You should always remember the following advice when caring for your contact lenses:

• If your eyes are red or sore, or your vision is blurry, ask your optometrist for advice
• Before handling your contact lenses, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and dry with a lint-free towel
• Check that the contact lens has not turned inside out before inserting it
• Start with your preferred contact lens so that they don’t get mixed up
• Fit contact lenses before applying makeup and take them out before removing makeup
• Keep your contact lens well lubricated at all times, either with artificial tears in your eyes, or stored in solution in your contact lens case
• Clean and disinfect your contact lenses using fresh solution after removing
• Keep a back-up pair of glasses handy, just in case
• Have an eye test every 12 months or as recommended by your optometrist

Things you should never do

• Insert contact lenses if they are damaged
• Keep disposable contact lenses longer than instructed by your optometrist
• Use contact lens solution after its expiry date
• Change contact lens solution types or disinfection procedures without consulting your optometrist
• Use medicated drops on contact lenses without your optometrist's approval
• Use tap water or saliva on your contact lenses
• Rub your eyes when wearing contact lenses
• Sleep with daily wear contact lenses in, or wear them more than once
• Wear contact lenses when swimming, unless you’re wearing goggles
• Wear another person’s contact lenses
• Place contact lenses on top of a television or any warm or hot appliance

Inserting contact lenses

1. Wash hands and dry them using a lint-free towel
2. Place the contact lens on the tip of your index finger (which should be no wetter than your eye or the contact lens) and tuck your other fingers out of the way
3. Look slightly across your nose in the mirror
4. Drag your bottom eyelid down with your middle finger
5. Place the contact lens on the sclera (white part of the eye) with the bottom edge of the contact lens touching first (the angle the contact lens is placed on your finger is crucial)
6. Press firmly and then release your eyelid
7. Massage the contact lens into place through the lids or blink a couple of times.

Removing contact lenses

1. Wash hands and dry them using a lint-free towel
2. Pull your lower eyelid down with your middle finger
3. Bend your head forward
4. Place the index finger of the same hand on the contact lens and slide it down onto the exposed sclera (white of the eye)
5. Pinch the contact lens off the eye, without squeezing it too hard, with your thumb and index finger
6. Clean and store the first contact lens before removing the second.