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.