Set up in the same spot each night
- Your lenses, in a case marked R and L.
- Menicare Plus to clean, rinse and store, and Progent for the weekly deep clean. Nothing else.
- Your removal plunger and Hylo-Forte drops.
- A mirror lying flat on a table, with a clean towel underneath.
- Clean, dry hands and short nails.
Three short videos
Real patients from our clinic, from our Instagram. Rigid lenses are a different technique from soft lenses, so watch these even if you wear soft lenses too.
Taking the lens out
- 1Drops first. Put a lubricating drop in each eye and blink a few times. The lens should move a little as you blink.
- 2Check it moves. If it feels stuck, add another drop, wait a minute, and gently press the lower lid against the bottom edge of the lens. Never pull a stuck lens off.
- 3Wet the plunger. A drop of solution on the cup helps it grip.
- 4Plunger on the centre. Hold the lids open, touch the plunger squarely onto the centre of the lens, then tilt it slightly and lift the lens away.
- 5Slide it off. Slide the lens off the plunger sideways. Pulling it straight off can bend or crack it.
- 6Clean and store. Rub, rinse and store the lens in Menicare Plus, as we showed you. Rinse the plunger and let everything air-dry.
Taught the lid method instead of the plunger? Use whichever one we showed you.
Cleaning and storage
Rigid lenses last much longer than soft ones, but only with daily care.
Rub, rinse, store
Every morning, rub each lens with Menicare Plus, rinse it with Menicare Plus, and store it in the case in fresh Menicare Plus. Never top up old solution.
Weekly deep clean
Once a week, soak the lenses in Progent for no more than 30 minutes, then rinse them well with Menicare Plus.
Never tap water
Tap water can carry an organism called Acanthamoeba that causes a rare but serious eye infection. Keep lenses, case and plunger away from it.
Replace the case
Rinse it after each use, air-dry it face down, and replace it at least every three months.
Check the lenses
Look for chips, cracks or scratches. Don't wear a damaged lens: wear glasses and call us.
Keep your review dates
Ortho-K needs regular checks of the front of the eye, even when everything feels fine.
When it doesn't go to plan
There's a bubble under the lens.
You will see a blurry patch or feel it. Take the lens out, refill it with solution, keep your chin down and put it back in.
The lens has slid onto the white of the eye.
Look away from the lens, then gently nudge it back over the coloured part of the eye through the closed lid. If it won't move, call us. Don't use the plunger on the white of the eye.
The lens feels stuck in the morning.
It has settled overnight. Add drops, blink, wait a few minutes and try again. If it still won't move, call us rather than forcing it.
I dropped a lens.
Wet a fingertip and lift it gently, then clean and rinse it before use. If it is chipped or cracked, don't wear it.
How long do the lenses last?
About two years with good care. We check them at every review and replace them sooner if they are scratched or the prescription changes.
What about scleral lenses?
Scleral lenses go in differently: filled to the brim with saline, head down and parallel to the floor. We teach those one-on-one.