help dirty lens

[Geraldine]

well I have a minor prob with my piggyback lens for my left eye[minor to the problems I have had with rgpa, rose k and tight fittign rose k]

I went for a vision check 3 months ago...and could only see 6/18 + 1 ....opticien discoverd it was because my lens was dirty[i had soaked it in protein removal soltion the night before so I was baffled]...
anyway he cleaned the lens and vison showed up better,..but now it is not clear again...opticien says my eye is fine[presume I am to interpret that as meaning no KC progression or anything to prohibit contact lens wear] and was to go back in three months for check up[on 28th feb]

any tips for cleanign lens...I ave posted this on several forums as the more tips i get the merrier

[Knight]

Palm of hand and little finger, heaps of saline, rinse rinse ... has worked every time for me. But I've been told that sometimes, if the lens itself keeps getting dirty, it can depend on age and if there's a few surface abrasions that 'trap' the dirt.
How old is your lens?

[Geraldine]

I rekon I have my contact 3 months[the rgp]..I piggyback[stated already]with daily disposables ..I use cleaner , saline and then leave in disinfectant over night and protein removar once a week...

in fact my lens broke a week after my last vision check ..and a new one was ordered in ...yet in the hospital I was 6 /18 + 1 which is worse than my opticien said it should be[he cleaned the old one as it was grubby but same happening with replacement]..i rekon I am doing soemthing seriously wrong give deteroration in KC ruled out

[Sweet]

I don't use protein remover at all, not because i think it is bad but because the last time i did it last summer it started a whole six months of blindness! I am now totally paranoid and while i don't think that it was the protein remover at all i am now really scared to try it again! My last appointment i was told that the lens was a little dirty but it was almost six months old so i have since had it replaced.

Some people do use protein remover quite often but i would think that monthly is ok. I don't think you need to do it weekly but you will need to ask your optometrist about this.

The main thing with cleaning lenses is that you need to rinse them as much as you can once you have used your little finger to gently rub the lens with the cleaner. The cleaner needs to come off really well as it can irritate your eye. When you rinse it you need to then hold the lens by the edges to put it in the case as you can smudge it if you put your fingers on it!

I take it then that it is your RGP that is dirty as you have disposable soft lenses. They are actually easier to clean than soft ones because they are stronger and retain their shape. What cleaner are you using?

I piggy back lenses as well and do find that they can get blurry towards the end of the day and then i need to take them out and rinse them. Maybe this is some of the problem as well? Although i have monthly soft lenses not disposables.

Hoping you work it out

Sweet X x X

[Knight]

I've only had to use the protien remover tablets once over a 2-3 wk period years ago, the lens was trapping heaps of pollen but I was told there was an 'issue' with the actual rgp material and also there was some so called 'polish' left on it which took a while to wear off.
Not saying that is the issue here but when I started to use artificial tears, bc I was forever needing to pop it out and clean the lesne, it actually helped and I didn't need to clean it so much. Do you use eye drops or any sort of artificial tears? I'm wondering if maybe your eye is a bit too dry in the course of a day which it isn't keeping the lenses moist enough and actually catching more 'dust' than it should be.

On a side note, with what you said Sweet, I once got the actual cleaner solution in my eye, I mixed the bottles up when I was cleaning my lens, and instead of putting the conditioning solution on to insert I picked up the cleaner, couple drops then popped it into my eye - that day still stands as one of the most painful without passing out I've ever had the pleasure to experience - trying to get the lens out of my eye (which was holding the cleaner solution against my eye) was nearly impossible bc it clamped tight - my sight was milky for days, had slightly burned the eyelids but I could still see!

[Andrew MacLean]

I used to get this problem. It turned out that I wasn't blinking properly (not closing my eyelids.

Add this to rather viscose tears and the result was that there was an accumulation of goo right on the part of the lens I was supposed to be able to see through.

All the advice given for cleaning lenses is good. In addition, try making a deliberate point of closing your eyes in a big, exaggerated blink every so often.

Andrew

[Sweet]

Andrew, yes i have the same problem. I have been told by every optometrist i have seen that i don't close my eyelids properly either which makes the drying out a major problem. It is hard when i get stain put in as i have to consciously make an effort to blink well!

Eye lubricants are very handy for this as with KC we are very prone to dry eyes anyway and only blinking slightly doesn't help.

Sweet X x X

[Geraldine]

well thanks for all your advice...I don't know about the protein remover...opticine did give me it but didn't really give a time frame at all except I think he said once a month....

as for blinking...i know I constanlty feel the contacts in but that doesn't mean anything

I don't know anything

thanks

[Sweet]

Geraldine i wouldn't say you don't know anything as in fairness that is why we are all here! We all learn something new talking to others who have the same problems as us so please don't feel as if you are totally new and don't know what to do.

Am thinking of you and hoping it gets better!

Sweet X x X

[Knight]

well thanks for all your advice...I don't know about the protein remover...opticine did give me it but didn't really give a time frame at all except I think he said once a month....

as for blinking...i know I constanlty feel the contacts in but that doesn't mean anything

I don't know anything

thanks

I wouldn't say that, you know enough and found this place eh ... I doubt very much any of us here were born with total and full understanding of KC, we've all asked the questions and most of us I think are happy to share what we discovered.

I think, there's a little tell-tale indicator there thou in what you said, "I constanlty feel the contacts in" if thats the case thats a good pointer towards your eyes being dry and not moist enough. Its been mentioned already about blinking, I've been told that wearing contacts we tend to end up not blinking as much because we're aware of the lenses in and the eye doesn't want to 'feel it' all the time so on some level we're controlling our blink-rate which with that our eyes get drier, faster, the tears don't get spread around as much... so if you're feeling the lens in there so often then its likely your eye is suffering the lack of tears and moisture. When the front of the lenses dry out, they get more adhesive so more dust and dirt will stick to it - artificial tears, a couple of drops every hour or so help irrigate the eye - wash it - and help flush the dust etc away.
Some one commented that you should take a few 'exaggerated blinks' that'll help alot, then if you're popping in a drop of artificial tears it'll help also lubircate the eye-lense giving you a more confortable cushion so you wont feel the lens in there as much and likely it wont get so dirty either.

Hope that helps and good luck.