How To Avoid Germs On Glasses

Surprisingly, our glasses (the lenses and the frame) can be a source of eye-irritating bacteria. That's because bacteria, mold spores and other eye irritants are readily transferred from the environment to our hands and then from our hands to our glasses. Bacteria are multipliers, so they can easily produce a crowd on your glasses. And we so easily go from touching our glasses to touching our eyes, so the contagion cycle continues.

Unfortunately, bacteria delight in the warm, moist environment of your eye, and can produce a number of uncomfortable eye conditions. Thus, one of the first lines of defense you can take in keeping your eyes clear and bright is to keep your glasses clear and bright as well. And of course, clean lenses are an eye-pleasing pleasure in themselves.

The good news is cleaning bacteria from your glasses is easy! Use warm water and drop of dishwashing liquid to clean your lenses and frames, then dry with a soft towel.

You should note that problems can occur when you use your breath to fog up your lenses to clean them, or when you try to dry them with a paper towel. The fibers in paper towels can easily scratch lenses. Some microfiber cloths are fine, but make sure they are designed for use on lenses. Don't forget to include your frame's nose pads and earpieces during the cleaning process -- it's a full-service job!

Some glasses wearers can also suffer acne in the areas where their frames touch their faces. Many glasses wearers swear by the use of antibacterial wipes, but those might not be as thorough as a careful wash under running water, and may even harm the lenses. Never use any harsh or abrasive cleaning elements like window cleaner, or products that contain ammonia, vinegar or bleach-those too can cause issues.

Rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol) is another recommended product used to sterilize glasses, but you should check with your optometrist first to make sure there's no conflict with any special coatings your lenses might have.

And don't forget to put your glasses in a case when you aren't wearing them-put up as many shields against bacteria as you can. This probably goes withoutsaying, but we'll say it anyway: Don't wear other people's glasses, and never wear another person's contact lenses - that's just asking for trouble.