Have you checked in for your flight? Reviewed your itinerary? Started packing your bags? Whether you’re jetting off for a quick overnight trip or a six-week adventure, it’s important to keep your eye health in mind. If you’re new to wearing contact lenses, review our tips for traveling with contacts below. They’ll help you avoid eye infections and ensure that you’re not caught in any tricky situations.
Tips for Traveling with Contacts
Before Your Trip
- Schedule an eye exam. How long has it been since you visited your eye care provider? If your prescription is out of date, schedule an appointment with plenty of time to spare to account for the possibility of rescheduling. Also, keep in mind that it may take a little time for your contacts to arrive if your eye care provider doesn’t have them on hand.
- Pack plenty of contact lens solution. This is especially important if you’re visiting a place where it will be difficult to purchase more of your preferred product. And if you’re only packing a carry-on bag, make sure that your contact lens solution fits within the TSA’s guidelines. The container must contain 3.4 ounces of liquid or less, and all your carry-on liquids must fit in a clear quart-size bag.
- Pack extra contacts. If you’re going on a long trip, you may need to replace your contacts during the trip because they’ve reached the end of their lifespan. But even if you know your contacts won’t require replacement, there’s always the chance that you’ll lose your contact case, drop a contact on the floor, notice a rip in your contact, etc. Be prepared! Always pack extras.
- Pack glasses. Worst case scenario: you lose your current contacts and your backup pairs. What will you do then? Bring along some glasses even if you rarely wear glasses. If worst comes to worst, you’ll be glad that you aren’t forced to walk around with poor vision.
- Pack your prescription. If you’re going on a longer trip, bring a copy of your vision prescription. If something happens and you need new contacts while away from home, you can use your prescription to purchase them.
During Your Trip
- Pack your contacts in your carry-on bag. Sometimes checked bags don’t make it to their destinations on time. For the same reason that it’s important to pack prescription medication in your carry-on luggage, it’s also important to pack your contact lenses in your carry-on. Whatever happens, your contacts will remain safe with you as you travel to your destination.
- Let your eyes rest sometimes. Long days of travel can be hard on your eyes, especially if you’re wearing contacts. So try to give your eyes a break when you can. Take your contacts out before you sleep, and consider wearing your glasses if your eyes are feeling achy or irritated.
- Don’t wear contacts while in water. Before showering or swimming, take out your contacts. If you expose them to water, you increase the risk of a painful eye infection.
- Replace your contacts as often as recommended. Do you wear contacts that need to be replaced every month? Every two weeks? Every day? Whatever the case may be, follow your eye care provider’s instructions even when you’re on vacation. If you think you might forget, create an alarm on your phone or leave yourself a note.
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Would you like to learn more about wearing contacts? If you live in southwest Missouri, stop by Heffington’s. Since 1975, the Heffington family has been assisting the Springfield community with top-quality eye care and affordable eyeglasses and contacts. One of the unique features of our family-owned business is that we manufacture lenses at our own laboratory, giving us total control over the service and pricing, and we’re happy to pass our savings on to you. To learn more about our products and services, please get in touch with us online, send an e-mail to asktheexperts@heffingtons.com, or give us a call at 417-869-3937 (Optiland location) or 417-882-3937 (House of Vision location). We look forward to hearing from you!