Rules for wearing contact lenses safely

1. Your soft contact lenses should always be comfortable. If any abnormal symptoms (itching, excessive mucous discharge, pain, redness, dryness or blurriness) develop, remove your lenses immediately, then clean and rinse them. If upon re-insertion they are still uncomfortable, call your doctor immediately. Do not wear them until your eyes have been checked and the lenses inspected at the office.
2. NEVER:
   1. Force the removal of a sticking lens. If a lens should stick to the eye, apply saline to the eye and blink a lot until the lens loosens
   2. Sleep with your lenses on unless specifically directed to by your doctor
   3. Swim with your lenses on; you may take a shower, but not a bath with them on.
   4. Use hard contact lens solutions with soft lenses
3. You should wear your soft contact lenses up to 8 hours the first day, but never longer than 14 hours in one day. A good average wearing time is from 12 to 16 hours a day. Do not wear your lenses more than two hours over what you wore them the day before, even when you get use to them. Overwearing your lenses may result in blurred vision, discomfort, corneal abrasions, or other eye conditions.
4. Lenses should not be worn during periods of illness or eye infections as ocular discomfort may occur. Should you not wear your lenses for a few days you will need to rebuild your wearing time. The first day of rebuilding your wearing schedule should be no longer than one-half the normal wearing time with an additional two hour increase each following day. Lenses should never be worn when eye medications are being used. Please notify your doctor if you are on a salt free diet and/or your liquid intake is restricted as this may affect your lens wear. Also, notify your doctor if there is any change in your physical health, especially if any medication is required in treatment. Certain medications affect the entire circulatory and nervous system.
5. If your lenses or eyes feel dry during the day or you work in an air-conditioned area, be sure to drink more water and blink fully. Everyone should drink at least 5 glasses of water a day. You may use rewetting drops whose labeled use is for soft hydrophilic lenses.
6. Your hands should be washed thoroughly and be free of any soaps or cosmetics before you handle your lenses. The use of a fingernail brush is recommended if hands are excessively soiled or if you smoke. Do not use soaps containing creams, lotions or oils, as these will eventually affect your lenses.
7. Remember that your lenses do absorb liquids and airborne pollutants (smoke). When using aerosols or hairsprays, be sure to keep your eyes closed or refrain from wearing your lenses during these times. These products can adhere to the surface of your lenses and cause permanent damage to the lenses.
8. Do not mix different brands of lens solutions. If you are considering a change in solutions or care-regimen, consult with the doctor first.
9. DO NOT MIX YOUR OWN SOLUTIONS AND DO NOT PUT LENSES IN YOUR MOUTH
10. Never use soap to clean out your case
11. If your case looks damaged, dirty or worn out, replace it with a new case.
12. If for some reason you cannot wear your lenses for a few days or more, they may be stored in the carrying case. Be sure the solution you store them in has a disinfectant in it.
13. If a lens is lost and found dried out, handle it gently and soak in solution. Lenses that have been lost and later found dehydrated should be soaked, cleaned, inspected and disinfected before being worn. It is a good idea to bring it to the doctor to have it checked before reinserting it in your eye.
14. Never try to pull apart a lens that has folded over and stuck together. Soak it in saline solution and gently massage it with cleaning solution and saline solution until it opens. If it doesn't open, call and come in so we can check the lens for you.
15. If you think your lenses are switched, please call and then come in so your doctor can check them.
16. We recommend 6-month re-examinations for all our soft contact lens patients. 6 months is about the amount of time it takes for a problem to develop. Since most problems can be treated fully if caught in time, it is wise to follow up at 6 months, and it is likely that the doctor will only dispense 6 months worth of lenses at a time. Eye injuries from contact lenses can be sight threatening and may result in total discontinuation of contact lens wear, so we like to avoid that by practicing preventative medicine.
17. Your soft lenses should remain comfortable as long as they are clean and fitting properly. Over a period of time, it is reasonable to expect that the lenses will become coated with tear debris and that the fitting relationship between the lenses and the eyes may change. We want you to do a 3-point safety check every day to monitor how your lenses and eyes are doing. The lenses should "Feel good, Look good and See good (well)" at all times. You can do your 3 point check as follows:
    1. FEEL GOOD: Blink 6 to 8 times and concentrate to feel if the eyes and the lenses still are comfortable
    2. LOOK GOOD: Look in a mirror to see if there is any excess mucous discharge or any redness on the "whites" of the eyes.
    3. SEE GOOD (well): Gaze at a distant picture or calendar and determine if it is blurrier than usual. You may check each eye individually by covering them with your hand, but keep in mind sometimes the doctor will purposely have one eye see better than the other, so mostly determine your "see good" test from how you feel seeing with both eyes together.
       
    If you cannot pass any of the above 3 safety check points, the lenses should be removed, cleaned and re-applied according tot he instructions you received. If the lenses and eyes still are uncomfortable, remove the lenses, clean them again, disinfect them and carry them back into the office at your earliest convenience. DO NOT PUT THEM BACK INTO YOUR EYES. We will want to examine your eyes and lenses with our microscopes to see if your eyes are irritated, inflamed or infected and if your lenses are soiled or damaged.