Can You Use Hydrogen Peroxide Solutions To Clean Biofinity Contact Lenses

Caring for your soft contact lenses

cleaning contact lenses

Enter the contact lens care aisle of most supermarkets and drugstores, and y'all'll observe a confusing array of products.

Though daunting, information technology'due south essential to empathise lens care: Not caring for your contact lenses properly tin lead to a variety of eye infections, including some that cause incomprehension.

Actually, contact lens care is easier than ever. One-bottle care systems and disposable contact lenses hateful that proper lens care involves much less fourth dimension, expense and trouble than it did years ago.

Before we go started, understand that you should non switch care regimens without asking your eye dr. showtime. Some products are not compatible with each other, or with sure contact lenses. Using incompatible products can ruin your contact lenses or harm your optics.

To make sense of all the bottles and boxes, information technology helps to know what steps are required to care for soft contacts.

It's particularly important to follow guidelines for rubber handling of soft contact lenses in light of recent outbreaks of serious fungal eye infections associated with a popular (now discontinued) brand of contact lens cleaning/disinfecting solution.

The Basics Of Soft Contact Lens Care: Clean, Rinse And Disinfect

To clean contacts with a multipurpose solution, identify the lens in the palm of your hand, apply a generous amount of solution and gently rub the lens confronting your palm with your arrow finger, using a back-and-forth (not round) motility.

Wash your hands so that you don't transfer clay and germs to your eye. Try to avoid moisturizing soaps, every bit they are not practiced for contact lenses. Dry your hands with a lint-gratis towel.
Remove one lens and clean it with the recommended solution. Cleaning removes eye-produced buildup, cosmetics and other debris that impairs lens condolement. The FDA recommends that you rub the lens in the palm of your manus with a few drops of solution, even if you lot are using a "no-rub" product.
Rinse the lens again to remove the loosened debris, making sure to have equally long as the bundle directs: Rinsing is an important step.
Place the lens in your clean lens case or lens holder and make full with fresh solution; don't "top off" your old solution. Disinfecting kills microorganisms on the lens. Disinfection time varies from product to product; bank check the package for details.
Echo steps two through 4 for your other lens.

Beyond Clean, Rinse And Disinfect

Protein. Depending on what kind of contact lenses you wear and how much protein your eyes deposit on your contacts, your doctor may recommend you lot use a product for poly peptide removal.

While cleaning them does remove some poly peptide, information technology tin can nevertheless build up on your lenses and brand them uncomfortable. That's why the longer y'all wear lenses before replacing them, the more likely you are to need a protein remover.

For case, if you wearable disposables, you lot probably won't need one; only if you wear the kind of lenses that are replaced but once or twice a twelvemonth, you definitely will. Products for removing protein include enzymatic cleaner and daily protein removal liquids.

Eye dryness and irritation. Use contact lens eye drops to lubricate your eyes and rewet your lenses.

Middle sensitivity and allergies. A small percentage of lens wearers develop an eye allergy to the chemicals present in contact lens solutions. If this is the case with yous, yous don't need an boosted product: You lot just need to switch products to those marked "preservative-costless."

The Products: Cleaning, Rinsing And Disinfecting Solutions

Saline solution is for rinsing and storing contact lenses, when you're using a rut or UV disinfection system. You also may need information technology for utilize with enzymatic cleaning tablets or cleaning/disinfecting devices. Never use saline products for cleaning and disinfection.

Hydrogen peroxide systems may help wearers who are sensitive to preservatives used in multipurpose solutions.

This "extra strength" daily cleaner works for all soft contacts, including silicone hydrogel. Information technology requires rinsing with sterile saline or a multi-purpose solution afterward. This product should never exist placed direct in your center.

Daily cleaner is for cleaning your contact lenses. You identify a few drops in the palm of your hand and carefully rub the lens for as long as directed, usually effectually 20 seconds, making sure to clean both sides. Use other products for rinsing and disinfection.

Multipurpose solution is for cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting and storing your contact lenses. Make clean your lenses every bit you would with daily cleaner, then rinse (as long as directed) and disinfect, all with the same solution; or rinse the lenses twice, and so place them in the make clean lens example with solution to make clean and disinfect. When yous are set up to wear the lenses, rinse them again. With multipurpose solutions, no other lens intendance products are necessary.

