Are you looking into contact lenses? If you have not worn them before you may not know the basic knowledge on how to care for your contacts to make sure there are no health risks for you. With 41 million adults wearing contact lenses, making sure you follow the instructions from your optometrist is important.
You Still Need An Eye Exam
Do not be fooled and think that there is a difference in eye exams for contact lenses wearers than people who wear eyeglasses. Keeping your eye exam up to date is important to make sure you have the proper prescription for your contacts. Wearing the wrong prescription can cause eye strain and headaches.
Take Out Your Contacts
Some people think it’s okay to wear your contact lenses longer than recommended. Optometrists strongly recommend against this. When you choose to wear your contacts longer than recommend you can cause permanent damage to your eyes from bacterial infections and oxygen deprivation, yes even your eyes need to breathe.
You Can Test Them Out
When you visit your optometrists for a consultation to wear contacts, they will have you test trying the contacts on first. This is a very important step for any person interested in wearing them, but children who choose contact lenses should have the proper technique in applying them and cleaning. Doing this can help prevent time-wasting on putting them in your day-to-day life and will help you decide if you really want contacts.
Proper Hygiene
Are you one of the 31 percent of contact wearers who use re-wetting drops, or have you used tap water to clean your contacts? The only cleaning solution you need to be using is the multi-purpose solution, which is readily available from your optometrist and almost every supermarket.
Wash your hands and dry them before handling your contacts, make sure you use the proper cleaning solution. Store them properly in your contact case and make sure you change them every 3-6 months is recommended.