Do you wear contact lenses? You may be wondering how to clean them properly. Better yet, you may get dry eyes from wearing contact lenses. Is it okay to use the solution for your contacts as eye drops? And if not, why? You can find the answer to that question and much more below. Let’s gets started on that now!

What Is Contact Solution?

A contact solution for contact lenses is a specially prepared chemical solution that is designed to clean the contacts gently without damaging them. You can think of the solution as something to disinfect the contact lenses. The contact solution will keep the contact lenses clean and hydrated when they are not being used.

What Is the Difference Between Contact Solution and Saline Solution?

Lagrange Eye Care, a Poughkeepsie optometry center, notes that it is important to understand the difference between the two solutions you use for your contacts. There is contact solution that is used as a disinfectant and gentle cleaner, and then there is saline solution. Saline is simply pH balanced saltwater. It is used to rinse the lenses off before putting them into the eye after they have been in contact solution.

Can You Use Contact Solution?

To get straight to the point, you should not use your contact solution for eye drops. The contact solution is made to disinfect your contact lenses, not to hydrate the eye. There is a reason why saline solution is made, so you can rinse the contact solution off before placing them in the eyes.

What Can You Use?

So, your eyes are very dry, and you may not know what can be used in your eye to hydrate them. Contact lenses can make the eye very dry. Use a top of the line eye drop to hydrate the eyes without damage. Particularly one designed for use with contact lenses.

You can find some eye drops for use with contact lenses at Review of Ophthalmology.

What If That Still Doesn’t Work?

It may seem like a complete loss when your eyes will not become hydrated no matter how many eye drops you may use. There is still some hope. Some patients that wear contact lenses have to use a special eye drop from their doctor to cure their dry eyes. Talk to your eye doctor about dry eyes and see what he or she recommends to help resolve the issue.

Can You Use Saline Solution as Eye Drops?

The saline solution that is designed to clean off your contact lenses can be used as an eye drop in place of actual eye drops. Before doing so, it is important to note that saline solution was not made for that. It may make the eyes feel a bit more hydrated when used, but it is still important to use the actual eye drops intended for such.

Should You Stop Wearing Contacts Due to Dry Eyes?

A lot of people quit wearing contact lenses due to the dry eyes they experience when wearing them. Even though dry eye can be a common complaint when wearing contact lenses, you should not give up on contacts just yet. By talking to your doctor, you may get the help that you need to wear contacts as intended.

Contacts should not feel dry and uncomfortable all the time. If you have dry eyes, talk to your eye doctor about a prescription eye drop to help promote actual real tears to hydrate the eyes.

Some Important Information

There are some very important tips to maintaining healthy eyes even when wearing contact lenses. It is good to keep the eye comfortable and moisturized. If you ever have any questions regarding your contact lenses, contact your local eye doctor for more help and information.

• Always remove your contact lenses before going to bed every night. Contact lenses should not be worn overnight. Switch to glasses at this time.
• Always use the contact solution made for your contacts. Do not try to make your own solution.
• If you are experiencing any eye discomfort or redness, remove your contact lenses and call your eye doctor immediately. This could be an infection. Even pink eye can get behind the eye and enter the brain, resulting in death. Always get medical help in case of an infection.

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Hopefully, all of this information above was helpful to you. Please take good care if your eyes and only use what is intended for eye drops as such. If you want some more information on eye drops, you can check out this informational YouTube video.