Contact lenses have long ceased to be a luxury for most residents of Russia. Nowadays, you can buy them even in a regular machine. To do this, select the necessary diopters in the menu, drop the desired amount - and voila! The product falls simply into your hands, like a regular chocolate bar or a bottle of soda. But do you know how to properly wear and keep an optical device? After all, competent eye lens care is a guarantee of the absence of ophthalmic problems.
Why is lens care so important?
The eyeball is a fragile and delicate organ. Therefore, care for night lenses, their daytime counterparts, soft and hard varieties is important: it reduces the risk of various inflammations and infections. And this also applies to those diseases that can lead to complete blindness. Ophthalmologists argue that when wearing an optical device in the corners of the eyes, mucous substance can be deposited, and fats and proteins on the surface itself. Their number is very small and imperceptible from the side. But your eyes feel them sensitively: visual acuity decreases, wearing lenses often becomes uncomfortable.
This is why proper lens care can help you avoid the problems described above. In addition, in the 21st century, it does not require any special efforts: it is worth going to the nearest pharmacy or specialty store and buying everything you need. The assortment includes various lens cleaning products, solutions that help to keep them in good condition. They save human resources: strength, time and money.
All you need to know about lenses
The optical device can be worn by people of any age. This category also includes older pensioners. There is an opinion that at the end of life, eyes lose their former ability to provide good hydration. Accordingly, lenses with this function increase comfort during the day. As for adolescents, usually the doctor allows them to use the device from the age of 13. Although everything is very individual. There are many eight-year-olds who are willing to wear lenses. In any case, initiative in this matter is not welcome: we need the advice of an ophthalmologist in each individual case.
The rules for contact lens care include wearing them for no more than 5 hours. Although after this time, if negative feelings are absent, use can be extended. You need to change lenses every quarter, although there are devices for only monthly and even daily functioning. It is recommended to wear lenses for no more than 10 years, after which the transition to glasses is necessary and inevitable.
The main disadvantage of lenses and how to deal with it
Optical device significantly increases visual acuity, makes the view clear, focused and clear. But, unfortunately, it has some disadvantages. For example, if you ignore the care of long-wearing lenses or their other variety, they will become dull and cloudy. The fact is that they are made of a hydrogel material having a sufficiently porous structure. Accordingly, lenses, like a sponge, absorb dust and dirt. At the same time, they pass air well to the surface of the visual organ, saturate it with moisture and increase the state of human comfort several times.
Care for hard lenses, as well as soft or color, involves the use of only special products approved by professional ophthalmologists. Their chemical and physical composition is not able to harm the eye, it is aimed exclusively at the safe use of the device and maintaining safety for humans. Any solutions must be of high quality, and it is very important not to forget to check their expiration date.
How to remove and put on lenses?
This procedure is very important. She is the first stage of the process, it is with her begins the care of eye lenses. Before any manipulation of the optical device, you must thoroughly wash your hands with soap and wipe them dry with a clean towel. At the same time, the structure of the tissue should be smooth, otherwise small fibers will remain on the fingers and may get into the eye or “settle” on the lens. This, in turn, will cause various inflammations of the visual organ. The use of ordinary tap water leads to similar problems: it is harsh, and it can also contain many pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. Make it a rule to wash your hands only with boiled liquid.
Then you can start putting on or removing the lens. In the first case, gently take it with your fingertip and place it on the surface of the visual organ, in the second case, remove it and put it on the palm of your hand, smeared with a specialized solution, with the same tip of the phalanx. By the way, after removing the lens, you need to wipe a little: with circular movements of the finger, for 15 seconds. Then the device is turned out and repeat the manipulation.
Proper cleansing
On the jar of most special solutions there is the inscription no rub, which translates as "a tool that does not require mechanical cleaning." Despite this, the lens care rules do not neglect this procedure. And all because mechanical cleaning of the optical device, that is, rubbing its surface with the tip of a finger using a solution, gives the maximum effect. Also, professional tools are used to rinse the lenses in order to wash off all foreign microparticles from their surface. Then they are placed in a special container for storage.
It is important to remember that caring for night lenses or their other varieties does not involve the use of the solution repeatedly. Fresh liquid should not be added to the uncleaned container with the remains of the old product. The lens should be completely immersed in the solution, only making sure that you can close the lid tightly. It is believed that absolute and complete disinfection requires storing the device in liquid for at least eight hours. But the specific time depends on the quality of the product.
Color lens care
The procedure has several features. First of all, they relate to contact lens care products. It is better to store color optical devices in physiological saline: 0.9% sodium chloride - NaCl. The cleaning scheme consists of the following steps: 15 minutes the lenses are kept in a solution of hydrogen peroxide (3%), for the same amount of time they are placed in sodium thiosulfate (2.5%), then transferred to a container with a special physiological agent for storage .
