When your eyes are healthy enough to wear them, contacts may be an option to still allow you to see without having to worry about wearing glasses. However, along with wearing contacts comes additional duties to help keep your eyes safe, as well as increase the wear-ability of the lens. One of these duties is carefully cleaning your contacts to remove any substances that can build up on the lens over time.
Step 1
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling the contacts with your hands. This will help remove any bacteria or other substances that could contaminate the contacts once you remove them from your eyes. Dry your hands thoroughly with a lint-free towel.
Step 2
Remove the first lens and place it in the palm of your hand. Rinse the contact thoroughly with prescribed cleaning solution recommended by your eye doctor. Examples of solutions include commercial daily contact cleaners or saline solution.
Step 3
Rub the moistened contact with your clean finger to remove any debris that cannot be removed from rinsing alone. Some contacts may not need this step; however the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends this "rub and rinse" cleaning method even for "no rub" contacts.
Step 4
Rinse a second time after scrubbing the contact with your finger to rinse off any debris that was loosened during the scrubbing process.
Step 5
Place the contacts carefully in a clean contact container for storage.
Step 6
Fill the contact container up to its fill line with contact disinfectant. Fill the container approximately half full if there is no fill line marked on the container. Close the lids.
Tips and Warnings
- Contact cleaning instructions may vary depending on the brand and type of contacts you wear. To ensure you clean your contacts correctly always follow the directions on the side of your contacts box. If you have questions ask your eye doctor.
Things You'll Need
- Soap
- Lint-free towel
- Contact rinse
- Contact disinfectant
- Contact container
