How to properly store contact lenses
Contact lenses can solve many problems associated with poor vision. They allow you to feel comfortable and free from glasses. You need to understand that the products have direct contact with the eye, which means that careless handling can cause serious problems with vision, contributing to its further deterioration. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to properly care for them and know where to store them.
The content of the article
Storage instructions
They are stored in a container, which consists of two round containers connected together. Each container should be filled with a disinfectant solution in order to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria. Solution should be changed every few days. Any storage container has an expiration date. It is important to promptly change the container every 6-9 months, and sometimes more often.- Now that we've figured out where to store them, let's figure out how to care for them. It is worth cleaning products from various contaminants ONLY with solutions that have passed the test. You should buy them at a pharmacy. Usually, when purchasing, you will be able to purchase a solution for cleaning them. Using mediocre solutions can ruin not only your lenses, but also your vision.
- Now let's move on to practice: to clean, remove them and place them on your open palm. Pour some solution. Now rub gently with your index finger.After this, place it in a container, first changing the solution in it if necessary.
Attention! Never store contact lenses in regular tap water! This is an ideal environment for bacteria to multiply.
Storage temperature
It is very important to store lenses at room temperature. Contact with direct sunlight should be avoided, especially in summer. Thus, the ideal temperature for storage is 15–35 degrees.
Lenses and refrigerator
After reading here, a completely reasonable question may arise: “Shouldn’t I store lenses in the refrigerator, since a cold environment prevents the spread of bacteria?” No, it's not worth it. There is no benefit from this, the main thing is to follow the storage rules that you read about earlier. In some cases, the refrigerator can even damage the lenses due to crystallization of water in them.
Using contact lenses
Bathing
Water and lenses definitely cannot be called friends. Although clean water cannot do much harm, it can easily wash them away. You can go to the pool, but it is not recommended. The water in the swimming pools is treated with various disinfectants and chlorine.
Rivers and especially lakes are strongholds for bacteria. You cannot swim in rivers and lakes - you can “earn” serious diseases, for example, ring infiltration.
Swimming in the sea is also not recommended: salt water can cause damage. The danger can be reduced by wearing swimming goggles that fit snugly over your eyes, keeping water out.
Note. When swimming in pools, disposable lenses are more suitable. When using conventional ones, there is a danger of damaging them.
In the bath
The bathhouse always maintains a high ambient temperature. As we already know, the lens contains a large amount of water.In the bath it will simply evaporate. This will lead to loss of properties and make it unsuitable for further use. So, you can’t wash in a bathhouse wearing lenses. It happens that people forget about the harm that a bathhouse can cause. There is a way to try to save them: you need to dip them in a disinfectant solution and wait a few hours. If the product absorbs liquid, then it was saved, but if upon further use you feel a burning sensation and discomfort, then it is damaged and its further use is prohibited.
In the cold
In cold weather, when the temperature drops to -20 degrees, lenses can be used. There is no harm to them, because they are constantly warmed by the eye, the temperature of which is always high, about 35 degrees. Serious changes in the structure can begin only during severe frosts, when the temperature drops to around —- 50 Celsius. But such temperatures can only be encountered in the Far North, where the temperature drops down to -60.
Conclusion
Lenses are a wonderful invention of mankind - they allow you to look stylish, beautiful and forget about glasses. You just need to follow simple rules that will preserve both your lenses and your vision.
I've been wearing contact lenses for 21 years. The cheapest, Interojo Morning, 800 rubles per pair, I change them every six months. I store it in regular saline solution. I put it on in the morning, rinse it in saline solution, and change the solution to fresh one. In the evening I just take it off and put it in a container. Always wash your hands and face thoroughly before both procedures. Once a week I put the lenses in a special solution, it both disinfects and removes proteins (be sure to look at the bottle when purchasing). It can be done more often, of course, depending on who you want.
I live where the winter is frosty and cold. Frosts, even at minus 40, are no problem for lenses; I have never encountered such a situation where something happened to the lens after a walk.
I store spare lenses in the refrigerator, on the door, where it’s +5-6 degrees, for six months - that’s also normal. But I won’t do it again, you never know...
I always swim with lenses, but with caution. Splashes in the face, diving with your eyes open - all this can easily wash the lenses out of your eyes. I've already lost a lens like this.
Somehow this happened. Someone curious, one of the guests, apparently climbed into the lenses and dropped one. This morning I found a shriveled, dried out lens near the container. I was horrified, of course. But it was necessary to carefully put it in the solution, and after a few hours it was restored. I continued to wear it.
One day I ran out of saline solution and decided to make it myself.Don't repeat it! It's buulshit! I spent a lot of time on calculations and preparation, but in the end I still made a mistake somewhere, and the lenses became deformed after being stored in such a solution. They were impossible to use. After they lay in a normal saline solution for some time, everything became normal!
Wear lenses! There is nothing complicated about it!
I have been using contact lenses for 10 years; I know the rules given in this article for the care and storage of lenses and try to follow them.The only thing is, when I swim in ponds or in a pool, I never take them off - I would feel uncomfortable without them, since my eyesight is very poor, but I didn’t have any problems. By the way, while wearing lenses, I never once thought that they could be kept in the refrigerator; could anyone really think of such a thing? It is obvious that this storage method can cause significant damage to the lenses, and then you will have to throw them away.