Soft contact lenses can be easy on your eyes and can allow you to see without having to wear glasses. Using contacts instead of wearing glasses can make it easier to participate in sports and outside activities. There are specific, easy steps you can take to ensure that the wearing of your soft contact lenses goes as smoothly as possible.

#1 Always Wash Your Hands

Before you put on contact lenses, you should always clean your hands. You don't want to transfer soaps, lotions, cosmetics, or oils from your hands to your eyes. Wash your hands using a hand soap, rinse them well, and then dry them off. If possible, dry your hands off with a lint-free towel to ensure that you don't transfer lint from your hands to your contact lenses.

#2 Always Wash Your Lenses

You also need to clean-up your lenses as well. When you get out your soft lenses, you are going to want to clean, rinse, and then apply a disinfectant to your lenses. Make sure that you take the time to properly clean your lenses each time before putting them on. You should also clean the case that holds your lenses each time you take your lenses out. Allow the lens case to air dry; don't use a towel to dry off the case, as this could transfer lint to your case as well as your contacts. This will help ensure that your lenses are as clean as possible.

#3 Cap Your Solution Bottles

Once you use the solution bottle to clean your lenses, make sure that you put the cap back on the solution bottle. Failing to put the cap back correctly on the solution bottle can lead to the solution bottle getting contaminated. This is a simple but often overlooked step that can lead to an infection.

#4 Use Fresh Eye Care Solution

Make sure that you use fresh eye care solutions. If your eye care solution has reached the expiration date, you are going to want to throw it away. If you realize that you left the cap off the bottle all day, throw the solution away and use a new one. There is no way for you to tell just by looking to see whether the solution is contaminated or not, so err on the side of caution.

#5 Be Careful with Eye Drops

If you need to use eye drops, make sure that any eye drops that you use are approved to be used with contacts. Do not use eye drops that do not specifically state on the bottle that they are safe to use with contact lenses.

If you just got soft eye contacts to wear, be sure to be careful and vigilant with being clean. Wash your hands, clean off your contact lenses, clean your lens case, and cap your solution bottle. Being vigilant about being clean will help protect your eyes.