Contact Lens Care

• Protein Removal And Thorough Disinfection Are Important
• Soft And Hard Lens Management Principles Are The Same
• Replace With New Lenses After 1 Year Of Wearing
• How Long Can You Keep Contacts In Clear Care Solution

In Korea, people who wear glasses or contact lenses due to myopia, astigmatism, etc. are estimated to be about 1/3 of the adult population, and more than half of them are known to wear contact lenses. Recently, refractive surgery such as LASIK has been performed a lot, but the number of people who wear contact lenses is not decreasing. This is not because myopia continues to increase in Korea, but because contact lenses are very convenient, so more people prefer them to glasses.

Contact lenses do not deteriorate eyesight even when wet or sweaty, can be worn during exercise, and have a wide field of view. In particular, even in the case of high myopia, objects rarely appear smaller. However, it takes effort and time to adapt to wearing the lens, and if handled incorrectly, it may cause visual impairment due to damage to the eye, so you should learn how to manage it before using it. In particular, in summer, the time to wear lenses increases due to the increase in activity time, and the high temperature increases the growth of various bacteria, so you need to pay more attention.

The cornea needs to be continuously supplied with oxygen from the air, but when a contact lens is worn, the inflow of oxygen from the air is hindered. The partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere is about 155 mmHg, and this oxygen is dissolved in tears and supplied to the cornea. However, since the circulation of tears slows down when a contact lens is worn, oxygen must pass directly through the contact lens to reach the cornea, so the oxygen supply amount is determined according to the oxygen permeability of the contact lens material.

Recently developed lenses are made of materials that allow oxygen to pass through, but the oxygen supply to the cornea is reduced by about 20 to 50% compared to when contact lenses are not worn. In particular, oxygen supply to the cornea is lowered when wearing lenses while sleeping. Even so-called continuous wear lenses, designed to be worn for several days while sleeping, are not made of perfect materials, so oxygen supply to the cornea is reduced. When continuous wear lenses were first developed, they were advertised as being able to be worn continuously for a month, but due to corneal oxygen supply problems, only about 1 to 2 weeks of continuous wear are currently recommended, and many ophthalmologists do not wear continuous wear lenses while sleeping. There is a consensus that it is good for eye health.

If the oxygen supply to the cornea falls, the resistance of the cornea decreases. At this time, if you wear a dirty contact lens that is not properly managed, it can quickly progress to a disease, so contact lens management is very important.

Daily wear lens users should always clean the lenses after removing the lenses from their eyes after continuous wear, and continuous wear lens users should always clean the lenses. There is a slight difference in the maintenance method between soft soft lenses and slightly hard hard lenses, but the principles are the same Do.

First, it removes (sterilizes) bacteria attached to the contact lens, and secondly, it removes the attachment attached to the lens, such as protein. Bacteria attached to contact lenses can cause a terrible disease called corneal infection, and diseases such as allergies and corneal damage can occur if foreign substances such as proteins are attached.

There are two main methods of disinfection: thermal disinfection and chemical disinfection. The heat disinfection method, which has been used a lot in the past, is very effective as it disinfects the lens with heat along with the lens case. However, there is a disadvantage of shortening the lifespan of the lens, a heat sterilizer must be purchased separately, and it is difficult to implement when power is not easily available, such as when traveling.

Chemical disinfection, which is widely used recently, is a method of sterilizing by the chemical action of the oxygen generated from the solution or the disinfectant substance when contact lenses are immersed in a special disinfectant solution for a certain period of time. Due to its simplicity, its use is increasing. However, it has the disadvantage that it irritates the eyes due to the special solution and its disinfecting power is inferior to thermal disinfection.

To remove protein attached to the lens, there is a method of soaking the contact lens in an enzyme solution for a certain period of time to decompose the protein attached to the contact lens, and a method of mechanically removing the protein by rubbing the contact lens with a special cleaning solution. There is also a cleaning method using ultrasonic waves, which is a method of removing attachments on the lens by putting the contact lens in a special solution and operating the ultrasonic wave. These days, the method of mechanically removing protein deposits using a special washing solution is widely used.

Disposable lenses can be used and discarded without needing to remove proteins, but proteins and attachments must be removed from other lenses. If proteins are not removed by mechanical washing using a special cleaning solution, or users with particularly high protein attachments, It is preferable to additionally perform protein removal using an enzyme solution once.

The above lens management method is summarized as follows. When you return home at night, remove the soft lenses from your eyes. Place the lens on the palm of your hand, drop 3 to 4 drops of special cleaning solution, and gently rub both sides of the lens with your fingers about 10 to 20 times. This operation removes foreign substances and proteins attached to the lens. In particular, when using a proteolytic enzyme, put the lens in a proteolytic enzyme solution once a week. After foreign matter and protein are removed from the lens, it is washed with a rinsing solution such as saline, and after putting a preservative solution (bacterial disinfectant solution) in the lens case, the lens is inserted and stored overnight - at least 4 hours or more. After disinfecting the lens like this, take the lens out of the case the next day, wash the preservative solution with rinse water, and then wear it on your eyes.

(How Long Can You Keep Contacts In Clear Care Solution)

In the past, there were many cases in which the eyes were damaged by the disinfectant on the lens because the lens was worn on the eye without rinsing with a rinse or before the disinfectant was multiplied after the lens was disinfected, but recently released disinfectants can be used directly without rinsing. It is convenient. In addition, some companies have developed products that can remove proteins, disinfect (preserve), and even rinse with one solution, making soft lens management more convenient.

Care for hard lenses is similar to care for soft lenses. After removing the lens from the eye, protein and foreign body removal and disinfection should be performed. Once the lens is removed from the eye, apply a few drops of a special cleaning solution and rub the lens with your fingers. Unlike soft lenses, hard lenses are made of hard material, so it is better to rub them a little harder. After removing the foreign matter, rinse the lens with a rinse solution, put a preservative solution in the lens case, insert the lens, disinfect it for a certain period of time, and then take it out and use it. Like soft lens users, if a lot of protein is attached to the lens, remove the protein using an enzyme solution once a week. Unlike soft lenses, a solution that can remove proteins, disinfect, and rinse with one solution has not yet been developed for hard lenses, so appropriate solutions must be used for each step.

What should be noted in the management of contact lenses is that bacteria and protein deposits cannot be completely removed by any method. Therefore, blind faith in the lens cleaning method is prohibited, and even if contact lenses are thoroughly disinfected and attachments are removed, it is good to replace them with new contact lenses after at least one year. In developed countries in Europe and America, it is recommended to replace the lens with a new one every 6 months. This is because the lens material is worn out after 6 months to 1 year and gaps are created, making it easier for bacteria and proteins to attach and difficult to remove.

Even if you do not follow the contact lens instructions carefully or if you follow the instructions carefully, a foreign substance called a contact lens always stimulates the cornea and reduces oxygen supply, which can cause eye diseases. Therefore, if abnormal findings such as congestion, foreign body sensation, or visual impairment are found while using contact lenses, immediately stop using them and receive instructions from a specialist to prevent great misfortune in advance.