If you wear soft contact lenses, chances are you've accumulated some protein on your lenses. Tears contain protein which collects on your lenses as you wear them. If the protein is not removed, it can cause irritation or infection, reports the All About Vision website. Ideally, you should eliminate protein deposits by replacing your lenses regularly, but if your replacement schedule isn't frequent enough, you'll need to take other steps. A common way of removing protein is with an enzymatic cleaner, used weekly.
Step 1
Start with your regular cleaning routine. All About Vision says that before you use your enzymatic cleaner, you should clean, rinse and disinfect your lenses. This might mean the use of a saline solution and separate cleaning devices or products, or an all-in-one cleaning, rinsing and disinfecting regimen using a multipurpose solution.
Step 2
Fill the two cleaning vials or your contact lens case with your contact lens solution. Some enzymatic cleaners come with their own dedicated cleaning vials. Drop one enzyme tablet into each vial or lens compartment, and allow it to dissolve. Add one contact lens to each vial or compartment, and let it alone for the specified amount of time. According to All About Vision, 15 minutes is the average amount of time.
Step 3
Disinfect and rinse again, if required. In some cases, you might be permitted to forgo this step if you use disinfecting solution versus a saline solution, reports All About Vision. However, this isn't always the case, so be sure to read the package instructions. Once you've completed this process, you can wear your lenses again.
Tips and Warnings
- Consider a rub-and-rinse regimen for regular lens care. Although "all-in-one" lens care using multipurpose solution is appealing, rubbing and rinsing your lenses will do a more thorough job of removing protein, the FDA reports.
- Avoid wearing your lenses beyond the recommended time period. If you wear disposables, you should throw them away and replace them based on your doctor's recommendations, says All About Vision. Avoid using expired contact lens solution. No matter how meticulous you are with lens care, using contact lens solution past its expiration date could increase the likelihood of unhealthy protein buildup on your lenses, reports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Things You'll Need
- Enzymatic cleaner
- Contact lens solution
