Here’s why you should NEVER soak contact lenses in water

You are visiting friends or family and they suddenly insist on you staying over for the night. As much as you want to, there is one big hurdle – your contact lenses. You obviously don’t carry your contact lenses case and solution everywhere daily.

But what if there is no option and you have to stay back somewhere or you have suddenly run out of the cleaning and soaking solution? The obvious resort you can think of is using water. But that is going to be one big mistake.

Using water to soak contact lenses or wash them can be quite harmful says Dr. Deepak Sachdeva, Consultant Eye Surgeon,Paras Hospitals Gurgaon. There are several reasons for it. Firstly, water no matter how pure contains several minerals and salts. These do not go very well with the surface of contact lenses. Since contact lenses are very soft, water, if hard can even cause damage. In case, of tap water, it can cause infections too.

So what do you do in case you have run out of solution and there is an emergency? Dr Sachdeva says that you may soak the lenses in water for a maximum of half an hour. Also, if you need to do that ever, you need to sterilize the lenses properly before wearing them. If you ever need to soak your lenses in water overnight, use boiled and pure water. Also, visit a lab for deproteinization & sterilization before use to avoid any kind of damage to your eyes.

Deproteinization tablets are also available at selected medical stores for cleaning lenses. You can add these tablets to your lens cleaning solution in the case and soak the contact lenses overnight to disinfect them completely. Infected contact lenses can cause severe itching and burning sensation in the eyes. It can also cause eye infections. Hence, it is best to care for your lenses and always carry a mini solution bottle and lens case in your purse at all times. Learn the art of contact lens maintenance here.

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