How Electronics are Negatively Affecting Your Eyes and What to do about it
It is of utmost importance for you to take care of your eyesight. Eyesight is the most dominant sense in the human body, making it all the more important. This has led to numerous potential inventions being introduced in a bid to reduce the need for vision correction. Some of the inventions that have been suggested include contact lenses (soft and hard), specific glasses, and eye drops. However, these inventions tend to vary in degree. Despite all the suggestions being made, one practical idea is to advise people to put their electronic devices away. Devices such as computers, phones, and television are a part of our lives but should be used sparingly as lead to serious eye problems such as myopia.
Taking Care of Your Contact Lenses
Contact lenses have become popular for various reasons. Given how delicate they are, you must take ultimate care when handling them. When handling the lenses, one should ensure that they do so with clean hands. One should thoroughly clean their hands with soap and water and ensure they use a lint-free towel to dry them. However, not all soaps should be used, and you should avoid ones that contain cold cream and lotions. When handling the lenses, one should do so using fingertips.
Apart from the guidelines mentioned above, one should also invest in other things, especially when traveling. For example, contact lens wearers who are regular travelers one should invest in a contact lens travel kit.
Also, one should adhere to other guidelines given by relevant bodies on how to handle and ensure contact lenses are safe.
- A contact lens travel kit
For contact lens wearers, one must have a contact lens travel kit. When traveling, one does not know what you may need. A contact lens kit ensures that you have the right things you need by helping you to pack accordingly. When buying a travel kit, one should invest in kits that are of high-quality and have sturdy lens cases.
- Buy a new contact lens case every three months
In most cases, people purchasing contact lens cases are not considered a priority by most people with most buying one after they have lost the one. However, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA), one should change their contact lens cases every three months, even if the current one is in top-notch condition.
Having one case for a long time increases the chances of bacteria and microorganisms forming and producing biofilm substance. The substance helps to “hide” bacteria from disinfectant, making it hard to keep the lenses clean. Given that it is almost impossible to see biofilm without the help of scientific devices, it is only reasonable that one replace the contact lens case as advised.
So, with all the recommendations for changing the cases every three months, how can one choose a case? When selecting a contact lens case, one should consider their lifestyle. For example, for travelers, one might need a traveling lens case or perhaps a kit that can handle all contact lens accessories.
Below is some a list of some of the kits one can choose.
Types of Contact Lens Cases
- Screw Top Contact Lens Cases
These are the most common types of cases. One of the advantages is that they are both easy to open and screw back. Also, the lids are colored differently to ensure that you distinguish the various graduations of the right and left eye. These cases are also referred to as side to side contact cases, and they consist of two chambers that make it easy for you to clean the lenses. They are usually suitable for disposable contact lenses.
- Flip Top Contact Lens Cases
This is another type of case that one can choose to purchase. The flip-top contact lens cases have numerous similarities with the screw-top contact lens cases. The only notable difference is the “flip-open” lid. These cases are usually made for people who find it challenging to open and fit the screws back. Like screw-top cases, they have two chambers that help one to clean the lenses.
Contact Lens Accessories
Unless one uses daily disposable contact lenses, one will require a couple of contact lens accessories to help them keep the lenses clean. They are numerous accessories that accompany contact lenses.
Contact Lens Kits
For travelers, lens kits help people organize what they require during their journey. Usually, travel lens kits have a mirror, forceps, and suction stick to ensure that one handles the lenses with ease. Most kits have been designed to pass the airport’s tight security with no fuss.
Contact Lens Cleaner Machine
People can invest in contact lens cleaner machine to ensure the lenses are clean. The device is usually helpful for makeup artists. The machine is meticulously designed and uses ultrasonic waves to clean the lenses while minimizing the effect of wear and tear. For makeup artists, the machine helps clean stubborn makeup gunk that is not visible to the naked eye. Owning this will helps such people to maintain clean lenses.
Tips for when Travelling with your Contact Lenses
- Pay attention to the eyewear prescriptions
A few weeks to departure, one should have their eyes checked to ensure the contact lens and eyeglass prescriptions are updated. This move is especially important for people visiting other countries. One should bring a backup pair of glasses and also carry copies of the prescription.
- If possible switch to disposable contact lenses
If you envision that you will be traveling to places with less-than-ideal hygiene conditions, one should use disposable lenses. This will help you to avoid not cleaning the lenses effectively.
- Avoid wearing contact lenses while in the water
Removing contact lenses when swimming helps reduce the chances of infections. It is recommended that one should put on tight goggles when swimming. Additionally, one should get rid of soft contacts even if they are not disposable after swimming with them in.
When using contact lenses, one should ensure that they observe good contact lens health hygiene. This will ensure the chances of infections are slim.