Contact Lens Care

Take care of your contacts and they’ll take care of your eyes.

Contact Lens Care

Reduce infections and eye complications

Contact lens related infections and complications can lead to long-lasting damage but are often preventable. Clean and safe handling of contact lenses is one of the easiest and most important ways you can protect your vision. Many common care mistakes can increase the chance of eye infection, including failure to clean and store lenses as directed by your doctor and sleeping while wearing contact lenses. Serious eye infections can lead to blindness and affect up to 1 in 500 contact lens wearers yearly. Even minor infections can be painful and disrupt day-to-day life. You must clean and disinfect any contact lens you remove from your eye before you put the lens back in. There are many types of cleaning systems available depending on the type of lens you use. Ask your eye doctor what kind of cleaning solution is best for you!

Specialty Contact Lens Evaluation

Some eye problems may require specialty contact lenses, such as gas permeable or scleral lenses. Many times conditions such as keratoconus, post-LASIK ectasia, and post-surgical corneas require specialty contact lenses. Our doctors will make recommendations for these types of conditions so that you receive the best care possible.

Types of Contact Lenses

Many varieties to choose from

Our doctors may recommend lenses to fit your lifestyle and level of care. Below are the many types of contacts lenses available to you.

Daily Wear
Single use for one day.

Frequent Replacement
Two-week or monthly contacts.

Multifocal
For presbyopia and accommodative disorders.

Monovision
One eye for distance and one eye for near.

Rigid Gas Permeable
For astigmatism or distorted corneal shapes.

Scleral Lenses
Designed to treat a variety of eye conditions.

The doctor will also discuss:

The do’s and don’ts of wearing contacts
Solutions and rewetting drops
Complications of infections and inflammation
What to do if you have these problems

While contact lens wear is safe and effective according to the FDA, they do pose a risk for infection and inflammation which can cause permanent vision loss in rare cases.

Managing Your Contact Lenses

Please select an option below for more info

Overview of Contact Lenses

Lens Hygiene

Soft contact lens hygiene is as important as your personal hygiene. Regular cleaning and disinfecting of soft contact lenses is important for the
success and enjoyment of wearing your soft lenses. Lens hygiene only takes a couple of minutes – not much longer than your regular personal
hygiene routine.

Soft lenses are kept moist in the eyes by tears or in a storage case with disinfecting solution. Moist areas may breed bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
Regular disinfecting of soft lenses is necessary to prevent eye infections. Cleaning and disinfecting are two separate processes. Both steps must
be completed daily as lenses are removed. Always discard any used solution from the contact storage case and rinse with warm tap water,
allowing the case to then air dry. Never use expired solutions. Make sure that the tip of the bottle never touches the contact, eyes, lids, or lashes
to prevent surface contamination that can result in an infection.

Contact our office if any of the following occur:

Your lenses have suddenly or consistently become uncomfortable.
Your vision is fogging or blurring.
Your lens is moving more than normal.
The lens appears to lack normal clarity.
Your eye has become swollen, red, puffy, or has discharge.

Severe or continuing symptoms may indicate a problem. Contact our office to see the optometrist as soon as possible.

Follow your doctor’s instructions and call the office if you have any questions.
Schedule regular follow-up care.
Always follow the recommended contact lens replacement schedule prescribed by your optometrist.
Always wash and thoroughly dry your hands before handling contact lenses.
Apply all cosmetics only after inserting contact lenses, including: lotions, foundation, mascara, and eyeshadow.
Avoid contact with aerosol sprays (such as hairspray, deodorants, and spray paint) or dusty environments after the lenses are inserted. Safety eyewear or keeping your eyes tightly closed is the best way to avoid the spray or dust settling on the contact lenses. A sprayed lens is uncomfortable and hard to clean.
Sit or stand close to a sink or table while inserting a lens in order to avoid a lens landing on the floor if dropped. Always close the drain when working near a sink or cover the drain with a dark cloth. Re-clean lenses that may have dropped.
Be thorough, but careful while cleaning a lens. They can tear, chip, crack, or rip.
Carefully and regularly clean contact lenses as directed by your optometrist. If recommended, rub the contact lenses with your fingers and rinse them thoroughly before soaking the lenses overnight in a multipurpose solution that completely covers each lens.
Avoid tap water to wash or store contact lenses.
Always keep a storage case and small bottle of saline with you for emergency use.
Use only fresh solution to clean and store contact lenses. Never reuse old solution. Change your contact lens solution according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, even if you don’t use your lenses daily. Use fresh solution in the storage case each night. Be sure lenses are completely covered with solution when storing in the case.
Rinse the storage case wells with warm tap water then with saline after each use and let air dry with the covers off. Store lenses in the proper lens storage case and replace the case at least every three months.
Remove contact lenses before swimming or entering a hot tub.
Only use rewetting drops approved to be used with contact lenses.
Always have a backup pair of glasses. In the event of an emergency such as an infection or losing or ripping a contact, we don’t want you to be unable to see clearly. Talk to your doctor about convenient Daily Disposable Contacts, which eliminate the need to clean and store your contacts overnight. Contact lenses are a medical device and require a valid prescription from a doctor.

