Eye health resource
4 Steps for Safely Cleaning Reusable Contact Lenses
Reusable contact lenses need cleaning and disinfection with the prescribed care system. Learn how to wash and dry your hands, rub and rinse lenses, use fresh solution, care for the case, avoid water, and follow the replacement schedule.
Reviewed for accuracy by Justin Bazan, OD on .
These cleaning steps apply to reusable contact lenses. Daily disposable lenses are designed for one day of wear and should be discarded after removal rather than cleaned, stored, and worn again.
For reusable lenses, the correct care system depends on the lens material and what your eye doctor prescribed. Soft lenses, rigid gas-permeable lenses, scleral lenses, and Ortho-K lenses do not necessarily use the same products.
Step 1: Wash and Dry Your Hands
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your lenses or eyes. Rinse away the soap and dry your hands completely with a clean, lint-free towel.
Wet hands can transfer waterborne organisms to a lens, so drying is part of safe contact-lens handling.
Step 2: Rub and Rinse Reusable Lenses With the Prescribed Solution
For many reusable soft-lens systems, current CDC guidance is to place the lens in the palm of your hand, apply the recommended disinfecting solution, gently rub the lens as directed, and rinse it with fresh solution.
Use the product and method prescribed for your lens. Some rigid or specialty lenses require different cleaners, conditioning solutions, or filling solutions.
Never use tap water, bottled water, homemade saline, or saliva to clean or rinse a contact lens.
Step 3: Disinfect and Store the Lenses in Fresh Solution
Place reusable lenses in a clean case with fresh disinfecting solution. Do not “top off” yesterday's solution by adding fresh liquid to what is already in the case. Mixing new and used solution reduces disinfection effectiveness.
Saline solution can rinse a lens in situations where the care system calls for it, but saline does not disinfect contact lenses.
Hydrogen-peroxide systems require the special case supplied with the product and enough time for the peroxide to neutralize fully before the lenses go in the eyes. Never put non-neutralized hydrogen peroxide directly into the eye.
Step 4: Care for the Case and Follow the Replacement Schedule
After inserting your lenses, empty the case. Rub and rinse the case with fresh contact-lens solution rather than water, then allow it to air-dry upside down with the caps off on a clean tissue.
Replace the case at least every three months or sooner if your care system or doctor recommends it.
Replace the lenses themselves on the prescribed schedule. A two-week or monthly lens is not meant to be worn indefinitely just because it still feels comfortable.
Keep Contact Lenses Away From Water
Remove contacts before swimming or showering whenever possible. Water can expose lenses to organisms that may cause severe corneal infection.
This matters for reusable lenses, daily disposables, scleral lenses, and specialty lenses. If a lens is accidentally exposed to water, follow the care instructions for your particular lens and contact your eye-care provider if you are unsure whether it should be discarded or disinfected.
When Should You Stop Wearing a Lens?
Remove your contacts if you develop pain, marked redness, light sensitivity, discharge, or a meaningful drop in vision. Do not keep wearing the lens to see whether the symptoms improve.
Contact-lens wearers with those symptoms may need prompt evaluation because corneal infection can progress quickly.
Contact Lens Care at Park Slope Eye
Park Slope Eye provides contact lens exams and fittings for spherical, toric, multifocal, monovision, scleral, GP/RGP, Ortho-K, and other specialty lenses. We teach the care system appropriate for the specific lens rather than assuming one routine fits every material.
If your current lenses are uncomfortable or you are unsure whether your cleaning routine is appropriate, book an appointment or email the office with your question.
Originally published . Substantially updated .