Traveling with scleral lenses

Pack more than you need

Bring at least twice as many saline vials as you expect to use, plus a backup of every solution. Add a spare case, a spare inserter and removal plunger, and your glasses. The FDA recommends always having a backup pair of glasses with a current prescription.^[2] Away from home, that pair is your plan B for a lost lens, a sore eye, or a supply that ran out.

Keep a day’s worth of everything in your carry-on, and the rest in your checked bag. A lost suitcase shouldn’t mean a lost week.

Never decant

It’s tempting to pour solution into a small bottle. Don’t. The FDA warns that transferring solutions into smaller containers can affect their sterility, which can lead to an eye infection, and may lead to using a solution not meant for the eyes by mistake.^[1] Buy travel-size bottles instead, and keep each product in its original container.

If you use a hydrogen peroxide system, pack it in its original bottle with its own case. Each new bottle comes with a new case, and that’s the case to use.^[3]

Airport security (US)

TSA lists contact lens solution as allowed in both carry-on and checked bags. It allows larger amounts of medically necessary liquids in reasonable quantities for your trip, but you must declare them to officers at the checkpoint for inspection. TSA also notes that some contact lens solutions contain chemicals that can set off alarms and may not be allowed through, so it suggests putting solutions over 3.4 ounces in checked baggage.^[4]

In practice: put the vials and bottles you need for the journey in an easy-to-reach bag, tell the officer what they are, and pack bigger bottles in your checked luggage. Rules can change, and other countries have their own, so check before you go.

Flying: glasses are usually easier

Many fitters advise wearing glasses on flights rather than lenses. Cabin air is dry. It’s easy to doze off, and lenses should never be slept in.^[2] And removing a scleral lens in a cramped airplane bathroom, without a clean surface or good light, is hard. If you want to wear your lenses on a flight, talk it over with your fitter first.

At your destination

Set up the same clean station you use at home. Lay out a clean towel and cover the sink drain. Wash your hands with plain soap and dry them completely.

Water is the main hazard. The FDA advises never exposing lenses to any water, tap, bottled, or distilled, and never using homemade saline.^[1] That applies just as much to hotel bathrooms and bottled water in a country where you wouldn’t drink the tap.

If you use hydrogen peroxide, plan your nights around the soak time. For Clear Care, Alcon says at least 6 hours, or overnight.^[5] An early flight after a late night may mean wearing your glasses that morning.

For a smaller kit to keep in your bag every day, see the emergency kit.