5 Practical tips & advice for wearing Contact Lenses

5 Practical tips & advice when wearing contact lenses
Many people who start wearing lenses, and even more experienced wearers, have a number of practical questions regarding contact lenses. These tips can help you deal with the daily use of lenses adequately and safely. Topics covered in this article:

Is my contact lens inside out?
inserting your lenses
removing your lenses
contact lenses and UV light
make-up and contact lenses
 

Is my contact lens inside out?
A question that sometimes arises for people who are just starting to wear lenses is: how can I tell if my contact lens is inside out?

The difference can be subtle, but before you put a lens in your eye, you need to be sure that it looks like half a ball and not a soup bowl with a rim.

The trick is to place the lens on your finger in such a way that a cup is formed. Then hold the lens directly in front of your eyes so that you are looking at the side of the cup.

If the lens forms a U shape with the top edges facing outward, it is inside out. If the lens just forms a U shape, this is the correct position of the lens.

If you wear lenses that contain a certain color or tint, another way is to place them on your lens and then look into it. The edge of the tinted lens should look very blue (or green, depending on the tint of the lens). This will not be the case when the lens is inside out.

Some lenses also have a laser marking, such as the brand name, and this is applied to the edge of the lens to help you avoid wearing your lens inside out. If you can read or see this properly, then the lens is also correct. Did you put the lens in your eye inside out? Don't worry. Although the lens may feel a little uncomfortable, it cannot damage your eye.

Inserting your contact lenses
Always wash your hands thoroughly before applying or removing your lenses. Avoid soap with certain irritating substances or oil, because these soaps contain articles that can accumulate on the surface of the lens. In particular, avoid using products that contain lanolin or moisturizing lotions.

Some eye specialists say that you should always apply the first lens in the same eye to avoid mixing up the lenses for the left and right eye.

Safety tips for insertion

 Make sure that your contact lenses and the boxes in which they are stored are cleaned regularly and disinfected regularly, according to the instructions of your ophthalmologist and the manufacturer of the lenses.

Never put your lenses in your mouth and never use your saliva to moisten them.
Replace your lenses regularly according to the instructions of your ophthalmologist or the manufacturer.
Do not just remove the surface of your cleaning products in the jar in which you store your lenses to refill the jar with new liquid. If necessary, discard the solution and replace it with new liquid.
Always rub your lenses when you clean them, even when you use a cleaning agent where this is not necessary.
Shake your contact lens holder gently with the cleaning liquid in it to loosen the lens when it sticks to the jar. If this is the case, it is best not to pull the lens with your finger, as this may damage it.
Let the lens slide out of the jar into the palm of your hand. Rinse thoroughly with the appropriate solution for cleaning lenses.
Place the lens on the top of your index or middle finger, and make sure that this finger is dry or almost dry.
Use the fingers and thumb of your other hand to pull the upper eyelid and the lower eyelid apart.
Place the lens on your eye while looking up or down, whichever of these positions is most comfortable for you. You can also apply the lens by placing it on the white of the eye as close as possible to your ear.
Close your eye gently, and roll your eyes in a complete circle to give the lens a chance to fit, and then blink a few times with your eye.
Look closely in the mirror to make sure the lens is in your eye properly. If so, the lens should feel comfortable and your vision should be clear.
 

Removing contact lenses
Always wash your hands thoroughly before removing your contact lenses again. If you are standing in front of a sink, it is best to use a clean paper towel to cover the sink in which the lenses could fall.

To remove soft lenses, it is best to look up or to the side while pushing your lower eyelid down. Gently maneuver the lens with a finger to the white of your eye. Then you can very carefully pinch the lens together with your index finger and release it and remove it from the eye.

Keep your fingernails short to avoid scratching and damaging your eye when removing your contact lenses.

Rigid contact lenses can be removed by extending the palm of your hand, bending forward and then opening your eyes wide. With a finger of your other hand, pull the skin between your upper and lower eyelid (just outside the widest point of your eye) outward towards your ear with your eye wide open.

Then blink a few times with your eye. The contact lens should now fall out, straight onto your palm.

The eye doctor also has devices for removing contact lenses (the so-called 'plungers') available, and they can be used to touch the lens and remove it directly from the eye. Make sure that you only touch the lens and not the surface of the eye with these devices.

You may have already heard the myth that someone lost a contact lens behind their eye. A fairy tale, because this is simply impossible because there is a membrane that connects the front and back of your eye.

Contact lenses and UV light
Researchers have linked ultraviolet light (so-called UV light) to the formation of cataracts. Exposure to excessive UV light can also be noted in a condition called photokeratitis. Therefore, the following tips.

Always put your lenses in your eyes before you start applying eye shadow, mascara and eyeliner.

For this reason, some contact lenses contain a UV blocking 'agent'. You can't tell whether a contact lens contains this blocking mechanism just by looking at it. This blocking mechanism is clear, so as not to interfere with vision through the lens.

You will therefore have to look on the packaging of the lens to see whether the product has a UV blocker, or ask your specialist or the manufacturer if there is nothing on the packaging of the lenses.

It is important to know that contact lenses that block UV light are not intended to replace sunglasses. The lens only covers the cornea, not your entire eye.

However, contact lenses with a UV blocking function will help protect that part of the white of your eye from the formation of the growth of aspingueculae and pterygia.

Sunglasses that offer protection against these two threats can cover a larger part of your eye and parts of your face that are around the eye, depending on the surface area of ​​the lens of the sunglasses. This is why UV blockers were designed to complement the operation of sunglasses as an additional protection.