Contact Lens Disinfecting Solution Ingredients

A wide range of contact lens cleaning solutions are available on the market today. Most claim to be the best cleaning and disinfecting agent available for storing and cleaning contacts. Most brands, however, do not differ much in their basic ingredients.

Hydrogen Peroxide-Based Solutions

• Although they are beginning to be taken over by multipurpose solutions, hydrogen peroxide-based solutions still hold a sizable part of the market. They are preservative-free, protecting against the risk of allergic reactions and providing effective disinfecting. The hydrogen peroxide should be neutralized before wearing the lenses or it can burn the eyes.

Hydrogen Peroxide-Based Solution Ingredients

• Although hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient of the solutions, other ingredients must be used in conjunction to clean the lenses and neutralize the hydrogen peroxide. These include isopropyl alcohol and surfactants--substances used to reduce the surface tension in the liquid--such as Pluronic 17R4. Other possible ingredients include catalase, HPMC and cyanocobalamin--vitamin B12-- to neutralize the hydrogen peroxide.

Multipurpose Solutions

• Multipurpose solutions are all-in-one cleaning solutions that clean and disinfect in one go and do not have to be neutralized. Later versions of multipurpose solutions also include ingredients that can help reduce the dry feeling suffered by a number of contact lens wearers.

Multipurpose Solution Ingredients

• Multipurpose solutions contain both preservatives and wetting agents. The preservatives disinfect the lens and act as surfactants and protein removers. Such preservatives include Polyhexanide, Polyhexamethylene biguanide, Polyquad and Aldox. The wetting agents help to increase the comfort level of the wearer and include Dexpant-5, Sorbitol, HPMC, Propylene glycol and Tear Glyde.