Poor eyesight comes to so many people as they get older and some follow the glasses route whilst others prefer to opt for contact lenses.
The advantage of glasses is that if they get dirty (as they invariably will do) then it is easy enough to clean them with a cloth but contacts be they hard or soft need a different type of upkeep.
Helpful advice for contact lens users in Belgium with the most important, never use tap water to clean them
Recently, Charles Bruninx of the Belgian Association of Opticians made a public statement warning people to never even consider using tap water to clean their lenses as it is potentially very dangerous due to the fact that bacteria of some sort may be present in water.
Although the likelihood is tiny, there is a possibility that in a worst case scenario, someone whose eyes become infected from use of water on lenses could actually go blind.
The same advice is repeated for cleaning of your lens container which should be kept in a dry place (as opposed to a bathroom where moisture can build up) and the case itself should be replaced every three months of so.
The only safe way to clean lenses according to Bruninx is to use a commercially approved lens solution and even then there should be no ‘polishing’ of the lenses, rather they should be left to dry naturally.
An obvious extension of this is to ensure that you remove your lenses if you go swimming or if that leaves you unable to see, then ensure that you use proper waterproof goggles to protect the lenses from water contamination.
When deciding to choose lenses which ideally should be changed daily whenever possible, it is best to spend some time discussing with your optician your lifestyle, expectations from use of lenses, understanding of the pros and cons of hard, soft and even hybrid lenses and try to obtain the most comfortable that you can afford.
