disposable contact lenses

Don’t Do These 11 Things If You Wear Daily Disposable Contacts!

Countless people around the world wear daily disposable contact lenses or dailies. These popular single-use lenses are removed and discarded at the end of each day, and a new, fresh pair is inserted the next morning. Used properly, dailies promote eye health, and they’re comfortable and convenient.

Despite the many advantages associated with wearing daily disposables, there are plenty of ways you can damage your eyes and vision — some you may never have considered.

1. Don’t Touch Contacts with Dirty Hands

Before touching your lenses, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. By touching your contact lenses with dirty hands, you transfer bacteria to your lenses, which can lead to an infection. Preferably dry your hands with a disposable paper towel rather than a cloth towel, and ensure that no remnants of the towel remain on your fingers.

2. Don’t Expose Your Contacts to Water

Any source of water, whether tap, pool, or lake water, can change the shape of your lenses and cause micro-abrasions on your cornea. Plus, the water may contain bacteria that can wreak havoc on your eye health and cause you to experience temporary vision loss or even permanent blindness.

If you must get in the water with your contacts on, make sure to wear waterproof goggles. If you do get water on your contact lenses, dispose of these lenses and insert a new pair. Exposing contact lenses to chemicals like chlorine binds to the lens and cannot be cleaned off. It then leeches onto the cornea and causes irritation.

The next time you’re tempted to swim or shower with your lenses on, think twice before doing so.

3. Don’t Reuse Your Contacts

Daily disposable contacts are designed to be thrown away after every single use, and people who reuse them risk painful and risky outcomes. Dailies are thinner, more fragile, and don’t hold moisture as well as other contacts.

Users sometimes attempt to increase the lifespan of these lenses by cleaning them in a disinfecting solution and wearing them for several days or even weeks at a time. This is problematic, as the lens material doesn’t allow for repeated disinfecting. In fact, the process of cleaning the lenses tends to be not only ineffective but also breaks down the lens itself, increasing the risk of the lens falling apart while in the eye. The risk of complications and infection is not worth the few saved bucks.

4. Don’t Insert a Dropped Contact In Your Eye

One of the perks of daily lenses is that they are less expensive (per lens) than other types of contacts. So if you find yourself dropping a lens into the sink or on the floor, don’t bother placing it back in your eye. Doing so can cost you your eye health.

5. Don’t Ever Put Contacts In Your Mouth

It seems like a funny concept, doesn’t it? You wouldn’t believe the number of people who do this. If you drop a contact lens, avoid rooting around the floor trying to find it, and if you do, definitely don’t put it in your mouth to lubricate it. Your mouth contains bacteria that can infect your eyes once you reinsert your contacts.

Play it safe by carrying around an emergency pair of glasses or an extra pair of daily disposable contacts in your bag, your car, or at work.

6. Don’t Overwear Your Daily Lenses

Wearing your lenses for long periods of time can damage your eyes, even if they’re daily contacts. The maximum recommended daily use for any contact lens is 14-16 hours, though Dr. Kiarash Bassiri, OD will determine the exact number of hours you should wear your lenses. Your eyes, just like any other part of your body, need to rest. Your corneas receive oxygen from the air, not from blood vessels, and while it’s healthy to wear contacts during the day, wearing them for extended periods can significantly reduce the amount of oxygen your eyes receive, which can lead to complications. If you don’t give your eyes the rest they need, your corneas might get swollen, which can lead to corneal abrasion and even bacterial infection.

7. Don’t Sleep With Your Lenses

Daily lenses should never be worn overnight. You’re risking your sight by sleeping in a lens that’s not approved for overnight use, as it can lead to ocular irritation, swelling and corneal ulcers.

8. Don’t Insert Contacts Before Completing Your Morning Routine

Avoid inserting your contacts before you shower or wash your face, since you risk exposing your lenses to tap water and the bacteria that come with it. We also recommend that you insert your lenses after blow-drying and styling your hair, especially if you’re using hairspray or other aerosols, as these products can dry out your contacts. Additionally, the spray can coat the lenses and leave a film that not only irritates the eyes, but can make it difficult to see. If you’re at the hairdresser’s and cannot remove your lenses, shut your eyes when spray is applied.

9. Don’t Get Makeup On Your Contacts

Insert your contacts before applying makeup, because any makeup residue on your hands, such as mascara, can easily transfer to your lenses.

It’s not uncommon for people to get concealer, eyeliner or mascara on their contact lenses. If that happens, immediately remove the lens and clean the makeup with solution (while making sure to dispose of the lens before bed). Otherwise, simply replace with another lens. Avoid wearing waterproof makeup, since it can’t always be removed from your lenses, even when rinsed with solution.

To prevent makeup from getting on your lenses, don’t apply mascara all the way from the base of your lashes up. Instead, apply it from the midway point. It’s also important not to apply eyeliner on the inner lid of your eye, but rather to the skin above your lashes.

10. Don’t Wear Contact Lenses If Your Eyes Are Irritated

As the saying goes, “if in doubt – take them out!” If your eyes feel irritated, uncomfortable, or if you notice any pain or redness, don’t power through. If your symptoms last a while, contact Dr. Kiarash Bassiri, OD at Fusion Eye Care. You don’t want to let a serious infection go unchecked.

