Caring for Your Overnight Lenses

The Evening Routine

Do this immediately before you get into bed, not an hour earlier. A rigid lens worn on an open eye for a long stretch before sleep is less comfortable and collects more debris.

1. 1

   Wash and dry your hands

   Soap, warm water, twenty seconds, then dry completely with a lint-free towel. Drying is not a formality. Water left on your fingers is the most common route for water to reach a lens.

2. 2

   Set up a clean surface

   Work over a closed drain with a clean towel laid flat. A dropped lens lands on cloth instead of vanishing into plumbing.

3. 3

   Clean the first lens

   Place the lens in your palm, apply a few drops of the prescribed cleaner, and rub gently with a fingertip for about twenty seconds on both surfaces. Rubbing removes the deposit film that soaking leaves behind.

4. 4

   Rinse with the prescribed solution

   Rinse thoroughly with the rinsing solution you were given. Never with water. Never with saliva.

5. 5

   Add the wetting drop and insert

   Place a drop of the recommended wetting or insertion solution in the bowl of the lens, then insert. The fluid cushion reduces the chance of trapping an air bubble.

6. 6

   Repeat for the second lens, then check

   Do the second eye the same way. Blink several times and confirm both eyes feel settled and see reasonably clearly. Persistent grit means a lens needs to come out, be rinsed, and go back in.

7. 7

   Empty and dry the case

   Discard the old solution, rinse the case with fresh solution, and leave it open and face down on a clean tissue to air-dry overnight. A permanently wet case is a biofilm farm.

The Morning Routine

1. 1

   Rehydrate before removing

   Put a drop of preservative-free lubricant in each eye and blink several times. A lens that has dried against the cornea overnight should be floated loose before removal rather than pulled.

2. 2

   Wash and dry your hands again

   Same standard as the evening. Morning hands are not cleaner.

3. 3

   Remove each lens

   Use the removal technique you were trained on, whether that is the lid manipulation method or a suction plunger. Confirm the lens is in your hand or on the towel before you move on.

4. 4

   Clean, rinse, and store

   Rub and rinse exactly as you do at night, then place each lens in its correctly labeled well with fresh disinfecting solution. Never top up yesterday's solution. Fill fresh, every day.

5. 5

   Check your eyes in the mirror

   Whites should be white. Vision should be clear and comfortable. For a child, this is the parent's job, every morning, for as long as the parent is supervising.

Water Is the Enemy

This is the single rule with the worst consequences for breaking it, and it is broken constantly because rinsing something under a tap feels obviously harmless. It is not. Bottled water is not sterile either. Neither is filtered water, and neither is the water in a nice hotel.

• Never rinse a lens under a tap, even briefly, even if you rinse again with solution afterward.
• Never rinse or wash the case with water. Solution only, then air-dry.
• Dry your hands completely before handling. This is the step people skip.
• Never wear the lenses swimming, showering, or in a hot tub. There is no reason to, since they come out in the morning.
• Never use saliva to wet a lens. It carries a heavy bacterial load.
• If a lens does touch water, disinfect it in fresh solution for the full recommended soaking time before wearing it again, and call us if you are unsure.

The Do and Do Not List

Travel and Nights Away

• Pack the kit in your carry-on. Case, cleaner, rinsing and disinfecting solution, insertion drops, preservative-free lubricant, a small mirror, and glasses. A delayed bag should never cost you a night of wear.
• Take more solution than you need. Running out overseas means either a missed night or a dangerous improvisation, and the improvisation is worse.
• Bring a spare case. They are inexpensive and they crack.
• Hotel water is still water. The rule does not relax because the bathroom is nice.
• Time zones. The effect depends on hours of wear, roughly six to eight for most patients. A short night on a red-eye flight produces a softer result the next day.
• Children at camp or a sleepover. Send a written card with the routine, our phone number, and a labeled kit. Tell the supervising adult that your child needs two minutes at a sink before bed.

Replacement and Maintenance

• Lenses. Most patients replace on a schedule of roughly one to two years, driven by surface condition, accumulated deposits, scratches, and whether the prescription has moved enough to warrant a redesign. Children in a myopia program sometimes need a redesign sooner.
• Cases. Every three months without exception. Cases are the most commonly contaminated item in the whole routine and they cost almost nothing.
• Solutions. Observe the discard date after opening, which is usually printed on the bottle and is shorter than the expiry date.
• Plungers and tools. Clean with solution and air-dry. Replace if the tip becomes rough or discolored.
• Backup glasses. Keep the prescription current. You will need them if a lens is lost, damaged, or if we ask you to stop wearing for a period.

If a lens is chipped, cracked, or has a rough edge you can feel, stop wearing it and call us. A damaged rigid lens can abrade the cornea. See Long-Term Maintenance for how replacement fits into the ongoing program, and Adaptation Guides for what normal feels like in the first two weeks.