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How important is the health of our eyes? This might well sound like a ridiculous question we are all fully aware of how critical our eyesight is. Of course you would never deliberately do anything to hurt your eyes but if you wear contact lenses you may not realise taking the correct care of your contact lenses has a major affect on your eyes.
Here are some tips to help you wear your contact lenses comfortably and look after your eyes at the same time.
To ensure no bacteria are transferred to your eyes always wash and rinse your hands thoroughly before touching your contact lenses.
Your optometrist is the ideal person to inform you of the best contact lens cleaners and eye drops to use. It is important to read and use the instructions that you will get with your contact lenses, contact lenses cleaner and eye drops.
The case you use for your contact lenses also needs to be taken care of. Some people overlook the fact that your should clean, rinse and dry the case each time the contact lenses are removed. Ideally you should get a new lens case at 6 month intervals.
Check before buying eye makeup that it is contact lens friendly.
Be sure to remove your lenses and refer to an eye specialist as soon as possible if your vision changes, your eyes are red, your eyes are painful, you have excess tears or itchiness in your eyes.
Now that we have covered a lot of things that you should do to look after your contact lenses and eyes we will cover several things you should not do.
Never clean your lenses by spitting on them. Do not rinse or store your contact lenses using bottled water, tap water or home made salt water. All of these things can cause infections.
Don't let creams, sprays or lotions touch your contact lenses, when using cleaning products remove your lenses and never put eyeliner on the inside of your lower eyelid.
If you use daily wear contact lenses never sleep in them not even for a short nap and do not wear them for a longer period than your eye specialist tells you to.
Finally be aware of the different kinds of contact lenses and make sure you know what type you have. Below is a summary of the various types, how long to wear them at one time and when they should be cleaned.
Extended wear contact lenses are left in even when sleeping for anything up to thirty days. They need to be taken out and cleaned after thirty days.
Daily wear contact lenses are used again and again. You can wear them for one day but take them out when you go to bed or even take a nap. They require cleaning and rinsing every time you take them out or when you have not worn them in a long time.
Daily wear contact lenses are worn all the time. You wear them during the day but take them out when going to bed or when sleeping. They need to be cleaned and rinsed each time they are taken out or if they have not been used for a long time.
You can now say goodbye to your old glasses and wear contact lens. Many people feel that contact lenses are very inconvenient to wear, and that they might not be as effective as the glasses. But that is not so. Contact lenses serve the same purpose as that of conventional glasses. They should be placed in the cornea of your eye. Once you get the hang of it, they are very easy to wear, and unlike glasses, they can be worn anywhere and everywhere. You can even swim wearing them.
Before you get your contact lenses, you should first see an ophthalmologist. Your eyesight may be good, and you may not be wearing glasses, but it is still advisable that you get your eyes examined before going for it, to see if it's fine for you to wear contacts. Contact lenses need to be fitted properly by an optician first before you do it yourself.
There are various types of contact lenses available, and the most popular ones are the colored contact lenses. Many people go for them to change their eye color. Contact lenses are basically divided into two types:
• Soft contact lenses: These lenses contain from 25% to 79% water. They are easy to adapt and are very comfortable. They need to be replaced every few months.
• Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses: These lenses are more durable, but they take longer to adapt compared to soft contacts. They are cheaper, and are said to offer better vision than soft lenses and can be replaced in a couple of years.
Colored contacts:
Colored contact lenses are used by many to change the color of the eyes, as they can change the appearance of your face to some extent. Wearing the right color can do magic. Some people wear them instead of their usual glasses when going to parties or on special occasions. There are 4 types of colored contacts:
1. Visibility tints: This is the light blue or green tint added to the lenses so you can find them easily if you drop them, and also to help you see them better during insertion and removal. This color tint does not affect eye color.
2. Enhancement tints: It is a solid, translucent tint added to the lens to enhance the existing color of your eyes.
3. Opaque color tints: These are solid color tints added to completely change the color of eyes.
4. Light-filtering tints: These lenses are so designed that they enhance only some particular colors like optic yellow, the color of golf balls, tennis balls etc. They are made especially for sports players so that the ball stands out against the background making it easier for the player to focus.
Novelty Contact Lenses
These contact lenses are perfect for any dramatic effect and are very popular during Halloween, so they are called Halloween Lenses. They are special effects contacts, which would go perfectly with your Halloween costume. Novelty contacts are often used in movies, be it the werewolf you saw or the Dracula, or the black witch; all of them would be wearing these lenses. However; they should be worn with caution. Buy them only from a reputable distributor. As they are readily available anywhere, you should be careful, as chances are that these cheap, duplicate lenses may cause severe eye injury.
Safety Tips:
Always follow the manufacturer's advice about when to discard contact lenses, or else you may be inviting trouble, causing serious eye infection. Never exchange lenses with anybody, as this can transmit harmful bacteria causing infection in the eyes. Never wear contacts unless they are prescribed and monitored by an optician. Follow a good hygiene routine to prevent eye irritation or infection, and always store the lenses in proper commercially prepared sterile solutions.
Keep in mind that because of the way the eye reacts, you could require more frequent replacement of contact lenses than what is recommended.