Even the most pro users of contact lenses who are aware of the shocking aftermath of improper contact lens usage are guilty of repeating contact lens crimes every day. Contact lenses are soft plastic medical devices that should be handled accordingly. They are prone to the accumulation of bacteria & thus may spread chronic ocular infections. If you are concerned about guarding your eyes and want to adopt hygienic habits, stop doing the following crimes with your contacts.
1.Putting Contact Lenses in Mouth
When we run short of the disinfectant, we try to moisten them using saliva. Mouth contains more bacteria than our eyes. Therefore avoid contaminating contact lenses with bacteria found in your saliva. To meet the sudden & abrupt needs of re-moistening in the absence of pharmacy made disinfectant, make a solution of table salt & distilled water. This Saline solution is safe to soak your lenses for a night. Saline solution helps keeping your lenses moisturized but do not disinfect them. Therefore, as soon as you are out of the deadlock, go and arrange the multi-purpose disinfectant before inserting contact lenses back in your eyes.
2.Not Letting Cases Air Dry
Both contact lenses and cases require utmost disinfection. We tend to ignore the cases where at the end of the day we store, soak & let our contacts rest for every night, whole night. Bacteria love moisture & it helps in prolific growth. Washing your contact lens cases with water & dealing with them at your sink involves risks. Always wash your cases with the contact lens disinfectant, tissue wipe & air dry with caps off.
3.Reusing Old Solution
We all must confess that we willingly keep our eyes closed to the fact that how dangerous and unhygienic it is to reuse the old solution. Multipurpose disinfectant is effective in killing the bacteria but letting it pool for several days affects the efficacy. The disinfectant contains a preservative that evaporates after certain hours therefore experts recommend changing the solution every day and strictly warns against topping solution.
Contact lens bear micro projections that help smooth floating and adherence over the cornea. These micro projections on the other hand also facilitate bacterial latching. Once bacterial growth starts, you contaminate your lenses, cases & eyes. Bacteria may trigger immediate allergenic response or may sometime take longer but in both the cases the results are horrific. Doctors opine that every year they observe patients with ocular infections who use their contact lenses improperly. “Contact lenses themselves if purchased from legitimate sources are not a threat- it is negligence from customers that is held responsible every time a patient visits with corneal abrasions”. Doctors maintain.