Contact lens care & handling

Before handling your contact lenses, wash your hands using a lotion/fragrance free soap and dry with a lint free towel.  Fingernails should be short and smooth to help avoid damaging the lenses or scratching your eye.

Remove the lens from the case or package and place on your finger.  Hold the lens up to the light and look for tears, nicks, lint or other damage.

Check the lens to make sure it is right side out.  If the lens is in the correct position, the tip of the edge will appear straight up or curve slightly inward. If the lens is inside-out, the edge will appear to flare out.  Some lenses have an inversion mark stamped on the lens. This will become easier with practice.

Put the right eye’s contact lens on the pointer finger of your right hand.  Hold the upper lashes firmly against the bone of your upper brow using your left hand.  If you can blink your upper lid, then you’re not holding the lid tight enough. Pull down the bottom lid using the middle finger of your right hand. Place the lens on your cornea. Once the lens is on and centered, gently blink.  If the lens is not centered or has bubbles under it, a hard blink with force the lens off. Repeat the same procedure, using the same hands for your left eye.

If your eyes feel dry or irritated while wearing the lenses, place one or two drops of a contact lens safe lubricating drop on your eye.  Lubricating drops can also be helpful to use before you remove the lenses.

Wash and dry your hands. Hold the upper and lower lids as you did for the insertion. Using the sides of your thumb and pointer finger, touch the lens and slide your fingers together. Once the lens wrinkles, pull your hand straight back.

Proper care is critical to successful contact lens wear & health eyes. When contact lenses are not properly cleaned, they can become uncomfortable. When they are not disinfected, they put you at a greater risk of eye infection and possibly sight threatening conditions such as corneal ulcer.

There are two basic methods for cleaning your lenses: Rub/Rinse/Soak and Rinse/Soak. We recommend using the rubbing method. Rubbing your contact lenses will always be the best method for cleaning and disinfecting them. While the No Rub/Rinse method should disinfect the lenses, it is not as efficient at cleaning debris and deposit from the lens.

After removing the lens from your eye, put it in the palm of your hand and place three or more drops of the recommended solution on the lens. Gently rub the lens back and forth for five seconds. Flip the lens inside out and rub for another five seconds.  Rinse off both sides of the lens with a steady stream of solution. Place the lens in the appropriate side of a clean storage case. Fill the case full with fresh solution. Make sure the lens is centered in the case before closing the lid.

In the morning, remove the lens from the case and place on your eye. If there is lint on the lens, rinse it with solution. Avoid rubbing lenses in the morning. You add static electricity when you rub the lenses. This static charge can attract debris from your tears and make the lens dirtier during the day. Empty the case and rinse out with solution. Leave the case to air dry. If there are colognes or hairspray, make sure they will not land in the case. Replace the case every one to three months.

These specialized solutions can be great for sensitive eyes. Eyes that are drier or allergic to other solutions do very well with hydrogen peroxide solutions. Read the package directions carefully because there are some important differences.