This one goes out to everyone who wakes up, like me, with blurry vision. I’ve worn glasses since I was a kid, and like many of you, not a lot can happen in my day until I put those things on.
Same is true for those of you who wear contact lenses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates more than 30-million Americans wear them. They’re not like glasses where you just put them on your face and you’re done. Contact lenses are usually a safe and effective but, they are not entirely risk-free—especially if they are not cared for properly.
The CDC and the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDoH) this week are recognizing August 22-26 as Contact Lens Health Week to increase public awareness and promote healthy contact lens wear and care.
The more contact lens wearers can understand the importance of proper contact lens hygiene the better chance they can adopt the healthy habits to reduce their chances of getting an eye infection so NMDOH and the CDC recommend the following if you wear contacts:
· Wash and dry your hands before touching your contacts.
· Replace them as often as your eye doctor tells you – and don’t sleep in them (unless your doctor tells you it’s ok to do it).
· Avoid wearing contacts while showering or swimming.
· Rinse and clean your contacts with disinfecting solution each time you clean them. Use only fresh solution too—don’t mix new with old.
· Rub and rinse your lens case with solution, dry with a tissue and store upside down with the caps off. Get a new case at least every three months
· If a contact comes out that you can’t disinfect with fresh solution, don’t put them back in your eye. Water or spit is not the way to avoid infection.
· Keep a spare pair of glasses handy for those times a contact lens comes out. Because if you can’t safely pop a lens back in, a pair glasses will prove to be a sight saver.
For more information on the different types of contact lenses and solutions used to disinfect, store, and clean contact lenses, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/contactlenses/lens-and-solution-types.html.