In our latest video, we talked about the Top 5 Mistakes Contact Lens Wearer Often Make!

We found that even long time contact lens wearers often make these mistakes, so if you are a contact lens wearer, you should definitely check the list out!

No 1: Overwearing your contact lenses

Contact Lenses comes in different modality and replacement schedule. They can be either daily, monthly, bi-weekly or conventional annually lenses.

Each material also has a different oxygen permeability which dictates how long you should wear those lenses. Many people think that exceeding the wearing hours or replacement schedule probably will not cause much harm to the eye. But the fact is, overwearing your contact lenses is not safe as it can deprive your cornea of the oxygen supply it needs, thus, increasing the risk of corneal infections.

This is why it is important to follow your optometrist’s recommendations on the type of lens product that you should use. So be sure to discuss the suitable products that are suitable for your visual needs and lifestyle with your optometrist!

Here’s a #protip: the clock starts ticking on the lens replacement schedule the moment the lenses are taken out of the blister pack. For example: If you are using a monthly lens, once open you should discard the lens after 30 days no matter how many times you have used it, it does not matter if you use them once, twice or even sixty times, once 30 days is up, the lenses have to be discarded.

No.2: Not washing your hands before handling contact lenses

While it might sound obvious to wash your hands before handling lenses, we have seen too many times, that people do not wash their hands thoroughly before wearing or removing their contact lenses.

If you touch your lenses without washing your hands first, you are allowing the bacteria/viruses/microorganisms to transfer from your hands to your lenses!

These microorganisms are definitely not something you would want to have on your contact lenses as they can cause very serious infections.

So please guys… do not take this step lightly. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap before handling your contact lenses. Otherwise, you would have to “wash” your eyes with antibacterial eye drops. Just joking guys!

Moving on…

No 3: Not rubbing when cleaning your contact lenses.

The proper way to clean your contact lenses is to rub both the front and the back of the lenses on the palm of your hands after applying a few drops of solution. You should be doing this both before and after wearing your contact lenses.

We know a lot of you, only clean and rub your lenses when you remove them, so you rub and then keep it in the casing. And the next time you wear, you just remove it from the casing and directly put it on your eyes. So, this is not sufficient, you should do the rubbing again before you put them on. This is a double measure to ensure that your lenses are free of lipid and protein deposits.

While some products in the market offer a “no-rub” solution, research has found that rubbing is still the most effective way in removing deposits and prevent build-ups thus it is safer and also reduces the risk of further complications.

No 4. Leaving your contact lens casing in the toilet

I think many of us are guilty of this. Contact lenses and toilets do not go well together. Bathroom or toilets are wet and humid places and are a haven for bacteria.

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Not only that, whenever you flush the toilet poop particles and pathogens such as E.coli and salmonella are sprayed into the air.

And if your case is lying out in the open, those little droplets can land on it, and contaminate both the lenses and the casing. And when you wear your lenses, these pathogens are then transferred to your eyes. Basically, you are putting shit particles on your eyes. I think we all can agree there will be nothing good coming out of putting shit on your eyes right?

So, the best practice is to store your contact lens case in a dry and clean place like your room, away from the toilet/bathroom.

No 5. Not changing your casing whenever you use a new bottle of lens solution.

Do you ever wonder, why do contact lens solutions always come with a new casing inside? Well, the answer is obvious, it there for you to replace your old ones. The contact lens case should be replaced regularly. Even if you are changing your contact lens solution every day, which you should! Over time, bacteria from your fingers and the surroundings will still build up on the lens case.

While there are some cases that come with an “anti-bacterial” function, this function will also lose its efficacy over time.

It is recommended that contact lens wearers replace their contact lens casing at least once every three months or whenever they change their lens solution, whichever comes first.

So, this is our list of the Top 5 Mistakes that contact lens wearers often make! We hope that after watching this video, you will not make these mistakes anymore, as serious complications could arise if we do not take good care when handling contact lenses.