If you’re considering contact lenses as an alternative to eyeglasses, a contact lens evaluation is crucial to ensure a correct fit, maximum comfort, and optimal eye health. Additionally, understanding how to properly care for and clean your contact lenses is vital to maintaining eye health and comfort. This guide will explore the importance of contact lens exams and contact lens care, including how to clean contact lenses correctly to avoid discomfort and potential eye issues.
What is a Contact Lens Evaluation?
A contact lens evaluation is an assessment that allows us to determine the best contact lenses for your unique vision needs and lifestyle. Before this assessment, we will carry out a comprehensive eye exam to gain an in-depth view of your eye health and vision. We will let you know if we find any underlying issues, like corneal abnormalities or infections that may affect your ability to wear contact lenses.
An eye exam cannot determine your contact lens prescription, which differs from a eyeglasses prescription. This is why we have a specialist contact lens evaluation.
Key Steps in a Contact Lens Evaluation:
- Eye Health Check: A thorough assessment of the front surface of your eyes.
- Fitting Measurements: To determine the curvature of your cornea and map your eyes to determine the appropriate lens fit.
- Tear Film Evaluation: Checking the quality of your tear film to ensure you can maintain adequate eye moisture when wearing contact lenses.
- Lens Recommendations: Your eye doctor will go through the different types of contact lenses available that they think will be suitable for you to wear.
- Lens Fitting and Adjustments: After inserting different types of lenses in your eyes to see how they fit, your eye doctor may need to make some adjustments to ensure you are totally comfortable wearing them and they provide optimal vision for your needs.
- Teaching Insertion and Removal: You will be taught how to insert and remove your lenses correctly and provided contact lens care and hygiene tips.
- Lens Trial: After the preliminary fitting, you will take away trial lenses to wear for 1-2 weeks to check you are happy with comfort and vision before ordering your first full supply.
- Follow-up: Follow-up appointments may be required to monitor the fit of your lenses and to ensure your eyes have adjusted well to them.
Importance of a Contact Lens Exam
A contact lens exam is not just about getting the right prescription. It’s a specialized evaluation of the type of contact lenses most suitable for your eyes and lifestyle, so we can ensure a custom fit.
It’s essential to schedule a contact lens exam if you’re new to contacts or if you’re experiencing discomfort with your current lenses.
Contact Lens Care: Keeping Your Eyes Healthy
Proper contact lens care is essential to maintain healthy eyes and prevent infections or discomfort. Cleaning your contact lenses regularly is one of the most important steps in caring for them. Here are key care and hygiene tips from our contact lens specialists on how to clean contact lenses to help maintain healthy and comfortable eyes and vision:
1. Wash Your Hands:
Before handling your contact lenses, always wash your hands with antibacterial soap and water and dry them thoroughly to avoid transferring dirt, bacteria, or oils onto your lenses or into your eyes.
2. Use the Right Contact Lens Cleaner:
If you wear reusable lenses, using the right contact lens cleaner, i.e. solution, is crucial for removing debris, protein build-up, and germs. Always use a contact lens solution recommended by your eye doctor for cleaning contact lenses and do not use water or saliva as they contain microorganisms and bacteria.
3. Rub and Rinse:
When it comes to using contact lens cleaner effectively, we recommend removing your lenses one at a time and gently rubbing each one with clean fingers to remove deposits. Following this, you can rinse your lenses with fresh contact lens solution.
4. Store Lenses in a Clean Case:
After cleaning your lenses, store them in a sanitized case. You can ensure this by throwing away the old solution once you’ve inserted your lenses, rinsing the case out with fresh solution and letting it air dry before refilling it again with new solution before you store your lenses in it again everyday. We advise replacing your contact lens case every three months to avoid contamination.
5. Never Reuse Solution:
Always discard used contact lens cleaner – reusing the solution can lead to bacterial growth and potentially eye infections.
6. Throw Away Daily Disposable Lenses:
Daily disposable contact lenses are only for one-time use, so you should never wear them for longer than a day – they are meant to be thrown away so you can use a fresh pair the next morning and do not require you to use contact lens cleaner or to store them in a case.
7. Only Wear Lenses for the Recommended Period:
Whether you wear daily disposable, two-weekly, monthly or other extended wear contact lenses, don’t reuse the same pair past their given time frame – always switch to a new pair to avoid irritation and discomfort or infections.
8. Never Sleep in Lenses:
Unless your eye doctor has prescribed you with lenses for overnight wear, you should never go to bed with your lenses in. This doesn’t give your eyes the chance to rest and benefit from more oxygen, and can cause dryness, red, sore eyes and irritation.
Types of Contact Lenses and Their Care
There are various types of contact lenses, including soft, rigid gas permeable (RGP), and specialty lenses that are custom made for conditions like keratoconus or dry eye. Each type may require different contact lens care methods.
- Soft Lenses: Most commonly used, soft contact lenses are made from advanced materials like silicone hydrogel which allow more moisture retention, high breathability and are flexible. This makes them comfortable and easy to handle and clean. They cover the entire cornea and a little bit of the white of your eye (sclera).
- Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) Lenses: These lenses are more durable, retaining their shape for longer and only cover most of the cornea. This helps it to receive even more oxygen and provides sharper vision. They have more custom fitting options, making them suitable for conditions like keratoconus, some forms of astigmatism, or presbyopia, which is where more than one focal distance is accommodated. They require a rigorous cleaning and disinfecting routine.
- Scleral Lenses: These lenses are made of RGP materials larger and designed to cover the entire cornea and a wider area of the sclera, providing enhanced visual acuity and clarity and helping to maintain a protected space for team film stability. This provides relief for dry eyes and irregular corneas.
FAQ: Contact Lens Evaluation and Care
A contact lens evaluation is a specialized assessment designed to determine what types of contact lenses are best suited for your needs, and to ensure your lenses fit properly.
Clean contact lenses with an approved contact lens solution and store them in a sanitized case, that has been rinsed and refilled with fresh solution. If they are daily disposables, throw them away after you remove them and use a fresh pair the following day. Always wash your hands before handling lenses.
You should clean your reusable contact lenses every time you remove them. This helps get rid of debris and bacteria, keeping your eyes healthy, your vision sharp, and preventing infections.
No, you should never reuse old contact lens cleaner. Always discard the used solution and replace it with fresh solution each time you store your lenses.
If you experience discomfort, dry eyes, or irritation, schedule a visit with your eye doctor. They will assess your eyes and may recommend different lenses or adjustments to improve your comfort.