Lens care is about six habits, and most problems trace back to the same two: the case, and the replacement date. The nightly clean gets all the attention; those two get skipped and cause most of the damage.
This is the wider routine. For the nightly procedure itself, see how to clean contact lenses properly.
1. Hands, every time
Plain soap, nothing moisturising or perfumed, and a lint-free towel. Wet hands are fine; oily or fibre-covered hands are not. This is thirty seconds that prevents a large share of contamination.
2. The case — the part everyone neglects
The case is the most common source of contamination in lens wearers. Biofilm forms on the plastic and disinfectant stops penetrating it.
- Empty it completely every morning. Never top up over old solution.
- Rub and rinse with solution, never water.
- Air-dry face down, lids off, on a clean towel.
- Replace every three months, or with each new bottle of solution.
- Keep it out of the bathroom if you can — it is the most humid, most aerosolised room in the house. A bedroom drawer is better.
More in the case guide.
3. Respect the replacement date
A monthly lens is monthly from the day you open the blister, not from thirty days of wear. Wear it twice a week and it still expires on day thirty.
Stretching it is the most common false economy in lens wear: deposits accumulate, oxygen transmission drops, and infection risk rises. See do contacts expire.
4. Know your limit and stop there
Most people manage twelve to fourteen hours comfortably. Beyond that the cornea has had enough oxygen deprivation for one day.
Take them out earlier when you are ill, when your eyes are already irritated, on long flights, or in heavy air conditioning. See how long you can wear them.
And never overnight unless they were specifically prescribed for it — see sleeping in contacts.
5. Keep water away from them
No swimming, no showering where avoidable, no tap water rinsing, ever. The organism behind the worst contact lens infection lives in ordinary water. See contacts and water.
6. Order of operations with make-up and products
- Lenses in first, make-up second. Lenses out first, make-up off second.
- Avoid waterproof or glitter products around the eyes — both migrate under lenses
- Replace mascara every three months, sooner after any eye infection
- Apply hairspray and aerosols before lenses go in, with eyes closed
- Wash hands after hand cream, sunscreen or anything oily
Travel and spares
Two things make every lens problem a non-event:
- A spare pair wherever you actually are — bag, car, desk
- Current glasses. Not a five-year-old prescription. If your eye is unhappy, glasses are the treatment, and they only work if you can see through them.
Carry solution in hand luggage within liquid limits, never decant into an unmarked bottle, and never improvise with water — if you run out, take the lenses out and wear glasses.
The annual exam is part of the routine
Not admin. Neovascularisation, corneal thinning and giant papillary conjunctivitis all develop silently and are all visible under a slit lamp. That yearly check is the part of lens care you cannot do yourself, and it is also what keeps your prescription valid — see when it expires.
Stop wearing them and get seen if
- Pain, especially out of proportion to how the eye looks
- Light sensitivity
- Vision that does not clear with the lens out
- Marked redness — see red eye
- Discharge
General information. Follow the instructions for your specific lenses. Reviewed by Dr. Teresita Bollar, OD.
