Contact Lens Solution: Why Yours Is Prescribed, Not Picked Off the Shelf

Your solution is part of your prescription

Most contact lens wearers think of solution as something you grab from the supermarket when the bottle runs out. At Rose Optometry it is prescribed, in the same way your lenses are. Our optometrists select it to match two things: the material your lens is made of, and the biology of your own eye. It is chosen for you rather than something you pick because you like the brand.

Why the match matters

Lens materials are not alike. Some attract protein, some attract lipid, and each takes up and releases the disinfectant in a solution differently. Eyes are not alike either. Your tear film, how much you deposit on a lens, and how your ocular surface tolerates a particular disinfectant all change which solution will work.

When the match is wrong, the signs are familiar: lenses that feel dry by mid-afternoon, redness, stinging when the lens goes in, and lenses that never seem to last their full wearing time. Many people put up with this for years, assuming it is just what contact lenses feel like.

What our optometrists look at

• Your lens material. Each family of soft lens material has a solution it pairs best with. Rigid, ortho-K and scleral lenses need a different care system again.
• Your eye. We look at your tear film, your lids and the surface of your cornea, and at the deposits on the lenses you bring in.
• How you wear your lenses. Daily wear, overnight ortho-K and occasional wear each suit different routines.

Multi-purpose or peroxide?

Multi-purpose solutions clean, disinfect and store in one bottle, and they contain preservatives. Most eyes cope well. Some do not. For those eyes, and for wearers who build up deposits quickly, we often prescribe a hydrogen peroxide system, which leaves no preservative on the lens once it has neutralised.

Ever Clean Plus is the peroxide system many people associate with rigid and ortho-K lenses. We also use it for soft lenses. Peroxide needs correct technique: the lenses stay in the supplied case for the full neutralising time, and unneutralised peroxide must never reach the eye. That is one more reason it should be prescribed and explained, not self-selected.

If someone swaps your solution

If a shop substitutes a different brand, or you change because another bottle is cheaper, you have changed your prescription without anyone checking it. If you want to change, talk to us first. Sometimes a change is exactly right, but it should be a decision, not an accident.

Rules that apply to every solution

• Use fresh solution every time. Never top up what is already in the case.
• Tap water never touches your lenses or your case.
• Saline rinses. It does not disinfect, and lenses are never stored in it.
• Replace your lens case every three months.

Book a contact lens check-up in Hamilton

If your lenses are less comfortable than they used to be, bring your lenses, your case and the bottle you are using. Our optometrists fit soft, rigid, ortho-K and scleral lenses every day, and matching the care system to the lens and the eye is part of every fitting.

Already wearing lenses? Book a contact lens check-up. New to contact lenses? Book a new contact lens fitting. Or call us on 07 847 3195.

Once your solution has been prescribed, you can reorder it from the Rose Optometry online store, shipped NZ-wide from Hamilton. There is more detail on each solution in our store guide, why your optometrist prescribes your contact lens solution.

This is general information. Always follow the care regime your own optometrist prescribed for your lenses.

From the Rose Optometry optometrist team

Contact lens care at Rose Optometry is looked after by our whole optometrist team: Jagrut Lallu, Jacqueline Rowe, Emilie Lawson, Jason Shen, Jessica Wood, Stella Wong and Anjali Hira. Whichever of us you see, your lenses and your solution are prescribed together.