Emory Eye Center: CLUES ON CONTACTS

January 6, 1997

Media Contacts: Sarah Goodwin, 404/727-3366 - sgoodwi@emory.edu
Kathi Ovnic, 404/727-9371 - covnic@emory.edu
http://www.emory.edu/WHSC/

If you have contact lenses, you've probably seen the shelves crammed full of contact lens solutions at the local pharmacy. To help narrow your choices when approaching that saline quagmire, Michael Ward, director of the Contact Lens Service at Emory Eye Center, offers the following tips:

What to Buy
Buy what your eye care practitioner prescribes. He or she will select the solutions that are compatible to your type of lens, whether they are hard or soft, gas permeable,extended-wear or daily-wear lenses. Don't be tempted to change brands without checking with your practitioner first.

Rub and Rinse!
Follow the advice of your eye care specialist when cleaning your contacts. Clean, rinse and disinfect every time you remove your lenses, and repeat the steps if you've stored your lenses longer than 12 hours. Some lenses require a weekly enzyme treatment to remove protein deposits. Remember to clean, rinse and disinfect first, then use the enzyme treatment. Next, soak your lenses in disinfectant to prevent the enzyme from irritating your eyes.

For Safety's Sake
To prevent contamination, don't touch the tip of the lens solution bottle. Discard any solution that has expired or has been open for more than 90 days, regardless of the expiration date. Rinse your lens case, leave it open to air dry while you're wearing your lenses and scald it once a week in boiling water to disinfect it. Replace your cases often.

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