Three Mistakes You Might Be Making With Your Contact Lenses
You may prefer wearing contact lenses to wearing glasses, but you might not realize that you are making mistakes that could hurt your eyes. Here are some things you could be doing right now that you should avoid if you want to keep your eyes healthy when you wear contact lenses.
Exposing Them to Water
You may think nothing of keeping your contacts on while you shower or when you spend a few minutes in a pool. You might even soak your lenses in water if you run out of cleaning solution. However, it is important that you realize you could be making a big mistake.
Even though you think you are only exposing your lenses to water, you need to be aware that you very well may be exposing your contact lenses to bacteria and other germs that could damage your vision. For example, acanthamoeba is a microorganism that can cause an eye infection that could ultimately lead to blindness.
Not only might you be introducing germs to the lenses, water could in some cases cause the lenses to swell or water could interfere with the lenses' ability to adhere properly to your eyes. Therefore, remove your contacts before exposing them to water and do not soak your lenses in anything but cleaning solution.
Failing to Wash Your Hands
One thing that you may stop doing over time is washing your hands before you put your contact lenses into your eyes. You might not think about it, but bacteria, oils and particles might be on your fingertips, and you might transfer them to your contact lenses. As a result, you may develop an eye infection that needs to be taken care of by your eye doctor.
Not Exposing Your Eyes to Enough Air
The surface of your eye needs oxygen in order to stay healthy. Many contact lenses may be semi-permeable, allowing some oxygen to reach your eye, but in order to keep your eyes healthy, it is a good idea not to wear your contacts longer than recommended by your eye doctor. Different lenses have different maximum wearing times, so be sure to ask, and allow your eyes to rest every now and then. You might also want to ask your doctor about gas permeable lenses, which allow more oxygen to reach the eyeball.
Now that you're more aware of what you might be doing that you shouldn't, avoid the mistakes in this article. Be sure to talk to your eye doctor about more suggestions you can use to care for your contact lenses and your eyes.
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