There are many contact lens care products on the market.
You don’t need to use them all, of course. This
review might help you select contact lens solution
that is right for you.
Multipurpose contact lens solutions
Multipurpose solution cleans, rinses and disinfects your
lenses. You also store your contacts in it. Since it is
very simple to use, multipurpose solution is the favorite
of contacts lens
wearers. Some multipurpose solutions even don’t
require you to rub your lenses - Opti-Free
Express multipurpose, for example.
Multipurpose “no rub” solution is excellent
for color contact
lenses. Rubbing color contacts can damage the color,
so no rub works best for them.
Most soft contact lens
wearers can use multipurpose solution instead of a combination
of a cleaner and a saline. If your eyes are sensitive,
look for solutions that are marked “no preservatives”
– it is less likely to irritate your eyes.
Another multipurpose solution that is very effective
at disinfecting, but gentle on your eyes is Aquify
5 minute.
When buying your multipurpose solution, make sure that
it is for soft contact lenses. RGP
lenses solutions aren’t suitable for soft lenses.
Saline solution
It is used to rinse and store your lenses. Saline solution
isn’t suitable for cleaning and disinfecting your
lenses, so it always should be used in conjunction with
a cleaning solution.
Cleaning and disinfecting lens solutions
As the name suggests, it is for cleaning your lenses.
Pour a little bit on your palm and give your lens a 10-15
seconds gentle rub. Then rinse your lenses in a saline.
Make sure you rinse your contacts properly – cleaners
can irritate your eyes. Mira
Flow by Ciba Vision or Pure Eyes cleaner would
do a very good job.
Contact lens solutions for hard lenses (RGP lenses)
If you wear RGP (rigid gas permeable) contacts, you
need special cleaners for them. These cleaners aren’t
suitable for soft lenses. Lobob Optimum RGP is a cleaning
and storing solution (like multipurpose solution for RGP
lenses). Alternatively you can store your RGP lenses in
the saline, this would be much cheaper.
RGP cleaners might be hard to find in ordinary chemist
shop. You can get it from your eye doctor or order it
online.
Hydrogen peroxide solution
This solution is also used for cleaning, disinfecting,
rinsing and storing your lenses. You rinse your lenses
in a special basket, then put a basket in a cup and fill
it with the solution to clean and disinfect.
Some doctors recommend multipurpose solution over hydrogen
peroxide, because peroxide solution can irritate your
eyes. Hey are also much more expensive than multipurpose
solutions.
There are also cleaning / disinfecting devices on the
market. These aren’t solutions; the cleaning is
done by ultrasonic waves or ultraviolet. They are quite
new on the market, but they work very well.
Most contact lens manufacturers recommend that you use
their solution as well. Even though they obviously have
an ulterior motive, this suggestion makes sense. Contact
lenses by different companies are made of more or
less the same materials, but there are slight differences.
And the solution by each manufacturer is formulated to
work on their lenses better than on the others. However,
it doesn’t mean that you can’t use a solution
by different brand, just try the products of the same
brand as your contacts first.
