Guidelines for Safely Wearing Contacts

Contact lenses provide safe and effective vision correction for an estimated 40 million Americans.¹ There are many kinds of contact lenses available, and you should talk to your eye doctor if you’re thinking about getting contact lenses or changing the type of lenses you wear.

While wearing contact lenses can provide many benefits, it’s important that you maintain good hygiene and proper contact lens care to keep your eyes healthy. In the meantime, this overview will help get you started on choosing the right type of contact lenses for you and how to safely wear them.

Types of Contact Lenses

Types of contacts differ based on the material they are made from, how long they are designed to be worn for, and how often they need to be replaced.

Some of the most common types of contact lenses are:

• Soft lenses: Made of soft, flexible plastics that allow oxygen to pass through to the cornea—the clear dome that covers the colored part of the eye. Soft contact lenses are the most common lens material worn.

• Hard or rigid gas permeable: More durable than soft contact lenses, however, hard contact lenses may take a longer period of time to adjust to compared to soft contact lenses.

• Daily disposable: Disposable contact lenses are used once and then thrown away. With a true daily disposable schedule, a brand-new pair of lenses is used each day. Wearing them for more than one day may cause eye discomfort or other complications.

• Planned replacement: Still labeled as “disposable,” these contacts may be re-worn for multiple days. Replacement schedules for these kinds of contact lenses can vary from seven to 30 days.

Safety Guidelines for Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are a great alternative to glasses when it comes to vision correction, but contact wearers risk infection if they fail to wear, clean, disinfect, and store their contact lenses properly.

Here are some guidelines² to follow to safely wear contact lenses:

• Wash your hands: Use soap and water and dry them well with a clean cloth before touching your contact lenses every time.

• Not at night: Don’t sleep in your contact lenses unless prescribed to by your eye doctor. 

• Replace your contact lens case: At least once every three months you should get a new contact lens case. To keep it clean, rub and rinse your contact lens case with contact lens solution (never water), then empty and dry your case with a clean tissue paper. 

• Use clean solution: Never “top off” solution; use only fresh solution and never mix it with old or used solution.

• Give your eyes a rest: Over-wearing contact lenses can lead to problems such as eye inflammation and lipid deposits in the cornea, which can affect vision. 

• Cease if sick: Consistent with recommendations for other types of illness, those who feel sick with cold or flu-like symptoms should stop wearing their contacts until fully recovered.³

Ready to Buy Contact Lenses?

Schedule your eye exam with an eye doctor. They'll perform an eye and contact lens exam to determine if contacts are right for you. You can then order contacts directly from their office. 

This article previously appeared on VSP, Delta Dental of Tennessee’s DeltaVision partner.