If you wear contact lenses, you know how important it is to keep your lenses and your eyes clean. The following tips can be of help.

Lens wearing - preparations
In spite of you having a good sense of hygiene it is very important that you learn to use good hygienic methods to care for your contact lenses. When you are handling your lenses your hands have to be totally clean and free of any foreign element.

Three basic procedures are:

1. You should use a mild soap while washing your hands, rinse properly and wipe it dry with a fur-free towel.

2. The soaps should not contain any kind of oil or cold cream that will remain in your hands and will come in contact with the lenses. You will fail to wear them successfully in that case.

3. Use your fingertips to handle the lenses and do not let your fingernails touch them. It is suggested to keep your finger nails short.

Unwrapping the Lens Package
Each lens comes in an individual package. To unwrap the individual package:

The lens should float in the solution, to ensure this, shake the package.
The lens is generally in a foil closure; just peel it back to expose the lens. Be careful, keep the lens package on a flat surface or table to avoid splashing.
At times you will see that the lens is sticking to the inside wall of the foil, no worries, it is still sterile and safe to use. Now, carefully pick the lens and inspect after you have gone through the handling instructions.

Lenses Handling
To ensure that you put the correct lens on the correct eye, from the very first day start with the left or right eye according to your choice, and follow the same sequence each day.
When you take the lens see that it is moist, clean, scratch free and clear. Do not use them, if damaged.
Check the profile of each lens by placing them on your fingertip. They should not be turned inside out. They should possess a natural and curved bowl shape. If you see that the edges are pointed outward, that means the lenses are inside out.

Wearing the lenses
Before starting to place the lenses in your eyes if you need to wash them, do not use tap water. Instead, use fresh sterile saline solution. Once you have decided which eye you should choose to start and opened the lens package follow these steps to wear the lenses:

1. Keep the lens on your fingertip of your index finger (after proper understanding of their handling and hygiene methods)
2. Keep your mid-finger under your lower eyelashes and pull down the lower eyelid.
3. Use the other hand fingers to lift the upper eyelid.
4. Place the appropriate lens on the eye.
5. Now carefully release the two eyelids and blink gently.
6. Repeat the above five steps for the other eye.

If after wearing the lenses you feel that your vision is blurred then check if:
The lenses have some cosmetics or oils on them
The lenses are on the wrong eyes
The lenses are inside out

If you feel the above procedure uncomfortable, then consult an eye care practitioner to suggest an alternative method.

Copyright (c) 2006