How to Remove Proteins From Contact Lenses
You rely on your contact lenses to provide crystal clear vision that you can wear daily 3. However, contacts require careful maintenance to prevent protein buildup. Proteins are naturally found in your tears and can bind to your contacts, according to Contact Lens Answers. You may notice the protein deposits on your contacts as a thin haze on the lenses. While you may utilize a contact lens solution to store your contacts, you must use a specialized protein removal solution to remove protein deposits 14. Knowing this technique is beneficial for both soft and hard contact lens wearers.
Wash your hands thoroughly with an antibacterial soap. This helps to prevent any dust or bacteria from transferring from your hands to your contact lenses, according to Contact Lens Answers 1. Dry your hands thoroughly.
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Close the contact lens case or protein basket tightly to prevent liquid from leaking out 14. Shake the lens case for half a minute to ensure the solution fully coats the contact lenses.
Allow the lenses to soak as recommended — typically two hours’ time.
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Remove the contact lenses from the protein cleaning case and rinse with a multi-purpose or saline lens solution, according to All About Vision 134. Check the contacts for bubbling after you have applied this solution and continue to apply until you note no bubbling — this signifies that there are no longer protein deposits on the contacts. Continue by either putting in your contacts or storing them in your typical solution.
Tips
Using a multi-purpose contact solution can help to remove protein buildup on a daily basis, according to Web Health Centre. If you experience regular eye infections or have concerns about protein buildup, be sure to clean the contacts weekly with a protein removal solution.
Warnings
Failure to remove protein deposits on your contacts can lead to serious eye infections and other eye complications, according to Web Health Centre.
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References
- Contact Lens Answers: Protein Removal from Contact Lenses
- Web Health Centre: Contact Lens Care
- All About Vision: Caring for Soft Contact Lenses
- Contact Lens Problems: Protein Deposits
- Kessel L, Andresen J, Tendal B, Erngaard D, Flesner P, Hjortdal J. Toric intraocular lenses in the correction of astigmatism during cataract surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. 2016;123(2):275-286. doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.10.002
- Federal Trade Commission. The contact lens rule: a guide for prescribers and sellers. Published June 2020.
- Wu YT, Willcox M, Zhu H, Stapleton F. Contact lens hygiene compliance and lens case contamination: A review. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2015;38(5):307-316. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2015.04.007
- Cope JR, Collier SA, Srinivasan K, et al. Contact lens-related corneal infections - United States, 2005-2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;65(32):817-20. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6532a2
- Cope JR, Konne NM, Jacobs DS, et al. Corneal infections associated with sleeping in contact lenses - six cases, United States, 2016-2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2018;67(32):877-881. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6732a2
- Lam JSH, Tan G, Tan DTH, Mehta JS. Demographics and behaviour of patients with contact lens-related infectious keratitis in Singapore. Annals Academy of Medicine. 2013;42(10):499-506.
- American Optometric Association. Cost of contact lenses.
Writer Bio
Rachel Nall began writing in 2003. She is a former managing editor for custom health publications, including physician journals. She has written for The Associated Press and "Jezebel," "Charleston," "Chatter" and "Reach" magazines. Nall is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Tennessee.