Contact Lenses – Handling & Care Advice

• Always wash your hands thoroughly with a mild soap, rinse completely and dry with a lint-free towel before touching your lenses.
• Avoid the use of soaps containing cold cream, lotion, or oil cosmetics before handling your lenses, since these substances may come into contact with the lenses and interfere with successful wearing.
• Handle your lenses with your fingertips and be careful to avoid contact with fingernails. It is helpful to keep your fingernails short and smooth.

• Always insert and remove the same lens first to avoid mix-ups.
• Position the lens on your index finger and examine the lens to make sure it is moist, clean and free of any nicks or tears. Make sure the lens is the right way out.
• Should you accidentally place an inside-out lens on your eye, the following signs should indicate that you need to remove and replace it correctly:
  • Less than usual comfort
  • The lens may fold on your eye
  • Excessive lens movement when blinking
  • Blurred vision
• If the lens folds and sticks together, place it in the palm of your hand and wet thoroughly with the rewetting solution recommended by your practitioner. Then gently rub the lens between your index finger and palm in a back and forth motion.
• If the lens flattens or drapes across your finger, the lens or your finger may be too wet. To correct this, dry your finger by transferring the lens several times from one index finger to the other, drying the opposite finger each time.
• Never place a lens on your eye unless it has been fully hydrated (wet) with the rinsing or storing solution recommended by your practitioner.

The one-hand placement technique

• Place the lens on your index finger. With your head up and looking straight ahead, pull down your lower eyelid with the middle finger of your placement hand.
• Look up steadily at a point above you. Then place the lens on the lower white part of your eye.
• Remove your index finger and slowly release the lower eyelid. Look down to position the lens properly.
• Close your eyes for a moment and the lens should centre itself on your eye.

The two-hand placement technique

• With the lens on your index finger, use the middle finger of your other hand to pull your upper eyelid against your brow. Use the middle finger of your placement hand to pull down your lower eyelid and then place the lens centrally on your eye.
• While holding this position, look downward to position the lens properly. Slowly release your eyelids.

If the lens feels uncomfortable:

• Look in the mirror and gently place a finger on the edge of the contact lens and slowly slide the lens away from your nose while looking in the opposite direction. By blinking, the lens will re-centre itself.
• If the lens still feels uncomfortable, follow the steps described below in the “Adverse reactions and problems” section.

If your vision is blurred after placement of your contact lenses, make sure you check for the following:

• Whether the lens is centred on your eye. To centre your lens correctly, follow one of these procedures:
  • Hold your upper and lower eyelids open with your fingers. Then, while looking in a mirror, gently place a finger on your contact lens and slide the lens towards the centre of you eye.
  • Hold the upper and lower eyelids open with your fingers. Then, while looking in a mirror, move your eye towards the lens to place it on the centre of your eye.
• If the lens is centred, remove it and check the following:
  • Is there any cosmetic residue or oil on the lens? If so clean, rinse and disinfect your lens before placing it on your eye again.
  • Is the lens on the wrong eye?
  • Is the lens inside-out? A key indicator is that it is not as comfortable as normal.

If you find that your vision is still blurred after checking the above, remove both lenses and contact us to speak to your practitioner.

• Always remove the same lens first.
• Wash, rinse and dry your hands thoroughly.
• Always ensure that the lens is in the correct position on your eye before you try to remove it (a simple check of your vision, closing one eye at a time, will tell you if the lens is in the correct position).
• Look up and slowly pull down your lower eyelid with the middle finger of your removal hand and place your index finger on the lower edge of the lens. Squeeze the lens lightly between your thumb and index finger to remove it. Avoid sticking the edges of the lens together.
• Repeat this process to remove the other lens.
• Use rewetting drops recommended by your practitioner if the lens is difficult to remove.
• Follow the recommended lens care procedures in the “Care for your lenses” section below.

Please note: If this method of removing your lenses is difficult for you, your practitioner will provide you with an alternative method.

• If one of your lenses sticks (stops moving), put a few drops of the rewetting solution recommended by your practitioner into your eye. In this case, do not use plain water or anything other than the recommended solutions.
• Do not attempt to remove the lens that is sticking, as this could damage your eye. If the lens does not begin to move when you blink after several applications of the solution, immediately contact your practitioner.
• Do not attempt to remove the lens except on the advice of your practitioner.

• If the lens is adhering to a surface, apply rinsing solution recommended by your practitioner before handling.
• Handle the lens carefully.
• Place the lens in its storage case and soak the lens in a recommended rinsing and storing solution for at least 1 hour until it returns to a soft state.
• Clean the lens first, then disinfect the rehydrated lens using a recommended lens care system.
• If after soaking the lens does not become soft or if the surface remains dry, do not use the lens until it has been examined by your practitioner.

Sometimes, problems with your contact lenses may occur. Look out for the following adverse reactions when wearing contact lenses. If you experience any of these issues, contact your practitioner.

• Stinging, burning, itching (irritation) of your eyes, or other eye pain
• Comfort decreasing from when the lens was first placed on your eye
• An abnormal feeling of something in your eye e.g. a foreign body or scratched area
• Redness of the eyes
• Dry eyes
• Reduced sharpness of vision (poor visual acuity)
• Excessive watering (tearing) of the eyes or unusual eye secretions
• Blurred vision, rainbows, or halos around objects
• Sensitivity to light (photophobia)

For continued safe and comfortable wearing of your lenses, it is important that you clean and rinse, then disinfect your lenses after each removal, using the lens care regime recommended by your practitioner. Failure to follow the recommended lens care regime may result in the development of serious ocular complications.

Disposable lens wear

• No care is needed for disposable lenses as they must be discarded every time they are removed from your eye.
• The lenses should only be cleaned, rinsed and disinfected on an emergency basis when replacement lenses are not available to you.

Frequent/ Planned Replacement

• When removed between replacement periods, lenses must be cleaned and disinfected before reinsertion, or be discarded and replaced with a new lens, as determined by your practitioner.