How to put in contact lenses and other beginners tasks

For new users, spotting an inverted contact lens can sometimes be a little tricky so time and patience is important. Rigid lenses cannot lose their shape and are therefore impossible to turn inside out but soft permeable lenses can be easily reversed.

Placing the lens on the tip of your finger will enable you to see its shape which should be similar to a cup or half ball. A v-shape will indicate that the lens is turned inside out and needs to be switched before you can wear it.

If your lenses have a coloured tint around the rim or laser markings (often numbers) you can use these to help to determine which way around the lens is. Handling tints, usually blue or green, should be bold rather than faded. Laser marked numbers should read correctly from left to right rather than being backwards or upside down.

With practice, inserting your contact lens will become second nature but at first you will need to be prepared to be patient and follow the instructions carefully. It is very important that you ensure your hands are thoroughly clean before handling your lenses; wash them with a natural soap that is free from scents, oils and lanolin, ensuring that no traces remain.

• Shake your lens storage container so that the solution gently loosens the lenses in case they have become stuck. Contact lenses are delicate and can be easily damaged so you should not attempt to release them with your fingers. Allowing the solution to loosen the lenses from the container is advisable.
• Placing the lenses in your palm, use a specialised lens solution to rinse them. This will remove any lingering dirt or dust that could cause irritation to your eyes.
• Place the first lens on the tip of your finger.
• Looking either straight ahead or upwards, position the contact lens on your eye. Alternatively place it carefully on the white of your eye on the side closest to your ear.
• To help to position the lens correctly, close your eye slowly and roll it 360 degrees, blink once or twice and open your eye.
• You should now enjoy excellent vision and there should not be any discomfort from wearing the lens. It is worth looking closely in a mirror to check that the lens is positioned correctly.

Before removing your lenses, it is important to ensure that your hands are clean. When removing them it is easy to accidentally drop them so choose an appropriate place, such as a flat surface, and watch out for places, including sink drains, that the lens could fall down.

If you have soft permeable lenses, using your index finger and thumb, lift your upper eyelid and lower one and, with your other hand, gently slide the lens onto the white of your eye. From here it should be possible to take hold of the lens and to lift it out.

If you have rigid lenses, the method of removing them is slightly different. You should lean over your open palm, stretch your eyelids with the fingers on your other hand, and blink. The lens should drop out easily into your hand.

It is advisable to have short nails, at least while you become accustomed to removing contact lenses, as it is easy to damage the lens and your eye while your confidence grows. Also, special tools are available from opticians which can help to remove your contact lenses but you must take care not to touch your eye with these should you decide to use one.

As many can testify, getting a little make up in the eye can cause irritation and discomfort but the problems are likely to be worse if you are wearing contact lenses as the make-up may stick to the lens and prove difficult to wash clean. This will cause not only discomfort but will severely affect your vision. Taking precautions are therefore important to ensure that your eyes remain a make-up free zone.

It is vital that you insert your contact lenses with clean hands before you use make up to help to prevent contamination to your eye.

Non-allergenic brands of make-up are advisable and there is no shortage of choices available in supermarkets, pharmacists and beauty stores.

Try to select a water-based eye shadow which is easier to clean off, less likely to get into your eye and will cause less irritation if it does come into contact with your eye.

Keep your eyes firmly closed when applying make-up and remove all excess with a suitable make up brush, paying particular attention to the area surrounding your eyes.

When removing make up make sure that your hands are clean and take care that your lenses do not touch any part of your skin which has make up applied, to prevent contamination. Using a suitable make up remover, work away from your eyes in all directions.

Replace all make up after the manufacturer's recommended time limit to prevent the build up of bacteria which could lead to an eye infection.

The correlation between UV light and cataracts has been increasingly proven in recent years. While UV-blocking contact lenses are widely available is important to realise that these do not, by themselves, provide adequate protection from the sun's harmful rays and should be supplemented by appropriate sunglasses to protect the entire eye and the surrounding area.