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Care of contact lenses
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Care for gas-permeable hard contact lenses is relatively simple. They should be stored in special containers in an aquatic environment. Since many lenses contain silicone, special solutions containing cleaning, disinfectant and lubricants must be used for their processing.
Soft contact lenses, in addition to disinfection, require special methods of storage and cleaning of sediments. Currently, peroxide systems and multifunctional solutions are used for this purpose.
Peroxide systems are effective in cleaning and disinfection of lenses, but a necessary condition for their use is the neutralization of the action of peroxide. To this end, a solution of sodium thiosulfate is used.
Multifunctional solutions solve several problems at once: they clean the lens of deposits, disinfect and moisturize it, they are used to store the lens. Modern multifunctional solutions are practically non-toxic and do not cause allergies.
The general principles of care for soft contact lenses are approximately the same: at night the lens is placed in a container with a multifunctional solution, it is washed in the morning, and then it is ready for use.
Problems and inconveniences associated with the care of soft contact lenses, does not arise when using lenses of two new classes - one-day and continuous (up to 30 days) wearing. True, both the first and second are very expensive, so one-day lenses are often prescribed for periodic wearing (during sports, trips, etc.). Lenses of continuous wearing in uncomplicated cases do not really need care. We just add that this is the newest class of soft contact lenses, and so far there is not enough clinical data to confirm their complete safety.
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