Rigid Contact Lenses: Do’s And Don’ts

There are a number of things you should be aware of for the successful care of your rigid lenses.  Here is a list of some do’s and don’ts that should help you avoid any unnecessary complications:

• Clean your lenses at night, immediately after you remove them from your eyes. Leaving them in the soaking solution without cleaning until morning reduces the effectiveness of the disinfecting chemicals. In addition, rinsing the cleaner off with tap water just prior to replacing the lenses in your eyes might introduce bacteria or other microorganisms that would ordinarily have been killed while the lenses soaked overnight.
• If your lenses ever dry out, soak them for at least 4 hours before you wear them again, since they may have warped or flattened in curvature when the liquid evaporated.
• Do not mix and match solutions made by different manufacturers. Doing so may cloud your lenses, cause them to become gummy, or irritate your eyes. Make sure that the cleaning, soaking, disinfecting, and wetting/rewetting products you buy are all part of the same care system.
• Always store your lenses in a case with ridges on the bottom. Lenses tend to suction onto smooth-bottomed cases and may chip if you try to pry them up at the edges.
• Replace your case each time you buy a new bottle of wetting/soaking or cleaning/soaking solution. Cases tend to become contaminated. You can clean case with your contact lens cleaner using a brand new inexpensive toothbrush. Be sure to rinse the case well before using it again.
• If the skin on your hands is rough, ask your contact lens fitter if you can use a manually-agitated device such as the Allergan Hydramat or a mechanical device such as the Clensatron. These devices work like miniature washing machines and may protect the lenses from becoming scratched from your rough skin.
• If you remove your lenses with a suction cup make sure you know exactly where the lens is before placing the suction cup on the eye. Suction cups should be cleaned with contact lens cleaner and rinsed after each use. They can also be soaked in wetting/soaking or cleaning/soaking solution.
• If you drop a lens, do not drag it along a surface. Wet your finger with wetting/soaking or rewetting solution and touch it gently to the lens to lift it.