Whether you choose prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses for vision correction depends mainly on personal preferences including lifestyle, comfort, and convenience.
If you decide on contact lenses, a contact lens fitting is necessary to evaluate your personal vision needs. During this appointment, your eye doctor can discuss proper lens care to ensure your eye health.
While it is important to always follow the cleaning and replacement schedule recommended by your eye doctor, consider these important tips to maximize contact lens wearing comfort and safety.
Important Safety Tips For All Contact Lens Wearers
1. Always wash your hands before handling contact lenses
To avoid eye infections such as pink eye, ALWAYS wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap before handling your contact lenses. This is important so you don’t transfer any dirt or germs into your eye while inserting your lenses.
2. Allergies
If you suffer from allergies, wearing your contact lenses can worsen your symptoms. This is because allergens such as pollen can stick to your lenses. If your symptoms are significant, stick to wearing your eyeglasses.
3. Keep to the lens schedule recommended by your eye doctor
It is very important only to wear your contact lenses as long as your eye doctor has directed you to in the contact lens fitting. Over-extending the wear of your lenses will cause dirt and protein deposits to accumulate on the contact lens and can increase the risk of irritation, eye infections and can possibly lead to vision loss.
4. Avoid contact with water
Avoid swimming and showering with your contact lenses as this can increase the chance of your lens absorbing harmful bacteria, putting you at risk of infection.
5. Purchase your contact lenses from your eye doctor
While online stores tout affordable prices and convenience, purchasing your contact lenses from an online site comes with many risks. Through a professional contact lens fitting, your eye doctor can help determine the best contact lens for your eye shape and curvature, ensuring maximum comfort and safety.
6. Keep eye drops in your purse or at your desk at work
This is especially important if you wear contact lenses and spend a lot of time at your computer. Not only are dry lenses uncomfortable and difficult to see out of, they can potentially scratch your eye. Eye drops will keep your lenses hydrated and comfortable.
7. Give your eyes a rest
While it can be tempting to wear your contact lenses for many hours a day, it is important to give your eyes a rest. Your eye doctor can recommend highly-breathable lenses during your contact lens fitting or you can choose to wear your eyeglasses for several hours a day so that oxygen can reach your cornea, ensuring long-term eye health.
8. Schedule regular eye exams
Be sure to schedule regular eye exams with your optometrist to have the health of your eye checked and to update your contact lens prescription to avoid headaches and eyestrain.
Want to Learn More?
To learn more about the advantages of contact lenses and how to protect the health of your eye, contact our Calgary eye clinic at 403-280-7518 or use our online contact form below.
