specified wearing time. This means that a daily disposable lens should only be worn for a day, before being discarded (they should never be re-worn). Two weekly lenses should be worn daily (removed and cleaned nightly) and discarded and replaced every 14 days. The same goes for monthly lenses, only these lenses should be replaced 30 days after opening (not necessarily after 30 wears).
Don’t sleep in your lenses
Unless your optician has suggested extended wear contact lenses are suitable for you, never sleep in your contact lenses. Even a short nap in your lenses could put you at risk of eye diseases such as conjunctivitis. Even if you are lucky enough not to develop an eye disease after sleeping in your lenses, you are still likely to experience great discomfort and dryness. This is because lenses can limit the amount of oxygen that can reach your eyes.
Clean your contact lens case after every use
It isn’t just your lenses that need to be cleaned. Your lens case can harbour bacteria if isn’t cleaned on a regular basis. This can be done with some contact lens solution and a clean finger or a lint-free cloth. The case can then be left to air dry. Your lens case should be replaced every 3 months, even if you think the lens case looks to be in perfect condition. This is because keeping a lens case for longer will increase your risk of developing an infection.
Keep water away from your lenses
Water shouldn’t go anywhere near your lenses. It doesn’t matter if it’s tap water, distilled, sparkling or from the ocean. This is because water contains bacteria that, when in contact with your lenses, can cause eye diseases such as acanthamoeba keratitis.
It’s important to dry your hands thoroughly after you have washed them and before you handle your lenses, because even the smallest amount of water residue on your hands can be transferred to your lenses and cause an eye disease to develop. To ensure water is kept away from your contact lenses, you should never wear your lenses in the shower, sauna, or swimming pool.
How to take out your contact lenses
Taking out your lenses is just as easy as putting them in (it might even be easier).
Step 1: Wash your hands thoroughly with hot water and soap. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel.
Step 2: Pull down your lower eyelid with one hand and pull up your upper eyelid using the other hand.
Step 3: Using your finger, gently pull the lens down the eye and using thumb and forefinger, pinch the lens off the eye to remove it.
Buy affordable contact lenses
Online retailers such as Feel Good Contacts are brilliant for supplying affordable contact lenses from some of the most well-known brands. Excellent lenses from brands such as Acuvue, Bausch and Lomb and Dailies can be found at competitive prices, all with fast delivery. As long as you have your contact lens prescription to hand, you can order contacts online easily, saving you both time and money.
