Clean hands, and nothing left on them
Your fingertips touch the lens, hold your lids, and sometimes touch the fill. Whatever is on them can end up on the lens or in the bowl. The FDA’s first rule for lens care is to always wash your hands before handling contact lenses, to reduce the chance of infection.[1]
For scleral lenses there’s a second goal: leaving nothing behind. Many hand soaps add moisturizers, oils, lotion, or fragrance. Those are pleasant on skin but can leave a thin film on your fingers that transfers to the lens. Wearers commonly describe:
- A smeary or hazy lens right after insertion
- Fogging that starts earlier than usual
- A film on the front of the lens that’s hard to rub off
- Stinging or burning that stops when they change soap
Not every hazy lens is the soap. Fit, eyelid oils, allergies, and deposits cause similar problems. But the soap is one of the easiest things to check, so it’s a sensible first step.
What to look for on the label
You don’t need a special product. Look for a soap that is:
- Free of moisturizers. Avoid words like moisturizing, hydrating, nourishing, with lotion, with shea, with oils, cream, or “soft hands”.
- Free of fragrance. Look for fragrance-free or unscented. Scents are often carried in oils.
- Free of dyes, if you can find it. Clear or white is easier to rinse off.
- Plain. A basic bar or liquid with a short ingredient list is usually easier than a “spa” product.
Some soaps are sold specifically for contact lens wearers. Many wearers find an ordinary plain, fragrance-free soap works just as well. Brands vary by country and change their formulas, so read the label rather than relying on a brand name.
How to wash and dry
- Wash for a good while, including fingertips and under the nails.
- Rinse well. Soap residue causes problems too.
- Dry completely with a lint-free towel or a fresh paper towel. Wet fingers make lids slippery and can drip water near the lens. Lint and fibers from fluffy towels can stick to the lens or plunger.
- Don’t touch anything else before you handle the lens: not your face, phone, or hair.
Keep water away from the lens itself. The FDA advises never exposing contact lenses to any water, including tap, bottled, or distilled water.[1] Dry hands are part of that.
Lotions, sunscreen, and makeup
Hand cream is the most common hidden cause. The order that works for most wearers: wash with plain soap, insert your lenses, then apply hand cream, sunscreen, and makeup. At night, take your lenses out first, then remove makeup. The FDA gives the same order for cosmetics.[2] See makeup and skin care for the full routine, and eyelash extensions and false lashes if you use them.
Away from a sink
Work trips, campsites, festivals, long drives. What wearers plan for:
- Soap and clean water first, whenever you can get it. If you wouldn’t drink the water, some wearers wash with it and then use sanitizer as well, but never let that water near the lens or case.
- Alcohol sanitizer or wipes as a fallback. Let your hands dry completely, so there’s no alcohol on your fingers when you touch the lens. Ask your fitter whether they’re comfortable with this for your eyes.
- Your own small towel or paper towels, packed in a clean bag.
- A clean surface, such as a fresh towel or paper towels on a table.
For more on this, see managing lenses when camping or away from a clean sink.
Never wash the lens with soap
This comes up often enough to say plainly. Hand soap and dish soap are not lens cleaners. They can leave residue, they aren’t designed to rinse cleanly off a lens, and some can damage a surface coating. Clean your lens only with the cleaner and disinfecting solution your fitter prescribed. If you’re not sure which products are safe for a coated lens, see cleaners and coated lenses.
What wearers say
- Switching soap fixed it for some. Several wearers describe early fogging or hazy vision that cleared after moving to a moisturizer-free soap.
- Others found it wasn’t the soap. For them, the fix was treating eyelids or allergies, changing a solution, or a fit change. That’s why it’s worth telling your fitter about persistent haze rather than only changing products.
- Dry skin is a real cost. Frequent washing with plain soap is hard on some hands. Moisturizing at the right times, after insertion and after removal, keeps both skin and lenses happy.
What to ask your fitter
- Is there a soap you prefer your patients use?
- Is alcohol hand sanitizer OK for me when there’s no sink?
- My lens hazes over soon after insertion. Could it be my hands, or something else?
- Which cleaners are safe for my lens and its coating?
Common questions
Is antibacterial soap better?
Not necessarily. What matters most for your lenses is that the soap leaves nothing behind on your fingers. Wearers use plain bar soaps, liquid soaps, and antibacterial soaps successfully, as long as they're free of moisturizers and fragrance and rinsed off well.
Can I use dish soap on my hands?
Some wearers use a clear, fragrance-free dish soap on their hands because it cuts through oil, then rinse very well. That's for hands only. Never clean a lens with dish soap; use the cleaner and disinfecting solution your fitter prescribed.
My hands crack from all the washing. What can I do?
Many wearers moisturize after their lenses are in for the day and again after removing them at night, so no cream is on their fingers at handling time. Some wash only fingertips and palms before handling. If your skin is very sore, ask your doctor or pharmacist about a skin product, and tell your fitter.
Can I use hand sanitizer instead of washing?
Soap and water is the standard. When there's no sink, some wearers use an alcohol sanitizer or wipe and let their hands dry completely before touching anything. Ask your fitter whether that suits your lenses and eyes, and plan to wash properly at the first chance.