Traveling With Contacts: What You Need to Know
When you go on a vacation, you probably have a long to-do list to go through before you are able to leave the house. If you wear contacts, you will need to make sure that you have everything you need to take care of your lenses while you are away. Of course, if you have never traveled with your contacts before, you may be completely clueless about what you need to do. To ensure that you maintain your eye health while you're on vacation so that you are able to enjoy yourself, here is what you need to know.
Understand the TSA Restrictions on Liquid
If you want to avoid getting dry, irritated eyes while you are on vacation, you will want to ensure that you have eye drops. You may even want to ensure that these are with you on your carry-on just in case your eyes become irritated while on the flight or immediately afterward. However, the TSA dictates that you can only have up to 3.4 ounces of liquid on an airplane in the United States. If you are going overseas, you will need to find out whether the same restrictions are valid.
Consider Using Disposable Contacts
Since you will be traveling, your regular routine will be hard to keep up with, including your general contact cleaning and care. Therefore, you may want to give some thought to using disposable contacts. This way you don't have to worry about ensuring you have time for cleaning your contacts, minimizing the chances of an eye infection that could ruin your entire vacation.
Pack Your Eyeglasses
You never know when something may happen, such as your eyes getting irritated to where you can't wear your contacts or you lose your contacts. So, to ensure you have a solid backup plan, pack your eyeglasses. This will ensure that you don't miss anything on the trip and that your eyes will stay healthy.
Avoid Sleeping with Your Contacts in on the Flight
It's never a good idea to go to sleep with your contacts in. Therefore, don't nap on the flight while your lenses are still in. You should stay awake for short flights or make sure that you have the adequate supplies necessary to take your lenses out during longer flights. Alternatively, you could also wear glasses for the flight and switch to contacts once you arrive at your destination.
If you have any concerns about your eye care before heading off on a trip, consult with your optometrist well in advance of your departure date.
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