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Contact Lens Care
Contact Lens Care
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To avoid eye infection or irritation, be sure to keep your contact lenses clean and sterile. Follow these tips.
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National Institute of Health
2011-09-12
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Food and Drug Administration
2014-09-12
Contact Lens Care
Keep your eyes safe! Take time to care for your contact lenses. Here are some tips for keeping your eyes healthy and comfortable while you wear contacts.
What to Do
- Wash and rinse your hands before touching your lenses.
- Use only the lens cleaners and eye drops that your eye doctor suggests.
- Follow the directions that came with your lenses, lens cleaner and eye drops.
- Take care of your lens case. Clean, rinse and dry it each time you take out the lenses. Get a new case every 6 months.
- Get your eye doctor's OK before using any new or different medicines. Tell your doctor about things you can buy without a prescription, like eye drops or lens cleaners.
- Use eye makeup that is safe for contact lens users.
- Take out your lenses and call your eye doctor right away if:
- your vision changes,
- your eyes are red,
- your eyes hurt or feel itchy, or
- you have a lot of tears.
What Not to Do
- Never spit on your lenses to clean them.
- Never use tap water, bottled water or salt water made at home to store or rinse your lenses. It can cause infections.
- Never mix different cleaners or drops.
- Never let lotions, creams, or sprays touch your lenses.
- Never wear lenses when you swim or go into a hot tub.
- Never wear lenses when you are using cleaning products.
- Never wear daily-wear lenses when you sleep — not even during a nap.
- Never wear your lenses longer than your eye doctor tells you to.
If You Have a Problem
Contact lenses may cause major eye problems. If you notice a problem, take out your lenses right away and see your doctor. Then report the problems to FDA's MedWatch program. Call 1-800-FDA-1088. You can also fill out the form on the Web. Go to
www.fda.gov/medwatch. Always contact your doctor for medical advice. There are different kinds of lenses. Make sure you know which kind you have.
Contact Lens Quick Guide
- Disposable Lenses. You wear these lenses for one day, then throw them away. You don't need to clean them since you use new lenses every day.
- Daily Wear Lenses. These are lenses you use again and again. You can wear them for one day. Take them out when you go to bed or even take a nap. Then clean and rinse the lenses every time you take them out. Clean them if you have not worn them for a long time.
- Extended Wear Lenses. You can leave these lenses in for 30 days, even while you sleep. The FDA has only approved these lenses to be worn all the time for up to 30 days. After 30 days, you need to take the lenses out and clean them. These lenses can increase your chances of getting small sores on your eyeballs. So see your doctor right away if your sight changes, your eyes get rid, hurt or feel itchy, or you have a lot of tears.
To learn more:
Call the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) at 1-888-463-6332 or
301-827-3990 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST.
Always contact your doctor for medical advice.
Last updated September 12, 2011
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