Summer Eyewear Care: Tips and Tricks
Summer is a busy time. People travel more, take vacations, and enjoy outdoor hobbies. This increase in movement can wreak havoc on your eyewear. Scratched lenses, broken frames, lost contacts, and glasses are byproducts of summer activities.
While it is a tall task to stop any eyewear issues from arising during the summer, we have a few survival tips.
Summer Survival Tips for Eyewear Care
Keep water out.
If you’re a contact lens wearer, water can introduce bacteria into the eyes through your lenses. So, remove contacts before swimming. If you must wear contact lenses during this outdoor activity, use swimming goggles to protect your eyes, your contacts, and prevent eye injuries.
Additionally, your contact lens case should only be cleaned using contact lens solution and dried with a microfiber cloth. Your eyeglasses case can be cleaned with eyeglass lens wipes or a damp towel.
Handle glasses and contacts with clean hands.
Good hygiene is the basis for good eye health. Dirty hands can introduce irritating debris and infection-triggering bacteria into the eyes when handling contacts. Wash your hands thoroughly before handling them.
Dirty hands on your eyeglasses can cause smudges, scratches, and more rapid deterioration of them. Make sure to clean your eyeglasses often, specifically to prevent abrasive particles such as sand, dirt, and grime from settling on the lenses. Use water to clean the lenses and frames. Then use wipes or a non-abrasive cloth to dry.
Inspect your frames.
Perform a quick check of your frames while cleaning them to ensure the lens, nose pads, and temples (the arms of the eyeglasses) are not missing. Make sure that screws are tight too. To prolong the life of your glasses, keep in mind there are only two places for them: your face or the case.
This may be unorthodox, but it can be a beneficial practice when going on hikes, runs, or bike rides. Consider wrapping your glasses in bubble wrap. It offers protection from scratches, breaks, and wear and tear if you drop them.
Don’t sleep in your contacts.
This is a problem that occurs often during the summer, particularly if you are up late. But it is important to remove and clean your contacts before sleeping.
Removing and cleaning prevent eye dryness and irritation as well as infection. It only takes minutes to perform these actions. Minutes that can save money and future frustration of eye infections or vision loss related to sleeping in your lenses.
Here are some other great tips to consider:
- Use adjustable retainer cords, which attach to the tips of the temple of your eyeglasses and prevent them from falling.
- Use anti-fogging products to keep your eyeglass lenses from fogging due to body heat and humidity.
- Be aware of direct sunlight; it will deteriorate and melt plastic parts of your contacts lens case and when wearing sunglasses and eyeglasses.
Taking care of your eyewear will allow you to enjoy your summer months without the bother of blurred vision and the frustration that follows mismanaging your eyewear. If you need an eye exam or new eyewear before the summer seasons, please contact The Eye Center, with locations in Huntsville and Madison, at 256-705-3937.