Finding yourself without contact lens solution is a common situation. Contact lens solution is specially formulated to keep lenses sterile and hydrated, requiring a precise chemical environment to remain safe for wear. Your immediate concern should be protecting your eye health while finding a safe, temporary way to manage your lenses. The following steps and warnings prioritize your eye health above all else.
Immediate Action: Take Them Out
The single most important action when lacking proper solution is to remove your contact lenses immediately. Wearing a lens that is drying out or exposed to non-sterile conditions dramatically increases the risk of eye irritation and infection. The lack of proper hydration and disinfection is a serious hazard, even if the lenses feel comfortable initially.
If no safe storage option is available, such as travel-sized saline or preservative-free eye drops, the safest measure is to discard the lenses entirely and switch to glasses. If discarding is not an option, you can store the lenses dry in a clean case for a very short duration, though this may cause them to lose their shape. Improperly rinsed or stored lenses can lead to microscopic abrasions on the cornea, allowing harmful microorganisms to enter the eye.
Liquids Never to Use
While various household liquids may seem like a temporary fix, they pose significant risks to the lens material and your eye health. Never use tap water, bottled water, saliva, or homemade saline solutions in place of sterile contact lens solution. Even potable water is not sterile for eye use and contains microorganisms and minerals dangerous for contact lenses.
Tap Water
Tap water is particularly dangerous because it harbors Acanthamoeba, a microscopic amoeba that causes Acanthamoeba keratitis. This severe eye infection is difficult to treat and can lead to permanent vision loss. Exposure to water is the main risk factor for this condition among contact lens wearers.
Saliva
Saliva is a high-risk substance due to its concentration of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. Placing a lens moistened with saliva onto the eye introduces pathogens directly to the cornea. These microorganisms can rapidly multiply on the lens surface and cause severe infections, such as bacterial keratitis.
Bottled or Purified Water
Bottled, distilled, or purified water is unsuitable because it is hypotonic, lacking the necessary salt concentration of natural tears. When a soft contact lens absorbs this liquid, it can swell, altering its shape and causing a poor fit or sticking to the eye. Furthermore, bottled water is not guaranteed to be sterile and may harbor bacteria or amoebas. Similarly, attempting to create a homemade saline solution is highly dangerous, as achieving the correct, sterile balance of tonicity and pH is impossible at home.
Understanding the Storage vs. Disinfection Difference
The function of commercial contact lens solution goes far beyond simple hydration, as it is formulated to clean, rinse, and disinfect the lens. Contact lens solution acts as a complex chemical system containing specific surfactants to clean debris and disinfecting agents to kill pathogens. Temporary alternatives, such as preservative-free sterile saline or rewetting drops, may rinse or hydrate the lens, but they lack the necessary chemical compounds to disinfect.
Disinfection is a precise chemical process required to neutralize harmful microorganisms, and it is the single most important function of an overnight solution. Saline solution is essentially buffered salt water meant only for rinsing the lens after cleaning or before insertion. Any lens stored in a non-disinfecting liquid, even one that is technically sterile, must be treated as potentially contaminated. This distinction is why proper contact lens solution is a non-negotiable requirement for safe, reusable lens wear.
How to Safely Re-treat Your Lenses
Once you have access to a new, sealed bottle of multi-purpose or disinfecting contact lens solution, you can attempt to restore your lenses to a safe state. The goal of this re-treatment is to ensure any contaminants picked up during improper storage are neutralized. The process requires a prolonged soak to allow the disinfecting agents to work effectively.
First, thoroughly rinse the lenses with the fresh solution, using the “rub and rinse” technique recommended by your eye care professional, to manually remove surface debris. Next, place the lenses in a clean case and immerse them in the new, disinfecting solution. Soak the lenses for the maximum recommended time, typically six to eight hours or overnight, before attempting to reinsert them. If the lens appears warped, damaged, or causes any discomfort upon insertion, it must be discarded immediately.