Gas Permeable Contact Lens Tips

Gas permeable contact lenses, small flexible disks that fit onto the surface of your eye and take the place of glasses, allow oxygen to pass freely into the cornea of the eye, which the Mayo Clinic suggests can lead to better eye health. While many lens wearers ultimately find that gas permeable lenses improve their vision and eye comfort, it can take your eyes time to adjust to their rigid shape. You also need to use special care and handling to keep your lenses in optimal condition.

Handling and Wear

• Take care when inserting and removing your contact lenses to avoid damaging your lenses or your eyes. Start with clean and dry hands devoid of moisturizers, and make sure your nails are trimmed short to avoid accidentally scratching your lenses. If your eyes need different prescriptions, make sure you see the correct identifying engraving on your contact lenses before inserting them. Apply a few drops of solution to your lenses before putting them into your eyes to make the process easier. Follow your eye-care provider's instructions for inserting the lenses; you will generally need to gently pull down your lower eyelid and place the contact into the center of your eye. Remove lenses using a suction holder provided by your eye-care professional in order to minimize the possibility of scratching your eye's cornea or damaging your lenses.

  Do not panic if your lenses ever become displaced from the center of your eye and onto the conjunctiva (the eye whites); your lenses cannot slip behind the eyelid. Look into a mirror, and lift your eyelid to expose the lens. Gently slide the lens with your eyelid until it is positioned adjacent to your cornea. Push up or down on your eyelid to pop the lens into place. If you start to feel nervous or upset while trying to reposition the lens, stop and try again later. According to Christine Sindt, O.D., of the University of Iowa Health Care system, your lenses can safely stay on the conjunctiva area for several hours without causing any pain or injury to your eye.

  Follow your eye-care provider's recommended schedule to help your eyes get used to your new lenses. Cut your daily wearing time in half when you resume wearing your lenses after a break of a few days. Gradually increase wearing time two hours a day. If you take a break of a week or more, talk to your eye-care provider for guidance on an appropriate wearing schedule to help your eyes readjust to the lenses.

Cleaning

• Use the cleaning system recommended by your eye-care provider or by the contact lens manufacturer to properly care for your lenses. Talk to your eye-care provider before using any type of generic/store brand cleaners since they might not work with your brand of lenses and can cause symptoms such as burning, eye irritation and even infection. Your program will likely consist of a multipurpose cleaning/disinfecting/storage solution or a combination disinfecting/storage solution and a separate cleaner. Remove one lens at a time, apply a few drops of cleaning or multipurpose solution, and gently rub the lens using a back-and-forth motion. Rinse the lens with the disinfecting/storage solution or the multipurpose solution. Never use tap water to rinse your lens since microorganisms in tap water can cause eye infections. Fill your case with clean disinfecting/storage solution or your multipurpose solution and place your lenses into it. Always rinse your lens case with hot water or multipurpose solution on a daily basis, and allow it to dry thoroughly.