Monday, February 4, 2008

Hard Contact Lenses

How To Clean And Maintain Hard Contact Lenses

There are many types of lenses available in the market today, the classification of which depends upon their make (soft, hard), use (fancy, corrective), looks (transparent, opaque) and even styles.

The most popular among the lenses are the soft lenses because they are extremely convenient to use and easy to maintain and clean. The hard contact lenses which are also called GP (in short from Rigid Gas Permeable) are stiff because they contain very limited amounts of water and therefore require more care when cleaning in order to make sure damage does not occur.

The Benefits of Using Hard Contact Lenses

Hard contact lenses are normally more resistant to wear and tear and last much longer than soft contact lenses. These could be worn for about 5-10 years if you take the trouble to maintain them well. At the same time, these lenses are more porous and hence allow more oxygen to reach your eyes. This is important if you suffer from dry eyes as it increases the comfort level for the wearer.

The Best Maintenance Routine For Hard Contact Lenses

Before handling any type of contact lens, ensure that your hands are thoroughly clean. Wash your hands with soap after which let plenty of water run over your hands to wash away the smell of the soap. Never use a fragrant soap when you handle your contacts. The best would be to use a fragrance-less anti bacterial soap.

Remove the hard contact lenses from your eyes and place them carefully in the center of your palm. Apply on each of the lenses about 3-5 drops of the contact lens cleaner recommended for your type of lenses and shake the lens gingerly to rinse in the same manner you would rinse a vessel. Take utmost care that you are not too rough about it or the lens would tear.

The washing could go on for about 20-30 seconds after which you have to rinse it with ordinary lukewarm tap water. Ensure that there is no residue or dirt left on your lenses before you place the hard contact lenses in their special case. The next step would be to take the recommended conditioning solution and pour it gently above the cleaned hard contact lenses until it is completely submerged. Your cleaning process has been successfully completed.

Remember you have to do this every day when you remove the lenses at night so they would be clean and ready for use in the morning. Do no neglect cleaning the lenses as the slightest debris could cause you unimaginable pain and possible infection of the eyes.

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