Eye Wash And Contact Lenses
A common question that contact lens wearers often ask is: "Am I able to use eye wash with my contact lens in place?". Contrary to what most people may think - there is actually no definite answer to this question, at least as far as a medical recommendation goes.

All contact lens wearers will know that it is a very bad idea to wear contact lenses whilst you are swimming in a pool - especially if you open your eyes. First of all, there is the chance that one of them will wash out, and you can imagine that it would be absolutely impossible to find a lens in a huge crater of water! The second thing people will often tell you is that wearing contact lenses in a pool with chlorine is particularly dangerous, because chlorine is not compatible with contact lenses, and hence you run the risk of getting an infection.

Ok, so we have confirmed that swimming around in chemically treated water with contact lenses is not the best idea - but what about with eye wash? Well, whilst the safety concerns can immediately be erased (because eye wash does not contain durable and heavy chemicals), there are still a few things you need to think about.

Where Has My Lens Gone?
Probably the biggest concern with keeping your contact lenses in whilst washing your eye with an eye wash solution, is where the contact lens will go. In ordinary circumstances, contact lenses sit nicely on the outside of the eyes - and are held in place because of two things - their shape, and the surface of the eye and the lens.

Usually, the surface of the eye is wet enough to support normal eye function, but also dry enough to hold the lens in place. If you were to suddenly add copious amounts of liquid to the eye area - it may be the case the the contact lens could become dislodged, and hence move around inside the eye.

If this does indeed happen, you run the risk of the contact lens rolling around to an extremity of the eye socket. This would make it extremely hard to get out, and - if caught in the wrong place - will cause intense irritation and discomfort in the area.

So what's the verdict? It's best to take your contacts out before using eye wash.