Cleaning your contact lens case properly is super important when it comes to maintaining optimal health of your eyes. Failing to rinse and sanitize your contact lens case regularly may lead to potential ocular damage or severe eye infection, which can result in total loss of vision. If you wear reusable contact lenses, make sure you’re doing everything in your power to maintain eye hygiene as frequently as possible. Is there a right way to clean & store contact lens cases? There is! Just keep reading.
Table of contents
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
How Often to Your Clean Contact Lens Case?
Washing your contact lens case with water and soap is not exactly the best idea to keep it clean. Rule number one – contact lenses must never ever come in contact with water. In general, unfiltered tap water can contaminate contact lenses with a type of bacteria called “acanthamoeba keratitis”. This bacteria feeds on the cornea which plays a part in putting your vision at risk.
So, before handling your contact lenses or the case itself, wash your hands. Try to avoid from using soap with fragrances. Then, pat your hands dry with a lint-free towel and you’re good to go.
Daily Routine – Rinse
To clean the contact lens case properly, scrub off the chamber’s interior by wetting your finger pads with some multipurpose contact lens solution. This method removes excess bio-film that’s stuck on the surface of the plastic. Discard contact lens solution from the case on a daily basis, regardless if you wear your contact lenses or not. This ensures that your contact lenses are clear from contaminants.
Weekly Routine – Sanitize
It’s extremely crucial to sanitize your contact lens case at least once a week. When we say sanitize, we don’t mean the multi-surface cleaning tool. In this case, you can store the contact lens case in a dishwasher or soak it in hot water for five minutes in order to sanitize. Anything more than that could possibly melt the plastic of the case so be extra careful here.
Monthly Routine – Perform Thorough Cleaning
Always check your contact lens case for cracks and tiny holes. Here’s why – even a thread-like crevice is big enough to allow bacteria to pass through, hence contaminating the interior of the case. To clean, start by setting aside a brand new toothbrush and use it only to clean contact lens cases. Then, wet the bristles with multipurpose solution and rub thoroughly especially at hard-to-reach spots. Alternatively, you could also add some solution directly into the case, rinse it with disinfectant, and air dry it or wipe with a dry tissue.
How to Store Contact Lens Case
Aside from keeping contact lens cases clean, it’s also advisable to store them in proper places.
- For instance, on a table top or a dresser that’s away from a window. Leaving it beside a window where there’s sunlight may cause the contact lens to drastically fade.
- In addition to that, storing and handling your contact lenses in a humid environment such as the bathroom can also be risky. Germs that can cause eye infections are found in various water sources within that small space.
If your contact lens case is damaged, immediately replace it to avoid unnecessary eye complications. However, if the case remains in good condition, changing it after three months of usage would be sufficient.
Conclusion
Maintaining proper contact lens hygiene is more than just rinsing it regularly with solution. The contact lens case is also an important element that should be remained clean in order to keep your eyes healthy and safe from bacteria.
Speaking of contact lens cases, are you looking for cute and cool ones to safely store used contacts? What we have in store may tickle your fancy 🙂
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