The Importance of Eye Exams for Contact Lens Users

Eye exams offer more than just diagnosing your blurry vision. There are a lot of vision problems that affect the lives of people all over the world. And when it comes to keeping your eyes safe, eye exams are at the top of the list.

From refractive errors to serious optical diseases, eye exams are the first step in dealing with vision problems. After all, you need to know what’s wrong with your eyes in order to fix them.

For this reason, having your eyes checked regularly is very important if you use contact lenses.

Do You Really Need Eye Exams?

You don’t really need a lot of checkups to have your eyes diagnosed properly. In fact, a contact lens prescription will only take a few minutes with your doctor.

After that, you won’t really have to get your eyes checked for a year or so. However, this generally depends on your optical needs and your doctor’s recommendations.

For the most part, having your eyes checked is important for a number of crucial reasons. For example, constant headaches may be a sign of refractive error.

Additionally, regular eye exams can help you keep track of your overall eye health.

Importance of Eye Exams: 4 Reasons to Have Your Eyes Checked

If you’re planning on buying contact lenses, you need to get your eyes checked as soon as possible. Buying contact lenses without the right eye exams and prescriptions can lead to eye problems.

After all, an optometrist needs to check your eyes to prescribe the right lens specifications.

In addition, eye exams can also help you detect possible eye conditions for earlier treatment. After all, prevention is always better than cure.

So if you want to protect your eyes in the long run, check out the top benefits of having eye exams.

1. Detect Problems with Eye Exams

As mentioned above, you have a better chance of avoiding long-term optical diseases if you have regular checkups. Some serious eye conditions can start with very minimal symptoms that only a thorough checkup can identify.

When you have the right diagnosis, you can easily deal with eye problems before it’s too late. Additionally, treating problems early on will also get you a better chance of quick and full recoveries.

This is particularly important if you suffer from retinal-related issues. With this in mind, having your eyes checked is essential even if you only experience minor vision problems.

2. Deal with Refractive Errors

A lot of people deal with refractive errors such as farsightedness (hyperopia) and nearsightedness (myopia). In fact, astigmatism is one of the most common types of refractive error in both adults and children. While older people often struggle with presbyopia which is somewhat similar to nearsightedness.

If you have any of these eye problems, you can easily correct it by using eyeglasses or contact lenses. You also have the choice of undergoing refractive surgery to fix your vision.

However, you’ll need to have an eye exam before you can do any of these options. This is because only a certified eye doctor can determine the type of correction you need for your vision.

3. Keep Track of Your Visual Needs

Our bodies naturally become weaker as we get older. Similarly, it’s perfectly natural for your vision to gradually decrease as time passes by.

For this reason, having your eyes checked at least once a year can help you keep track of your vision. After all, you need to make sure that you keep your eyes as healthy as they possibly can be.

Having regular checkups is also important if you already suffer from certain eye conditions. For example, people who suffer from refractive errors may need stronger lenses if they issue progress.

For colored-contacts users, taking annual eye exams can help you ensure that your lenses aren’t affecting your vision.

Eye Allergies

Eye allergies are also a prevailing issue that you may not be aware of. In fact, some people can actually be allergic to their contact lenses or disinfecting solutions.

If your products cause any sort of eye irritation, you need to stop using them immediately.

Additionally, you should consult your optometrist as soon as you can to find quick solutions for your allergies.

4. Get the Right Contact Lens Prescription

If you already own a pair of lenses, you should know enough about the importance of having a prescription. After all, you can’t safely buy contact lenses without them.

However, if you don’t have a contact lens prescription yet, we highly urge you to get them. This prescription can help you avoid lens-related problems and ensure a safe contact lens experience.

First of all, a contact lens prescription is different from an eyeglasses prescription. With this in mind, you need to have an eye exam specifically for a contact lens prescription.

You’re prescription will have crucial details such as the shape of your eyes and your required lens power.

These details will help ensure that you get the correct type of lenses that suit your specific optical requirements.

Simple Tips to Keep Your Eyes Healthy

With the development of better optical products, more people are using contact lenses these days. In fact, more than 100 million people rely on contacts for vision correction and cosmetic purposes.

However, a lot of these contact lens users practice poor lens-care habits.

To be precise, a study shows that over 90 percent of contacts users have at least one bad lens-care habit.

This means that millions of people are at risk of developing mild to severe eye problems because of contact lenses.

With all things considered, you need to make sure that you’re using and caring for your lenses correctly. And learning the basics in contact lens maintenance is a good place to start.

Luckily, we’ve got a list that can guide you through the basics of contact lens care.

1. Clean Your Hands

The first and most important tip that we have is keeping your hands clean. Your contact lenses are delicate tools that can easily get contaminated.

This means that handling your lenses with dirty hands can put your eyes at risk of dirt and infection.

Follow these easy tips to keep your lenses clean as you handle them:

Always wash your hands before you touch or remove your lenses
If possible, always wash your hands with soap and water
Never touch your lenses when you have lotion or oils on your skin
Use a clean microfiber towel to dry your hands to avoid particles
Practice washing your hands regularly even when you’re not touching your contacts

2. Disinfect Your Lenses

Unless you’re using disposable lenses, you need to regularly wash your contacts with a disinfecting solution.

This is especially if you use your contact lenses on a daily basis. After all, your lenses can accumulate a lot of dirt after a whole day of use.

You can check out this list to find out if you’re washing routine is good enough for your lenses:

Wash your lenses every evening or before going to bed
Store your lenses in a proper contact lens case
Fill your case with fresh solution every time you store your contacts
Clean your case at least once every week
You can use the same solution to clean both your lenses and their case

3. Use The Right Solution

Keeping your hands clean is not enough to ensure your lenses are safe to use. That’s why you need to stock up with the right lens-care products for your contacts.

For example, it’s essential for all lens owners to regularly disinfect their lenses with the right solution.

Read the following tips and find out if you’ve been effectively cleaning your lenses:

Wash and store your lenses with contact lens solution only
Never wash or store your contacts with water. After all, water can lead to ocular diseases that you definitely want to avoid.
Ask your doctor to recommend a reliable solution for your lenses
Always read the labels of your solution and follow the written instructions
Always use fresh solution for your lenses
Topping up or reusing old solution can lead to eye infections
Learn more about the different types of contact solution available in stores

Final Word

From eye exams to proper lens-care habits, there are lots of ways for you to keep your eyes safe. As long as you practice good eye-care habits, you won’t have to worry too much about your vision.

However, it’s also a good idea to have annual eye exams just to be sure. After all, keeping your eyes healthy and strong should be your top priority especially if you use contact lenses.

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