Hydrogen peroxide solution is for cleaning, disinfecting, rinsing and storing your contact lenses. With this product, you lot place your lenses in the provided handbasket and rinse them, then place the basket in its cup and make full the cup with solution to make clean and disinfect your lenses.

Some lens holders for hydrogen peroxide systems have a congenital-in neutralizer (to convert the hydrogen peroxide to water, so it doesn't sting your eyes), but with others you lot need to add together a neutralizing tablet.

Afterward the disinfection and neutralizing step is completed, yous can remove the lenses from the instance and put them on.

Never rinse your contacts with hydrogen peroxide solution and apply them directly to your eyes without completing the entire disinfecting and neutralizing step. Doing so can cause a painful chemic injury to the middle.

Brands of hydrogen peroxide care systems for soft contact lenses include Clear Care (Alcon) and PeroxiClear (Bausch + Lomb).

Cleaning/disinfecting devices will, as you would wait, both clean and disinfect your contact lenses. Depending on how the brand is designed, cleaning is accomplished with either ultrasonic waves or subsonic agitation, whereas disinfection occurs via multipurpose solution or ultraviolet light.

The instructions for the devices are all a little different. In general, you lot first rinse the lenses, using either saline or multipurpose solution every bit directed. 1 brand requires rubbing with the saline, just near are no-rub.

So, put your contact lenses in the device and fill it with the same type of solution as for the rinse. Place the hat on the device and plug it in to make clean and disinfect your lenses.

Contacts And Warts

Q. I just got contact lenses, and as I was removing one of the lenses, it slid down and touched a wart on my finger. Is information technology okay to put it dorsum into my eye?

A. Yes, it'south safe to use a contact lens that has touched a wart on your finger.

Warts on fingers are skin infections caused by viruses of the human being papillomavirus (HPV) family. These are unlike viruses than those that cause pink eye and other mutual eye infections (which are called adenoviruses, herpes simplex viruses and varicella-zoster viruses).

Still, if your contact lens touches a wart on your finger, it's a skillful idea to rinse and rub the lens with multipurpose disinfecting solution before putting it dorsum on your eye.

Equally an added precaution confronting introducing HPV viruses into your eye, see a dermatologist to accept the wart on your finger treated. Possible treatments used to remove warts include freezing with liquid nitrogen and laser removal.

You also can buy non-prescription topical medications to remove finger warts.

Only when using these medications, be sure to wash your easily thoroughly earlier touching your contact lenses or eyes, as some topical medicines can cause a painful chemical irritation if they get in your eyes. — Gary Heiting, OD

The Products: Protein Removers, Centre Drops And Options For Sensitive Eyes

Enzymatic cleaner is for removing protein from your contact lenses, usually on a weekly basis. Yous utilize the tablets with saline solution or disinfecting solution (multipurpose or hydrogen peroxide), as directed.

Before using enzymatic cleaner, make clean and rinse your contacts using other products. Fill your lens case or vials (as directed) with solution, then driblet an enzymatic tablet in each lens well or vial. Await for them to deliquesce, then add your contacts. Leave them in for the required time, usually 15 minutes.

Afterward, disinfect with another product if necessary. Certain enzymatic cleaners allow you to skip the disinfection step if you lot employ disinfecting solution rather than saline, only that'southward not e'er the case; cheque the enzymatic cleaner packaging to find out.

Daily protein remover also removes protein from your lenses, but information technology'due south in liquid form and y'all utilize it daily. You use it during disinfection with multipurpose solution.

Before using a daily protein remover, you lot clean and rinse your contacts using other products. Fill both wells of your lens case with multipurpose solution, and so add a drop of daily protein remover to each. Disinfect your lenses as usual.

Heart drops for contact lenses are for lubricating your eye and rewetting your contacts. Make sure to choose a brand that is prophylactic for contact lenses. Eye drops that aren't mean for contact lenses can temporarily alter how a lens fits your eye, or discolor the lens.

Multipurpose solutions brand caring for your lenses fairly simple, simply remember to rub your lenses every bit directed, for best results. This one is designed to retain wet on the contact lens surface and so eyes stay moist throughout the twenty-four hour period.

Products for sensitive eyes help people who have allergic reactions to contact lens solutions. These allergies tin can crop up fifty-fifty if you've been using the same products for years without difficulty. Symptoms may include itching, tearing, foreign body sensation, burning, redness and middle belch. Information technology's of import to see your eye doctor if yous're experiencing these symptoms, as they can have many causes.

