Is It Safe to Put Your Contacts in While Your Eyes Are Wet?

The short answer is yes, it is generally safe to put in your contact lenses while your eyes are wet. In fact, a certain amount of moisture, like natural tears or saline solution, can help make the process more comfortable. However, there are specific conditions and steps to ensure safety and comfort.

Why Moisture is Important for Contact Lens Wear

• Lubrication: The surface attentive period of contact lenses depends on wetness because this moisture helps both lens adhesion to eye surface and smooth movement across the eye.
• Prevents Irritation: Dry eye surfaces result in jacket discomfort together with eye irritation which creates obstacles with contact lens placement.
• Promotes Healthy Wear: An eye surface with little moisture grows harder to maintain lens position leading to placement faults which result in reduced clarity.

When It’s Safe to Put in Contacts with Wet Eyes

1. Tears Are Present Naturally
   Studies indicate that you can safely place contacts when tears naturally appear from crying or environmental moisture or basic tear production. Make sure your hands together with your lenses stay clean.
2. Using Sterile Solutions: Putting contacts into your eyes is safe when you have applied a sterile saline solution or artificial tears solution (lens-friendly) or multipurpose solution (disinfecting type). Contact lens manufacturers produce products which meet the requirements for contact lens compatibility.

When It’s NOT Safe

• Watery Eyes Due to Infections: Intentions to insert contact lenses should be avoided when watery eyes result from diseases including conjunctivitis (pink eye) or other eye health conditions. Contact lenses should be avoided since they could both deteriorate infection severity and result in eye health harm.
• Allergic Reactions: Daily wear contacts are unsuitable for allergy-induced water eyes because they tend to worsen eye irritations. You should adopt either daily disposable contacts or approved allergy drops specifically made for contact lens users.
• Contaminated Moisture: Contact lens wear is unsafe when non-sterile water sources like tap water swimming pools, or any unapproved liquid produce moisture. Using unsterilized water may introduce dangerous microscopic AMEA organisms that can produce serious infections of your eyes.

Tips for Safely Inserting Contacts When Your Eyes Are Wet

1. Wash Your Hands: Ensure your hands are clean and dry before handling lenses.
2. Use Proper Solutions: Only use sterile, contact lens-approved solutions to clean and rewet your lenses before inserting them.
3. Blink and Relax: If your eyes are overly wet, blink a few times to allow the moisture to distribute evenly across the eye before inserting the lens.
4. Check Lens Condition: Inspect your contact lenses for damage or debris before placing them on your eye.

Final Thoughts

Your eyes feel better when you insert contacts when they are wet instead of dry due to natural moisture. Double-check that the wetness stems from clean supply moisture because any sign of infection should be addressed by an eye specialist. At Refine Optometry’s Palo Alto Optometry you can talk to a professional about ruling out potential issues which cause watery eyes or discomfort with lenses.