Contact lens cleaning: fresh solution matters

Follow your care system

Cleaning removes material deposited on a lens; disinfection reduces harmful microorganisms through a specified process. A rinse alone is not the same process as a complete disinfection cycle. Saline can have a rinsing role when instructed, but it is not a disinfectant. Multipurpose systems and peroxide systems have different instructions and cases. Old liquid in a case is not a useful reserve: topping it up with fresh solution does not reset its condition.

Use the solution recommended for your lenses and follow its instructions. Do not top up old solution with fresh solution. Hydrogen peroxide systems need their specified neutralisation process before lenses go back into your eyes.

Remember the case

CDC recommends rubbing and rinsing the case with fresh solution, then emptying and drying it. Ask your practitioner when to replace the case and how your lens replacement schedule differs from the cleaning schedule.

A worked example

Read the bottle as a sequence, not a list of optional features: use the correct solution and case, follow the stated rubbing/rinsing steps where required, use fresh liquid and allow the entire required soak. Keep a backup pair of glasses for times when that process cannot be completed. If you cannot remember whether the minimum time elapsed, guesswork is not a replacement for the instructions. Daily disposables should be discarded after use rather than put through a homemade reuse routine.