Category: Eye Resources

If eye care professionals cringe when they see you clean your glasses, and your lenses don’t last long before they are scratched, then it’s probably time to update your eyeglass cleaning habits!

To make sure your lenses stay clear and crisp as long as possible, follow these lens cleaning instructions.

1. First, wash your hands and dry them thoroughly. Don’t use a soap that contains lotion. Regular hand soap or dish soap are preferred. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel.
2. Rinse your glasses under the water. Use lukewarm tap water with a gentle stream. Avoid using water that is too hot.
3. Put one drop of dish soap on each lens, or drop some on your fingers and apply it to the lens this way. It doesn’t take much, but remember not to use a soap with lotion.
4. Gently rub the front and back of the lens, as well as rubbing lightly along the frame. Be sure to wash along the frame components like nosepads and hinges. Dust and oil can accumulate around the lens, so clean these areas thoroughly.
5. Rinse the glasses with lukewarm water inside and out.
6. Carefully shake or tap the glasses to remove excess water.
7. Use a clean, lint-free towel to dry your lenses and frames. A cotton towel is preferred, but most dish towels are fine as long as they have been washed without substances that can smear your lenses, like fabric softener or dryer sheets. Make sure it is a fresh, clean towel!
8. Check to see that your eyewear is free from smears and smudges. Keep a microfiber cloth on hand to clean any minor residue you may encounter.

Even when using eyeglass cleaning products, it’s important to inspect your lenses and follow instructions. If you like to clean your glasses without a faucet, there are several cleaning sprays available in drugstores or at our practice. Before using a cleaning wipe, make sure to blow any debris off of your lenses to prevent scratching.

The best way to avoid not only scratching your glasses, but also having to clean them frequently is by getting an anti-reflective (AR) treatment done on your lenses. The best AR treatments prevent scratching, reduce glares, and even resist dust, dirt, and oil.

Talk to us if you have any questions about proper care for your glasses!

Optometry Giving Sight is “the only global fundraising initiative specifically targeting the elimination of blindness and impaired vision due to ‘uncorrected refractive error.’” Their goal is to provide basic eyecare and eyewear to help millions of people around the world who live with vision problems and blindness that could be cured with relatively simple procedures or appropriate eyewear.

Many people in the developed world don’t realize that people around the globe are unable to receive basic health care. We don’t think about it, but how many people do you know who would barely be able to function if they did not have eyeglasses to correct a strong refractive error? Optometry Giving Sight aims to solve this problem by providing eye exams and eyewear, which can sometimes be provided for as little as $5.

Here are some of the facts that Optometry Giving Sight states about their mission:

• Uncorrected vision is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world, but it is treatable!
• 670 million people are blind or vision impaired because they don’t have access to basic eyecare or eyewear.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), correcting vision with eyewear and working toward blindness prevention are some of the most cost-effective of all health interventions.
• In addition to being cost-effective, providing better sight can alleviate poverty. Blindness makes it nearly impossible for people in the developing world to work, creates great difficulty in finding or providing shelter for themselves or their families, and can be isolating and devastating to education and development (especially for those who are blind as children).
• Optometry Giving Sight has programs where it can cost as little as $5 to provide an eye examination and a pair of glasses to individuals in need. Without supplies and infrastructure to deliver these things, many people around the world will be left blind.
• Optometry Giving Sight is a partner in Our Children’s Vision. “Our Children’s Vision is an initiative working to ensure that effective, inclusive, sustainable eye health initiatives are available to children around the world, regardless of their economic status or geographical location.”

Read more about this program, their success stories, and how to help at Optometry Giving Sight! Here is more information from the World Health Organization (WHO):

• 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 have low vision.
• About 90% of the world’s visually impaired live in low-income settings.
• 82% of people living with blindness are aged 50 and above.
• Globally, uncorrected refractive errors are the main cause of moderate and severe visual impairment;
• 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured.

It’s very important for eye care professionals to know about these programs and to help spread the word. There is a lot of good that can be done for relatively little money, and many of us are able to make a difference if we work together.