When your eyes feel more rested and are free of discomfort, put in a fresh pair of contacts.

11. Don’t Rub Your Eyes

If your eyes feel itchy or dry, or if a lens feels out of place, you may be tempted to rub your eyes. But rubbing, whether with contacts or without, can lead to long-term ocular issues. This may cause you to experience blurred vision, and may even damage your cornea. Instead, Dr. Kiarash Bassiri, OD can recommend eye drops to relieve any discomfort. Make sure to apply them only when contact lenses are removed.

Above, we have delved into things you should never do with daily contact lenses. Fortunately, if you do make a mistake, you can remove the lens and replace it with a fresh one. The few dollars you might save by not opening a new pack aren’t worth the damage a mistake can cause.

If you have any questions or are interested in finding out more about contact lenses, contact Fusion Eye Care in Raleigh today. Dr. Kiarash Bassiri, OD will be happy to explain how to care for your eyes and maintain your vision.

Daily Disposable Contact Lenses: A Healthy And Convenient Choice

Disposable daily contact lenses are removed and thrown out at the end of each day. These single-use lenses are completely disposable, and you’ll use a new, fresh pair of lenses each morning. Daily contacts are rapidly gaining popularity with both practitioners and with consumers due to their health benefits as well as convenience.

Before you begin to go over the pros and cons of these lenses, you’ll want to understand these two things:

Don’t get confused with “daily wear” and “daily disposable”. Daily wear lenses are the ones that must be taken out before going to sleep as they’re not FDA approved for long-term (overnight extended) wear. These may require replacing daily, weekly, monthly or even quarterly depending on the brand. Wearing schedule and replacement schedule are completely different things to consider.

When it comes to contacts, “Disposable” doesn’t always mean that they are single-use. Some daily lenses are thrown out every 2-weeks, and these are also called disposable. Daily disposable are the ones that are thrown out daily.

Why Throw Them Out?

Most people don’t realize that the more frequently they change their contact lenses, the healthier the eyes are going to be and the more comfortable.

Proteins, lipids, calcium, and other naturally found in your eye substances can build up on lenses. These deposits can make your contacts uncomfortable to wear over the course of time. Which is why new contacts are always more comfortable than older ones.

Lenses can be cleaned; however, cleaning isn’t 100 percent effective at getting all of the deposits off of the contacts. There are still going to be some deposits that accumulate over the course of time.

Daily Contact Lenses: Health And Convenience

There are two ways to avoid most contact care.

One is to wear extended lenses for a few days straight and then throw them out when you’re done. Unfortunately, when you wear them overnight, it’s not always a good thing. Some people have issues with this. It can increase eye problems for some of the wearers.

Daily disposable lenses are the alternative. A lot of eye care professionals and lens wearers feel that these offer the best of both choices. They are convenient. They’re easy to wear. They don’t require cleaning, and they are healthier as there isn’t any accumulation of deposits and you don’t wear them overnight.

How Different Are Daily Lenses From Regular Lenses?

Even before the implementation of daily lenses, it was known that the more frequently lenses were replaced, the healthier the eyes and the better the vision. The issue was, the contacts were too expensive to throw them out daily. So, cleaning solutions were made, and there were devices used to help prolong the life of the lenses.

Then, the manufacturers developed newer methods to manufacture the lenses and produce higher quality lenses in great volumes at a far lower cost. These advances would lead to lower prices that would lead to more affordability for lens replacements.

Today, many of the lenses people wear are made of the same types of materials as the traditional lenses. Some disposables are made of newer materials, and the designs were developed especially for dispensability.

How Much Do Daily Disposables Cost?

Daily disposable lenses, on average, are more costly than those that are worn for longer periods of time. Costs can vary depending on the brand, prescription, and other variables. Daily disposables that are made of a silicone hydrogel material are frequently positioned as the ideal daily disposable and have the greatest benefit, and are more expensive.

If you’re thinking about daily contact lenses, keep in mind that the higher costs will be offset by the savings on lens cleaning products. You won’t require these anymore. Depending on your vision insurance, you may also have an allowance to use towards purchasing contacts as well. Most manufacturers of these contacts also offer big rebates on year supplies of daily disposable lenses, which make the price tag similar to extended wear contacts.

Also, you need to remember that fitting fees also vary from one eye doctor to the next. It will be dependent on where you live, the going rate and the type of eye care professional that you select.

In spite of the more expensive price tag, disposable lenses are frequently less expensive than people anticipate. It’s not at all unusual to spend more money on their daily Starbucks visit than on their eye care. While you’re enjoying that coffee for a half hour, you will have fresh lenses that will give you comfort and clarity all day long.

Can I Wear Daily Lenses?

Yes, most people can. Ask your eye care professional.

The key is that if they make the lenses in your prescription, you can likely wear them. Besides single vision designs, there are also designs for multifocal that correct presbyopia and toric lenses for astigmatism.

If your prescription isn’t in the range for daily disposable lenses, you may have to stay with what you’re already using. Some prescriptions require reusable lenses that are replaced annually. Just about everyone can wear contact lenses, however.

While a complete evaluation by your eye doctor at Fusion Eye Care is the only way to determine the answer, you’ll be able to choose from many options. To schedule your appointment, please call us at (919) 977-7480.