On any given day, I will generally see between five and ten patients who wear soft contact lenses, so I am constantly relating the information that will follow. I would love to simply write it down and hand it to each patient, but I can’t trust everyone to read it! And everyone who wears contacts should know the following:
If you use a multi-purpose solution (aka “MPS” or “all-in-one”), you should absolutely rub your lenses with solution each night when you remove them and before you store them. I know many solutions used to tout their “no-rub” capabilities, but such advertising schemes have largely been done away with at this point because the eye care industry has realized that lenses perform better when they are rubbed! Without the rub, lenses develop a build-up of deposits and film, which results in a less comfortable lens that irritates the eye, especially towards the end of the month or two weeks that the lenses are worn. Rub, rinse, then store. At night works better than in the morning so the deposits don’t have all night to more tightly bind the lens surface. Daily disposables are great because there is no chance for build-up when using new fresh lenses every day.
Every morning after lenses are removed from the case and placed on your eyes, you MUST dump out the old lens solution! Studies have shown that patients who retain the used solution and “top off” the next night are at the highest risk for the worst infections. Completely mandatory here.
If you have problems with lens discomfort, whether end of day, end of month, or all the time; it may be related to your lens solution. This can especially be true of store brand solutions, which are generally older formulations with less elegant preservatives that can irritate the eye. Store brand formulations can also change from year to year, so you may start out ok and have problems later.
Of course, discomfort can also come from not replacing lenses as directed, not rubbing your lenses, or various other factors. If I have a patient who is generally happy with their lenses and solution but would like a mild improvement, I will first have them make sure they are rubbing lenses nightly, following the proper replacement schedule, and using the solution properly (read: not topping off!). Next step is to try a different solution – we have endless samples of all the best ones – and if all else fails, switch lenses. Of course, this is all assuming a good lens fit. If I observe a poor lens fit, we change that first.
Last tip on solutions: if good comfort cannot be achieved with any MPS, ask your doctor for a sample of Clear Care. It is a hydrogen peroxide-based nighttime disinfecting and storage solution that does a fantastic job of keeping lenses free of deposits and film. What’s more, it ends up being preservative-free to the eye, taking yet another irritant out of the picture. I generally don’t start patients on this unless they have a history of problems, simply because it’s not quite as straightforward to use, in my opinion. But it’s awesome stuff.
Costco Eye Doctor 