The scheme, in principle, is traditional. It’s just that it differs by the obligatory use of liquids, in which there is hydrogen peroxide. It is an excellent disinfectant, and does not cause allergic reactions. After immersion in such a liquid, the lenses get rid of any germs on their surface. In addition, peroxide in such formulations lends itself to a reaction - decomposition, after which no active aggressive chemicals remain in the liquid.
Features of storing different types of lenses
Optical devices come in two types: soft and hard. The first are made of polymeric materials, hydrogels and silicone. They are flexible, plastic, pass a sufficient amount of moisture and oxygen to the surface of the eye. Caring for soft contact lenses includes all the procedures described above. As for hard lenses, they consist of the same polymers, only more dense. They are used for complex defects of the cornea: for example, to correct high degrees of astigmatism. Caring for hard lenses also requires the same solutions. Despite the fact that such devices are denser, you need to handle them carefully. Damage to them is very easy due to their increased fragility and tendency to deformation.
Any kind of lens must be stored in a container. In appearance, these are two small round containers, interconnected by a thin partition. Usually each has a different color, so as not to confuse where the left and right parts are stored. Each section of the container is closed with a separate lid, thereby preventing the pouring out of the liquid or its evaporation. Change the tank once a year.
This must be remembered.
The rules for contact lens care are not limited to the above recommendations. There are a number of other necessary manipulations that accompany the wearing and storage of this optical device. Firstly, ophthalmologists say about the need to avoid touching any surfaces of the nose of the tube or bottle with the solution. This may cause contamination of the lens. Secondly, tap water is undesirable - it is fraught with infection. Third, keep containers clean. Change the fluid in them regularly.
Care for eye lenses, especially competent and thorough, is a guarantee that ophthalmic problems will bypass you. If troubles did arise, immediately contact a medical institution for help. There may be several reasons for visiting a doctor: the appearance of dryness in the visual organ, hypersensitivity to light, the sensation of a foreign body, the appearance of secretions in large quantities, as well as itching, pain, burning or redness of the eye.
Fixed assets
First of all, it is worth mentioning multifunctional solutions for contact lens care. They are used at all stages: washing, disinfection, cleaning and storage. For example, Synergi, Opti-Free Express, Multi Action and others. They do not provide for mechanical cleaning of the surface. At the same time, manual removal is more effective, therefore, doctors recommend not neglecting it. Back in 2009, solution manufacturers received an installation from the Center for Equipment and Radiological Medical Research to include a recommendation on friction — mechanical cleaning of the lens — in the annotation of the devices.
Care for long-wearing lenses may include the so-called peroxide systems: One Step, Peroxid, Ever Clean and others. For disinfection in them is a solution of hydrogen peroxide (3%). In those containers that are sold with such a tool, a kind of neutralization system is built in. When using the solution, it is strictly forbidden to rinse the optical device immediately before putting it on - this can cause burns to the eye shell. The system is ideal for people who are sensitive to preservatives in multifunctional products.
Daily cleaning methods
Eye lens care is not possible without them. This lineup includes tools such as Multison, Renu Multi Plus and so on. Typically, these solutions are used for purification. Other liquids may be used during washing and disinfection. They clean the surface of the lens in this way: a small amount of solution is dripped onto it and with the help of a finger wipe its surface for about twenty seconds. The means for removing protein deposits are also very good, especially Avizor Enzyme and Sauflon tablets stand out - they easily dissolve in a multifunctional solution.
Daily manipulations include not only lens care, but also the eye itself. After all, prolonged wearing of an optical device often causes a feeling of dryness in the visual organ. Therefore, ophthalmologists advise people to use moisturizing drops daily: Comfort Drops, Systane Balance, Sensitive Eyes and others. Drops containing hyaluronic acid also work well. They bind and retain moisture, while having an effective effect on the surface of the cornea. These drops include Oxyal and Hilo-Chest.
Other necessary funds
These are saline solutions "Likotin Universal" or "Likotin Comfort". They are used for storage and washing, as well as for processing optical devices using high temperature or ultraviolet radiation. Sometimes they are used together with effervescent soluble tablets or other means for disinfecting and cleaning lenses. Do not use saline solutions in daily care. Proper lens care can be accomplished with cleaning devices - they disinfect with ultrasonic waves. First, the lens is treated with a multifunctional solution and only then placed in this device.
Speaking about lens care products, it is worth mentioning about enzyme cleaners. These are all the same tablets that help remove excess protein deposits, dirt, dust and mucus from the surface of the optical device. Effervescent products dissolve easily in any cleaner, mix with it until a homogeneous structure. They dip the lenses for 15 minutes, after which they use disinfectants.