Don’t wear the lenses if they have suddenly or consistently become uncomfortable or if you notice a chip or tear in the lens.
Don’t exceed your wearing schedule by over-wearing the lenses. If unworn for a few days, don’t wear the lenses for the maximum hours.
Don’t handle your lenses roughly. Avoid contact with your fingernails, and try not to pinch them too hard at removal. Creases can easily become tears.
Don’t insert your lenses over a sink with an open drain. A dropped lens looks like a water bubble.
If a lens is dropped, don’t move around. Check your lashes, clothes, shoes, and immediate area before moving. A wet lens can stick to almost anything and if stepped on can become damaged.
Don’t share lenses with others.
Don’t put contact lenses in your mouth or moisten them with saliva, which is full of bacteria and a potential source of infection.
Don’t use cream soaps or homemade saline solutions. They can leave a film on your hands that can transfer to the lenses. Improper use of homemade saline solutions has been linked to a potentially blinding condition among soft lens wearers.
Don’t switch or mix brands of solution. Introduce one brand at a time so if there is a problem you can identify the cause.
Don’t use tap water to wash or store contact lenses.
Don’t use products not recommended by your optometrist to clean and disinfect your lenses. Saline solution and rewetting drops are not designed to disinfect lenses.
Don’t use your contact lenses without thoroughly cleaning after being exposed to pools, lakes, oceans, hot tubs or other sources of water such as a shower/bath, as they can contain bacteria.
Don’t try to wear a lens that was left out of solution and has become brittle or has folded over onto itself and requires force to pull apart. The contact lens must be rehydrated for at least two hours, then cleaned well before wearing.
Don’t wear your contact lenses if you have a cold, the flu, an infection or allergy attack. Remove the contact lenses and discard. Wear your eyeglasses until the situation has cleared up.

Uncomfortable lenses – Lenses may become uncomfortable if they become dirty or damaged, dust or eyelashes get into your eye, or you have an eye infection. If this happens, remove lenses, clean and inspect them. If eyes are still uncomfortable after reinsertion, remove lenses and call our office.
Sensitivity to light – If your eyes are usually sensitive to light, this may be due to corneal irritation, an eye infection, a foreign particle in your eye or a damaged lens. If this occurs along with eye redness, discomfort or blurry vision, remove your lenses and call our office.
Tearing – Tearing can be caused by the presence of a particle in your eye, or from eye-care solutions that are not PH balanced or do not contain the same salt as your tears. Excessive or persistent tearing, other eye secretions or sensitivity to light are not normal. Remove your lenses and call our office. If you are a new wearer, mild tearing is normal for a day or two; it is not normal for it to persist.
Excessive protein deposits – Protein deposits are one of the many substances in your tear fluid which, if allowed to accumulate on your lenses, could cause the lenses to become cloudy and require replacement. Be sure to use an enzymatic cleaner as directed by the doctor.
Red, painful or burning eyes – This may be caused by: particles of hairspray, deodorant, or other material in the environment; an allergic reaction to a preservative in an eye-care product; an infection; or an eye problem which could lead to an infection. To avoid this, keep eyes closed when using aerosol sprays and remove your lenses if you are going to be in the presence of fumes for an extended period of time.
Blurry vision – Slight, brief changes in vision are not unusual, but if blurry vision lasts more than a few minutes, the cause may be: dirty or damaged lens, wearing a lens inside-out, mixing up the right and left lens, corneal irritation, eye infections, or the need for a prescription change. Cleaning a dirty lens, inverting an inside-out lens, or reinserting your lens should clear up the vision. If a lens is damaged, it must be replaced. For all other problems, call our office.
If your lenses feel gritty or less comfortable than usual:
- Look toward your nose and slide your lens to the opposite side of your eye. Roll your eye right, left, up, and down. This should bring the contact lens back to the cornea. If any particles were trapped under the lens, they will remain on the white part of the eye and will be washed away with your tears.
- If this procedure doesn’t make your lens more comfortable, remove and rinse your lens(es) and reinsert them.
If your lens moves off your cornea, roll your eye to look up, down and sideways. This should bring the lens back to the cornea.
- If the rolling motion doesn’t work, your lens may be lodged under your upper lid. Look down as far as possible and massage the lens into position with your index finger placed on your upper lid. Keep eye partially open.
Contact our office if any of the following occur:
- Your lenses have suddenly or consistently become uncomfortable
- Your vision is fogging or blurring
- Your lens is moving more than normal
- The lens appears to lack normal clarity
- Your eye has become swollen, red, puffy or has discharge
- Severe or continuing symptoms may indicate a problem. Contact our office to see the optometrist as soon as possible.

Contact Lens Follow-up Care

SVS Vision will provide contact lens follow-up care up to 45 days following the initial Contact Lens Evaluation. Should the follow-up care take place after 45 days, you
will need to pay for a refraction as well as another Contact Lens Evaluation. If any follow-up within 45 days or after is a result of an ocular condition, such as an
infection or ulcer, you’ll be seen in an Office Visit. The Office Visit is a medical eye exam. All follow-up appointments will be a new Office Visit. There is no set fee for
these visits. The price will be determined by the condition. These appointments are not covered under the CL Evaluation Fee and cannot be billed to your insurance.
You may submit the receipt to your medical insurance for reimbursement or make an appointment with an ophthalmologist to have the visit billed directly.

45-day gotta love ‘em guarantee

For the next 45 days if you have any problems, let us know and we’ll fix it. If your contacts are dry, uncomfortable, blurry, or you just don’t like them, give us a call. We accept returns on anything you purchase from us, as long as it’s not opened, written on, or damaged in any way. We encourage you to wear your trial contacts for the full amount of time before you open anything you purchased. We want to guarantee you have the best contact lens prescription in the proper brand before you need to open any purchased pairs.

Contact Lens Care

Contact Lens Care

Types of Contact Lenses

Managing Your Contact Lenses

Please select an option below for more info

Overview of Contact Lenses

Lens Hygiene

Contact our office if any of the following occur:

Contact Lens Follow-up Care

45-day gotta love ‘em guarantee

Different Glasses for Different Needs

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