How to Make Contact Lens Solution at Home?

While it's possible to create a basic saline solution at home, it is crucially important to understand that this homemade solution is not a safe or recommended substitute for commercially manufactured, sterile contact lens solutions designed for rinsing, cleaning, disinfecting, or storing contact lenses. Using homemade solutions can lead to serious eye infections and other complications.

The method often cited for creating a simple saline solution involves mixing salt and water.

Basic Saline Solution Recipe

Based on a common method, you can create a simple saline solution using the following:

• Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of water
  • 1/2 tsp of salt

• Steps:

  1. Prepare the Water: If you are using tap water, it is essential to boil it first for at least 20 minutes. Boiling helps to sterilize the water by killing bacteria and removing some chemicals. If using distilled water, boiling might not be strictly necessary for making basic saline, but it is a recommended safety step.
  2. Cool Down: Let the boiled water cool down completely before proceeding.
  3. Mix: Add the one-half tsp of salt to the 1 cup of cooled water.
  4. Dissolve: Stir thoroughly until the salt is completely dissolved.
  5. Avoid Sea Salt: Do not use sea salt, as it contains additional minerals that are not suitable for this purpose. Only use pure table salt (sodium chloride).

Important Safety Considerations: Why Homemade Solutions Are Not Safe for Contact Lenses

Even after boiling, a homemade saline solution is not sterile enough and lacks the necessary buffering agents, cleaning agents, and preservatives found in commercial contact lens solutions.

• Lack of Sterility: Boiling reduces some contaminants but does not guarantee the same level of sterility as pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. Bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms can easily contaminate homemade solutions.
• Missing Ingredients: Commercial contact lens solutions contain specific formulations designed to:
  • Clean lenses of protein deposits and debris.
  • Disinfect lenses to kill harmful microbes.
  • Provide pH buffering to match the eye's natural environment.
  • Contain wetting agents for comfort.
• High Risk of Infection: Using non-sterile or improperly formulated solutions can introduce harmful pathogens directly to the eye, leading to painful and potentially sight-threatening infections such as bacterial keratitis.
• Damage to Lenses or Eyes: Incorrect salt concentration or mineral impurities (like those in sea salt) can potentially damage your contact lenses or irritate your eyes.

In summary, while you can mix salt and water to create a basic saline solution, this homemade version should NEVER be used for cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting, or storing contact lenses. Always use commercially produced, FDA-approved contact lens solutions for the safe care of your lenses and eyes.