Some people wear contact lenses for cosmetic reasons like changing their eye colour or pupil sizes, while others wear them as an alternative to prescription glasses for vision correction. Market data from EuromContact indicate an increase in contact lens wearers in Europe, including the UK. In the countries covered by the report, 6.6% of the population wore soft contact lenses, with total wearers up 4.76% in 2022 over the previous year. In the same year, the market value of soft contact lenses at industry to eye care professional level grew by 11.9% to €1.710 billion (£1.508 billion) for the reported countries.
Among many contributing factors, market researchers found that new products and innovations continue to drive market growth. At the same time, practitioners continue to prioritise patient awareness and education on all relevant vision correction methods and contact lens care, encouraging wearers to sustain good contact lens hygiene habits to protect their sight.
Whether you’re new to wearing contacts or have been wearing contact lenses for some time, practising good contact lens care and hygiene is crucial for maintaining and keeping your eyes safe. Below, Piper Leehy will be sharing four self-care tips for contact lens wearers:
Clean your contact lenses
One of the most important parts of your day as a contact lens wearer should be cleaning your contacts. A good cleaning routine helps ensure the comfort and health of your eyes, as it keeps your contact lenses dirt-free. If you wear your contact lenses every day, your eyes and contacts are exposed to various elements like dirt, dust, fungi, and bacteria in the air. These can cause discomfort, inflammation, and even infection, leading to more serious eye conditions.
A multipurpose contact lens solution is one of the best ways to clean your contacts. Multipurpose solutions are designed to effectively clean, rinse, disinfect, and store contact lenses. Your contact lenses should be completely submerged in the solution and rinsed afterwards to remove all traces of debris. If you’re allergic to any of the ingredients in the multipurpose solutions, your eye doctor may recommend a hydrogen peroxide cleaning system, which should be handled properly as it can harm your eyes.
Replace contact lenses regularly
Contact lenses, even those that aren’t meant to be disposable, don’t last forever. Even if you clean and maintain your contacts well, you’d be doing your eyes a disservice if you don’t replace them regularly. Contact lenses typically come with expiration dates, and exceeding this provided lifespan can cause severe problems to your eyes, from itchiness and irritation to eye diseases and infections. This is because the materials of contact lenses deteriorate over time due to exposure to your eyes’ fluids.
Fortunately, as long as you keep your prescriptions updated, buying contact lenses online is easy and convenient, ensuring you always have a fresh stock of new and clean contacts. You can opt for daily disposable contact lenses and buy them in packs to always have a stash ready or a pack of monthly contacts like the Air Optix HydraGlyde. Online retailers like Vision Express also offer a contact lens subscription with benefits such as free eye tests, expert check-up service, and home delivery.
Store your contact lenses properly
You should also invest in storing your contacts properly. Some contact lenses come with their own containers or cases for safe and clean storage, while other long-time contacts-wearers may opt for third-party cases for a dash of personality or convenience. As previously mentioned, multipurpose solutions help keep your contacts clean, but they’re also crucial for proper storage in contact lens cases.
It’s also important to clean your contact lens case as much as you do your contacts. Eye infections can happen due to not cleaning your case properly. When storing your lenses for the day, you must dispose of the solution from the case, rinse it with saline, and leave it to air dry. Just like contact lenses, you should replace your contact lens case with a new one every month to ensure your contacts are always clean.
Remember eye protection
Finally, it’s important to remember that contact lenses are only a tool. You should also focus on self-care practices to maintain eye health in general so you aren’t irritated by your contact lenses. In a previous post on maintaining bright eyes, we highlighted the importance of eye drops to prevent red, dry, scratchy, or irritated eyes. If you wear contact lenses, these conditions can make contacts feel uncomfortable or even painful.
Some people also wear glasses and contact lenses to protect their eyes and contacts against outdoor elements like wind and sun. After all, getting dust, debris, or even tap water on their contacts can cause slight to severe problems for their eyes and vision.
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