Holidays – how to look after your contact lenses

Contact lenses are great for taking with you on holidays – you don’t need to take them out when swimming, they are invisible and these days you can buy lenses online. On the down side if you don’t take good care of your lenses it can spoil your holiday. Here are a few simple tips to ensure your contact lenses don’t give you problems while you are away.

• Take a spare set with you even if the contact lenses you wear are not ones you need to replace frequently always take a spare pair with you. Lenses can easily get lost or damaged and depending on where you are holidaying it might be hard to get a replacement. If you wear daily contact lenses take what you need plus a few extras – just in case.
• When swimming try to avoid getting water in your eyes – while contact lenses are great for water sports and swimming its better if you can avoid contact with water. Water contains bacteria that can get onto your lens so it’s best to wear goggles. If you do get water in your eyes take your lenses out as soon as you can and clean them.
• Take your contact lens case and solution – solutions can often be bought in a travel size pack which saves packing larger bottles. You can also buy cases that clip onto your bottle – this prevents the items getting separated in your luggage.
• Sunglasses – while many contact lenses will block harmful UV rays they don’t cover the entire eye, nor do they reduce glare, so if you’re going to be outside a lot wear sunglasses with high UV protection and a hat and sunscreen.
• Insect repellents and sun block – be careful not to get sun block or insect repellents in your eye, this can cause an infection, if your eyes do become irritated take your lenses out and give them a good clean.

If you keep these tips in mind your contact lenses shouldn’t be a problem, leaving you free to enjoy your holiday.