Contact lenses have been in the news lately because of their association with eye infections. I will give you some practical ideas on how to minimize chances of developing an infection.

* Don't sleep overnight with your contact lenses. It has been proven that overnight wear greatly increases the chance of developing eye infections. If you do sleep overnight, make sure that you get your eyes examined more frequently and that you are wearing the proper contact lenses to minimize problems. Each additional night in a row that you do not remove your contact lenses increases the chances of developing problems.

* Wash your hands before inserting or removing your contact lenses. Anything you touch can harbor micro-organisms, which can be transmitted to your eyes, causing an infection

* Clean your lenses when you remove them. I have long been advising patients to ignore the "No Rub" written on the Multi-Purpose solution bottles. A good digital massage of the lens with a cleaning agent (and then rinsed) goes a long way to removing debris, coatings and "gunk" that build up on the surface each day, and allows the disinfecting step to follow to be even more effective.

* Properly disinfect your contact lenses. Contact lenses need to be disinfected when they are removed for the day or evening. Some soft lens solutions have been removed from the market (B&L ReNu with Moisturelock and AMO Complete) because of their failure to effectively disinfect certain micro-organisms. I have been recommending Alcon's Opti-Free Express Replenish because of its superior disinfecting ability. The two hydrogen peroxide systems (CIBA's Clear Care and AMO's Ultracare) are excellent disinfectants. Whichever system you use, be sure to follow the instructions for minimal soaking times.

* Change disinfecting solution daily. Dispose the previous night's solution when you put your lenses in, and use fresh solution for the next disinfecting. Don't "top off" the solution simply add fresh solution to the old, stale solution in the bottom of the case.

* Change your contact lens case on a regular basis. Cases tend to develop a film that can harbor bacteria, so consider your case as disposable as your contact lenses. I would recommend to replace your case each time you start your next bottle of solution (many companies include a new case with the purchase of their solution) If they don't, we will be glad to give you a complimentary case.