Tips for contact lens wearers

Once you get the hang of it, inserting your contact lenses can be quick. Newcomers to contact lenses usually need some practice. Proceed as follows:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and dry them well.

2. Remove the contact lens from its container and rinse it thoroughly with saline solution. Check the contact lens for possible damage.

3. Place the contact lens on the tip of your index finger. The contact lens must be placed like a hemisphere with the inside facing up. With soft contact lenses, the margins should slope slightly inward.

4. Keep your eyes open and pull the middle of the upper eyelid slightly upward with the middle or index finger of your other hand.

5. You can pull the lower eyelid down slightly with the middle finger of the hand holding the contact lens.

6. Look straight ahead and place the contact lens very gently on the surface of the eye. The contact lens “sucks” itself almost automatically onto the eye, i.e. you need not touch the cornea at all.

7. Slowly release the upper and lower eyelids. By blinking several times, the contact lens will slide into the correct position. By rolling your eyes from top to bottom and from left to right, you can adjust the contact lens, if you have the feeling it is not in the right position.

It is best not to apply makeup until after insertion, otherwise particles of mascara or eye shadow may get onto the contact lens and irritate your eye. The contact lenses should be taken out before removing your makeup.

Actually, you hardly feel modern, soft contact lenses. A foreign body sensation should no longer occur twenty seconds after lens insertion at the latest. If you still feel scratching, then a small foreign body may have got under the contact lens, or the contact lens may be the wrong way round on your eye. In this case remove the contact lens again and check that the margin is facing directly upward or is turned outward like a soup bowl.

Before replacing, rinse the contact lens again with saline solution to remove any little dust particles and impurities that could have caused the disturbing feeling. Also check whether the contact lens has any cracks or kinks. In that case it is damaged and should not be inserted back into the eye.

Before removing the contact lenses from your eyes, have the storing container and contact lens fluid ready so that you can immediately store the contact lenses safely.

• Wash your hand thoroughly with soap and dry them.
• Open your eyes wide, look straight ahead and pull the lower eyelid down with one finger.

Removing soft contact lenses:

• Gently push the contact lens down toward the lower eyelid.
• Using your thumb and index finger, gently push the soft contact lens a little and remove it from your eye.

Removing rigid contact lenses:

• Push the edges of the upper and lower eyelids against the edge of the contact lens and thus detach it from your eye. Alternatively, you may also use a contact lens suction cup as an aid. Place the suction cup directly on the contact lens and tilt it slightly. This will detach the contact lens from your eye.
• Handle the contact lens carefully to avoid damaging the visual aid.
• Then place the contact lens in the container.

There are different cleaning systems for the different types of contact lenses, whether rigid or soft, which are adapted to the respective lens type. Only daily disposable lenses do not require a cleaning solution, as they are disposed of directly after wearing. For all other contact lenses, be sure to clean them thoroughly and take care of them:

• After removing the contact lenses, you should place them in the palm of your hand and drip cleaning solution onto them. Gently rub the contact lens with the index finger of your other hand.
• After manual cleaning, rinse the contact lens thoroughly again to remove the detached impurities.
• The contact lenses should then be kept in a suitable care solution for several hours.
• If the storage solution does not contain a protein remover, protein remover tablets can also be used regularly.
• Furthermore, the contact lens storage case should also be thoroughly cleaned and replaced every month.

There are different solutions for cleaning, protein removal, disinfection and storage, depending on the different contact lens materials.

Through constant further development, contact lenses are nowadays usually well tolerated and rarely experienced as an unpleasant foreign body on the eye. When used properly, contact lenses are not harmful to healthy eyes.

However, if the contact lenses are worn for an excessive period of time, if they are not maintained in a perfectly hygienic way, or if an eye disease already exists, the contact lenses can become harmful to the eyes and additionally aggravate existing symptoms, for example in the case of dry eyes or conjunctivitis. Then you should remove the contact lenses immediately and put on your glasses instead. The same applies if you have a febrile infection or a severe cold. If necessary, you should then replace your contact lenses with new ones.

Damaged contact lenses should not be used under any circumstances to avoid possible damage to the surface of the eye. Dispose of this contact lens and use a new one.