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    Solutions masterclass

    Which solution, when?

    Saline, cleaner, peroxide, multipurpose, drops: the bottles look alike and the rules don’t. Here’s what each one is for, what never goes in your eye, and what to try when a product isn’t working for you.

    Four jobs, four different products

    Most solution mix-ups come from asking one bottle to do another’s job. A scleral routine has four jobs: clean the lens, disinfect it, store it, and fill it before it goes in. Only the fill touches your eye for hours, which is why it has the strictest rules. Tap a card for the full guide.

    Fill & rinse

    Preservative-free saline

    Goes in your eye

    Sterile and preservative-free only. One vial per fill; throw the rest away.

    Clean

    Daily cleaner

    Never in your eye

    Rub both sides when the lens comes out, then rinse it off completely.

    Disinfect & store

    Hydrogen peroxide system

    Only after full neutralizing

    Only in the case that came with the bottle. Wait the full time. Never fill the bowl with it or rinse with it before insertion.

    Disinfect & store

    Multipurpose / GP solution

    Not for filling the bowl

    Use one made for rigid (GP) lenses. Fresh solution every night, never topped off.

    Comfort

    Preservative-free drops

    Over the lens, as directed

    Rewetting drops go over the lens, as your fitter directs. Adding anything to the fill is their call.

    Nothing

    Water of any kind

    Never on lens or case

    Tap, bottled, distilled, filtered: none are sterile enough. Not even to rinse the case.

    A day in the life of your lenses

    Every night

    1. Remove Wash and dry your hands first.
    2. Rub clean A few drops of daily cleaner, rub both sides in your palm.
    3. Rinse Rinse the cleaner off with sterile saline (or as your system’s label says).
    4. Disinfect Into the peroxide case, fresh solution to the line, cap on. Leave the full time.

    Every morning

    1. Wait it out Only take lenses out once the full neutralizing time has passed.
    2. Fill Fill the bowl to the brim with a fresh vial of preservative-free saline.
    3. Insert Face down, steady, no bubbles.
    4. Empty the case Dump the old solution, rinse with fresh solution, air-dry face down.
    A typical routine with a hydrogen peroxide system. Your fitter’s instructions and your products’ labels come first.

    Not sure which system you’re on? Look at the cap: most hydrogen peroxide bottles have a red cap or tip, and come with a special case that has a disc at the bottom.

    The rules wearers most often get wrong

    Do

    • Fill every time from a fresh, sterile, preservative-free vial, and throw away what’s left.
    • Rub-clean each lens when it comes out, unless your fitter tells you otherwise.
    • Use fresh disinfecting solution in a clean case every night.
    • Wait the full soak time on a peroxide system before you take the lenses out.
    • Call your fitter before switching any product, including when yours is out of stock.

    Don’t

    • Let any water touch your lenses, case, or plunger: tap, bottled, or distilled.
    • Top off yesterday’s solution, or keep an opened vial for later.
    • Fill the lens with a multipurpose, conditioning, or peroxide solution.
    • Use plain drugstore hydrogen peroxide instead of a lens-care system.
    • Keep wearing a lens that burns or stings: take it out and check what went in the bowl.

    The masterclass

    1 What to fill your scleral lens withFill the bowl with sterile, preservative-free saline made for filling scleral lenses, from a fresh single-use vial each time or a preservative-free bottle used inside its discard window. Some salines are buffered to be closer to your tears and some are plain salt water; eyes differ on which feels better. Adding a thicker drop to the fill is common but off-label, so make that choice with your fitter. Never fill with water, multipurpose solution, preserved saline, or peroxide. 2 Hydrogen peroxide systems for scleral lensesA hydrogen peroxide system cleans and disinfects your lenses overnight, then a disc in its special case (or a tablet, in two-step systems) turns the peroxide into water and oxygen. Until that finishes, the solution burns. Use it only in the case that comes with each new bottle, wait the full time on the label, and never rinse or fill a lens with it. 3 Multipurpose and GP solutions for scleral lensesScleral lenses are rigid gas permeable (GP) lenses, so they need a multipurpose solution made for GP lenses, not one for soft contacts. It cleans, disinfects, and conditions the lens overnight or during a break. It contains preservatives, so it is never used to fill the bowl: rinse it off with sterile saline and fill with fresh preservative-free saline, unless your fitter or label tells you otherwise. 4 Cleaners, multipurpose solutions, and coated lensesScleral cleaning products do four different jobs. A GP multipurpose solution such as Tangible Clean, Boston Simplus, or Unique pH cleans, disinfects, and stores your lenses in one bottle. A separate daily cleaner such as Boston Advance Cleaner is only for rubbing and is rinsed off before the lens is disinfected. Peroxide systems disinfect in their own case, and protein removers or coating treatments are periodic extras. None of them go in the bowl, and coated lenses need products the coating maker lists as compatible. 5 Eye drops with scleral lensesPreservative-free rewetting drops can usually go over the lens during the day. The bowl gets sterile, preservative-free saline unless your fitter tells you to add something. Prescription dry-eye drops, most allergy and redness drops, and milky or oily drops go in with the lens out, timed the way the prescriber or label says. If you're not sure, ask before the drop goes in. 6 When a solution isn't working for youIf a lens burns or stings when it goes in, take it out first and work out what touched it. For slower problems like fog, film, redness, or itching, the fill saline, the storage solution, or a leftover residue can play a part, and wearers often ask their fitter about switching between buffered and unbuffered saline, or from a preserved multipurpose solution to hydrogen peroxide. But fit, dry eye, and allergies cause many of the same symptoms, so change one product at a time, and only with your fitter's agreement. 7 Shortages, recalls, and counterfeit salineIf your fill saline is recalled, stop using the affected lots, check the lot number on the box, and call your eye doctor if your eyes have been red, painful, or blurry. If it's simply out of stock, call your fitter before you switch: they can approve a substitute that suits your eyes. Buy from the maker, your fitter's office, a pharmacy, or a retailer you trust, and be wary of unfamiliar saline brands that appear online during shortages. 8 Storing your lenses: overnight, short breaks, and backupsOvernight and during breaks, store lenses in fresh disinfecting solution in a clean case: never in saline and never in water. A hydrogen peroxide system needs its own case and its full soak time, so many wearers keep a multipurpose (GP) solution and a second case for short breaks. A spare pair can be stored wet or dry depending on the lens and any coating, so follow your fitter's instructions, and always clean and disinfect it again before wearing it.