Wearing contact lenses offers exceptional freedom of vision. However, as it is a medical device in direct contact with your eye, rigorous hygiene is key to ensuring long-term visual comfort and, above all, to preserving the health and longevity of your cornea.
At Michils Opticians in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, we support our wearers with particular expertise in specialised lenses (spherical, toric, bifocal, progressive, semi-permeable, orthokeratology...). Here are the essential precautions that every wearer should integrate into their daily routine.
1. The golden rule: Hand washing
This is the simplest advice, but also the most neglected. Your hands are in constant contact with surfaces that may be contaminated with bacteria or particles.
Before any handling: Wash your hands thoroughly with a mild soap (unscented, without greasy agents) and dry them with a lint-free towel.
Why? Avoid transferring microorganisms to the lens, which is the primary cause of infectious keratitis.
2. The scrupulous adherence to the replacement cycle
A contact lens, whether daily, bi-weekly or monthly, has a polymer structure designed for a specific lifespan.
Never exceed the date: A lens worn beyond its prescribed duration loses its oxygen permeability (Dk/t) and promotes the accumulation of protein and lipid deposits.
Consequence: These deposits irritate the cornea and can cause neovascularisation (the appearance of small blood vessels) in response to lack of oxygen.
3. The maintenance of the case: The forgotten daily task
If you use contact lenses with frequent replacement, your case is your second bacterial reservoir.
The protocol: After each use, empty the case, rinse it with your cleaning solution (never use tap water) and let it air dry, turned upside down.
Renewal: Change your storage case every 2 months at most to avoid the formation of biofilms resistant to cleaning solutions.
4. Tap water and lenses: A total incompatibility
It is an absolute rule: the contact lenses must never come into contact with tap water, spring water or distilled water. Water contains micro-organisms, including acanthamoeba, a parasite capable of causing severe corneal infections. Only use the multi-purpose or oxidative solutions recommended by your optician or optometrist.
5. Listening to your eye: Knowing how to remove your lenses
The eye is the best indicator of your eye health. If you experience a foreign body sensation, persistent blurred vision or unusual eye redness:
Remove your lenses immediately.
Switch back to wearing glasses.
Contact your ophthalmologist or the Michils Opticians team: If in doubt, we are here to carry out a quick initial check and verify key parameters.
Why trust Michils Opticians for your lenses?
Personalised follow-up is at the heart of our profession at Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. Whether for standard lenses or for more complex fittings, our team puts its expertise at your service to ensure optimal and safe fitting.
Do you have doubts about your current equipment or would you like to have an assessment? Make an appointment online or come and see us at 114 Rue de l'Église, 1150 Brussels , near Kraainem, Wezembeek-Oppem, Woluwe Saint Lambert.