A preservative called thimerosal was found to cause problems in about 10 percentage of patients, so well-nigh brands do not use it nowadays. Thimerosal-gratuitous saline is usually marked "for sensitive optics."

However, people do have reactions to other preservatives too and need to switch to preservative-free care products. Some of these take what's called a "disappearing" preservative that's gone before the solution comes in contact with your eyes.

Be sure to pay shut attention to the expiration dates on all contact lens solutions, especially preservative-free solutions. Non-aerosol preservative-complimentary saline, for example, should be discarded within two weeks subsequently you open it to reduce the risk of contagion.

What's Most Pop? Ease Of Apply

Most soft contact lens wearers these days adopt multipurpose solutions for their contact lens care regimen due to ease of use — only one production is required for cleaning, disinfecting and rinsing the lenses.

Simply hydrogen peroxide intendance systems (fifty-fifty though they are a little more than cumbersome) sometimes are a better pick — especially if you lot develop discomfort problems with silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

In a recent study published by Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, using a hydrogen peroxide lens disinfecting organization daily significantly reduced mucus and lipid deposits and increased the surface wettability of silicone hydrogel lenses compared with using a multipurpose solution — factors frequently associated with greater wearing comfort.

Store Brands

Yous may take noticed that stores like your chemist's and grocer sell store-branded contact lens care products, likewise known equally "private label" products. Oftentimes they are considerably cheaper than name-brand products. Should yous use them?

These products are safe and FDA-approved, or they couldn't be sold. Simply there are potential problems. Sometimes private label products are made from older formulations, which don't offering the same advantages as newer products.

But here's a bigger trouble: As y'all know, you shouldn't switch products without consulting your doctor to make sure the new solution is compatible with your lenses. Let's say that y'all buy a bottle of Store-make 10, bring it to your doctor, and he gives you the OK. You use the product, and everything is cracking.

Next time you lot purchase Store-make 10, it may not be the same product. That's because the store doesn't, of course, make its own solution. They buy information technology from a supplier. If a better deal comes along, they might switch suppliers — and even formulations — but yet sell the revised production under the "Store-brand X" name. And the revised formulation may or may not be right for your eyes or your detail contact lenses.

Contact Lens Intendance Must-Knows

Once you've decided which product you'd like to attempt, discuss your plans with your eye dr.. Don't switch brands until you determine that the new make is compatible with your other products and with your contact lenses.

Regardless of which intendance regimen or brands you employ, remember:

Never touch solution bottle tips to any surface, including your torso: this tin can cause contagion of the solution.
Avoid getting tap water on your contact lenses and accessories, equally it tin conduct a microorganism called Acanthamoeba that causes serious centre infections.
Recollect to clean your contact lens accessories (lens case, cleaning/disinfecting devices, enzymatic cleaner vials and so on) as directed.
Lens cases should be rinsed with hot tap water and dried when not in utilize. (Because Acanthamoeba cysts may be present in tap water and can survive for years after drying, some centre doctors recommend using merely contact lens disinfecting or multipurpose solution for this step.)
Recent studies suggest that wiping your case with a make clean tissue and/or placing information technology upside-down on another clean tissue may be boosted practiced steps in keeping bacteria biofilms off the case. Ask your center dr. what he or she thinks.
Throw out your contact lens case every three months to reduce your take chances of infection.

About importantly, clean and disinfect your contact lenses once a day. If you lot wear extended wear contacts, make clean and disinfect the lenses equally soon as you remove them, unless they are designed to be discarded immediately afterward use. Not only volition your eyes exist safer and healthier, but your contact lenses volition exist more comfortable to wear, too.

Healthy contact lens wear and care. U.Due south. Centers for Illness Control and Prevention (CDC). world wide web.cdc.gov/contactlenses/index.html. May 2017.

Event of lens care arrangement on silicone hydrogel contact lens wettability.Contact Lens & Anterior Eye. Published online ahead of print, July 2015.

The effectiveness of various cleaning regimens and current guidelines in contact lens case biofilm removal.Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Scientific discipline. July 2011.

Impact of air-drying lens cases in diverse locations and positions.Optometry and Vision Science. July 2010.

Contact lens and lens storage example cleaning instructions: whose advice should nosotros follow?Middle & Contact Lens. March 2010.

Survival of Acanthamoeba cysts later desiccation for more than 20 years.Journal of Clinical Microbiology. December 2008.

Page published in February 2019

Page updated in January 2022