Decorative contact use has become mainstream, influencing not only adolescents but kids as well. With this rising trend, myriad contact lens sellers have popped up, not unlike mushrooms after a storm. With the vast number of stores available, picking a trustworthy one is a major challenge for consumers.

Adding to the confusion is the hectic shopping sprees induced by the holiday seasons, especially Christmas and Halloween. The latter is a time when the need for decorative contacts increases. Do not be swayed by the alacritous atmosphere of the festivities; be deliberate and circumspect still in choosing a contact lens! Remember, the health of your eyes is at stake. Follow the guidelines below and let the party begin!

Risk-Free Sprees

In most processes, the initial steps significantly affect the outcome. In this light, you have to start your buying procedure with getting your eyes checked first by a licensed practitioner. A lot of buyers skip this as they deem it consumes too much time and money, ignoring its importance. Determining whether you have eye conditions that prevent you from wearing contacts or you don’t is critical if you value your health. Adding to the essentiality of this step is this: your optometrist will not only check the condition of your eyes but will also measure them. The measurement will identify what contact fits your eye's shape. He will provide you with a prescription too. Stipulated in it will be important information like lens measurement, brand name, and expiration date.

Nowadays, a lot of lens providers advertise some of their products as fit for all eyes, something that should be taken with more than a grain of salt. No two eyes are of the same measurement and wearing ill-fitting contacts can cause eye irritation and even damage. Some suppliers don't provide adequate instruction as well regarding usage of contact lenses, probably because their staff has zero knowledge about their supplies and how to safely use their merchandise. Avoid buying from these firms even—and especially so—if their prices are very cheap. It wouldn't hurt if you opt for the more reliable (and hence expensive) brands than invest cash in cheaper ones but end up spending more in the future for eye treatment.

When buying online, there are also measures you have to undertake. One is evaluating the reputability of your supplier and checking if its clientele hasn’t made complaints against it. Moreover, read their corporate policies.

Directions before and during Contact Wear

After getting your purchased product, scrutinize the bottle, case, lenses, labels, solution, and the lenses’ expiry date. Check for any defect and tears. Be very particular about the solution’s expiry date. If its expiration period has come and gone, chances are, the lenses are as useless as the solution they came with.

Now while you might think that this is all too troublesome for you, inspection is beneficial in a lot ways. One example is when you spot cracks in the bottle or on the lenses themselves, you can promptly return the merchandise to your supplier and ask for a replacement. This is only possible if your provider has a return or replacement policy. If everything mentioned is fine, proceed to the next steps.

Disinfect your lenses (twice at least) before actual use. Soak them for eight hours inside the solution. Before having handling them, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Gently insert each lens in your eye (start from the right) and make sure each is properly positioned. If not, slowly blink until the lens aligns itself right. During makeup application, be very careful not to pepper cosmetic residue on your eyes and lenses. The best solution to avoid this is putting on the lenses before you apply makeup. When using hair spray or perfume, close your eyes. Just like with makeup though, you can opt to apply perfume and hair sprays first before inserting the lenses.

When wearing contacts, there are rules you have to strictly follow. These are:

• Do not share your lenses with your friends. Lenses are delicate; the less hands handling the lenses the better. Also, just like combs and underwear, contact lenses are personal items. There’s no sense contracting communicable diseases if it can be helped.
• Do not overuse your contacts and remove them right away when arriving home.
• Avoid sleeping while wearing them. When you do, these can get misaligned and cause irritation, and worse, permanent eye damage.

If ever you catch eye infection, consult an eye doctor and get your eyes treated as soon as possible.

Maintenance Instruction

Monthly and biweekly disposable contacts need to be cleansed every night. If your lenses fall under any of the preceding types, disinfect them well and stow them in a sterilized case. Be aware that though there may be lenses designed for extended use, wearing these frequently and for a longer timespan increases the risk of your eyes getting infected. Nothing beats a nightly cleaning and disinfection to keep your contacts in good shape. If you are using daily disposables however, know that these have been designed to be just one-shot affairs.

Taking good care of your contacts is tantamount to keeping your eyes well.