More About Contact Lenses
Modern contact lenses are so comfortable wearers often forget they have them in. Not only can they correct for wide ranges of refractive errors, but “toric” models can even correct for astigmatism.
Since we’ve been talking about contact lenses in our April blogs, let’s spend a little time talking about the right way to put them in and take them out. For people considering making the move to contacts from glasses, this is usually a sticking point, as they just can’t see poking themselves in the eye to place their lenses every day.
But it’s not hard. Here are some instructions from Acuvue, one of the country’s most popular contact lens manufacturers.
How to Put in Contacts in 4 Easy Steps
- Wash your hands, preferably with anti-bacterial soap, then dry them with a lint-free towel (lint-free is important to keep fibers from getting on your fingers).
- Check to be sure your lens isn’t inside out. You can tell this by placing a lens on your fingertip and holding it up to the bathroom light. If the edges flare out, it’s inside out. Also, with toric lenses, there is a score mark on the lens. This is meant to be placed at the top of the eye.
- Using your right hand gently hold your upper eyelid with one finger to stop from blinking and to keep your eyelashes out of the way. Some people prefer to pull down their lower eyelid. Either way, rotate your eye upward to expose the white on the bottom.
- With the lens on your fingertip, move it toward your eye. Look upward to keep your white exposed and place the contact onto the white. You’ll see the lens suction onto the eyeball. It can take a couple tries, as lenses can try and adhere to cleaning solution on your fingertip before sticking to the eye. Once it does adhere to the eye, release your finger and close your eye to help the lens settle. Now repeat for the other eye.
Taking Them Out
- Wash your hands thoroughly. Look up and pull down the lower eyelid with your middle finger.
- With your other hand, place your index finger and thumb onto the white and pinch lightly to try and grab the lens. Don’t push too hard, as that can scratch your eye.
- Gently squeeze the lens to remove it.
- If it’s a daily lens, it goes in the waste basket. If not, place the lens in new cleaning solution in its case. If you’ve worn them more than a couple hours, it’s a good idea to lightly rub the lenses in your palm with cleaning solution and then rinsing them before putting them in their case.
Are you interested in moving to soft contact lenses? Call the experts at Central Valley Eye Medical, (800) 244-9907, and let’s get started.
Posted in: Contact Lenses
