Colored contacts are expensive, but they can change your appearance almost instantly. They are a wonderful investment, but it also means that you must care for them properly. Here are the most common products that are used to care for lenses.
• Saline solutions: Saline solutions are used to rinse and clean colored contacts and prescription lenses. These products are designed to be a neutral pH of 7.5 which is the pH of saliva. It will also contain hyaluronan, boric acid, sodium borate, edetate disodium, and sodium chloride with disinfection products. Brand specific products may contain additional ingredients, but these are the most common ingredients.
• Powder: Apart from saline solutions, companies also offer powder sachets that can be mixed with saline water to create an intensive cleaning solution. These solutions can be used cold as daily cleaners but they work better in a heated cleansing unit.
• Solutions with enzyme removal properties: Some solutions will contain protein removal ingredients as well. These solutions are usually tagged as “all-in-one” and they can be a little more expensive than ordinary saline solutions. Although these products do work in removing protein deposits, we recommend using enzyme tablets regularly.
• Enzyme removal: This is available usually in tablet form, however, solutions have recently become available. The solution usually contains about 3% hydrogen peroxide which dissolves protein deposits on the lenses.
• Allergy-remedy cleaners: A small percentage of users develop allergies to the cleaning products. For these users, preservative-free cleaners and enzyme removers are available for use. Apart from these preservative-free products, eye-soothing drops are also available to reduce redness after frequent use of contact lenses. Be sure to play close attention to expiry dates as it may exacerbate existing infections or allergies.
• Rewetting products: These solutions are designed to rewet the lens and keep the eyes moist during dry weather or when the lenses have been worn for a long period of time. The products are available as eye drops or as eye mists.
• Washing machines: There are small units that can be used by consumers to automatically clean their lenses. Although products are available, they can be a little expensive and not viable for daily use.
Most companies have their own brands of cleaning products for their lenses. We recommend using only brand-specific products to prevent damaging your lenses. Do not switch products based on price or frequency of use.