When you first start wearing contacts your optician should advise you on how to care for your lenses. It is very important that you follow the directions, after all your optician knows what's right for you and your lenses. Depending on the type of lenses you wear there are some basic steps you can take to ensure you are caring for your lenses properly.

First and most importantly always wash your hands before touching your lenses, even if you are taking them out to clean them. Any germs on your hands will transfer to your eye or your lenses if you don't wash your hands properly and this could lead to infection.

Follow your opticians directions for cleaning your lenses, I wear soft lenses and use one step peroxide cleaning solution. With the solution I use I must leave the lenses in the solution for a minimum of six hours so that the solution will neutralize, failure to do this could burn my eye. If I will need my lenses again in less than six hours then I put them in saline solution to keep them moist. You should never leave your lenses out in the open, always put them in solution to keep them moist otherwise they will dry out and could damage your eye.

If you get anything in your eye while wearing your lenses or your eyes feel dry at any time then moisturizing eye drops can be used, just be sure to check that they are suitable for use by contact lens wearers. There are lots of different types of eye drops available for contact lens wearers, some of them clean your lenses as well as moisturize. Always check with your optician before using eye drops just to make sure they are compatible with you and your type of lenses. The other option is to remove your lenses and rinse them with a rinsing solution like saline and then put them back in.

Change your lenses at the correct time, and don't wear them over night. Most soft lenses are designed to be changed after one month, using them for longer than this may cause problems related to infection or your vision may suffer. Leaving your lenses in over night may cause them to dry out and be uncomfortable or even damage your eye, although some lenses are designed for occasional over night wear make sure to check with your optician if you are unsure.

Contact lenses are a great alternative to glasses for many people, however there is a risk associated with wearing them. Caring for your lenses properly, following your opticians advice and going for regular eye exams should make your experience with them problem free.

Learn more about this author, Kirsty O'Lone.
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