Eye Care

GENERAL CARE

Your prosthesis and socket need to be examined on a regular basis. An ill-fitting prosthesis can injure your socket permanently, affecting the comfort, wearability, and cosmetic effect of all future fittings.

Our guidelines for regular prosthetic checkups and polishes are as follows:

  • Adults – at least once per year for ocular prostheses, twice per year for scleral shells
  • Children – at least every six months, or possibly more often, if determined so by the ophthalmologist (eye doctor) and/or ocularist

CLEANING

  • Remove your prosthesis at regular intervals (as determined by your ocularist or ophthalmologist) to clean your prosthesis and your eye socket.
  • Usually the less often you take your prosthesis out, the better, unless you get an eyelash or debris behind your prosthesis.
  • Use sterile water, saline solution, or eye irrigating solution to rinse your eye socket when your prosthesis is removed, unless your ophthalmologist advises differently.
  • NEVER use alcohol, any soap or solution that contains alcohol, or anything abrasive to clean your plastic eye.
  • Clean your prosthesis using a mild soap, such as No Tears Baby Shampoo or Ocusoft Soap, with warm water and a cotton washcloth.
  • Always wash your hands before you remove or insert your prosthesis.
  • When washing your eyelids, use a soft, warm, moist cloth with No Tears Baby Shampoo or OcuSoft Lid Scrubs.
  • When not wearing your prosthesis submerge it in a clean container of fresh water, saline solution, or eye irrigating solution. Never wrap the prosthesis in a piece of tissue. Many patients have lost their prosthesis by accident when discarding the tissue.
  • Your prosthesis does NOT float. Always make sure your sink and tub drains are covered and your toilet seat is down.
  • If your prosthesis feels dry you can use over-the-counter wetting or lubrication drops, such as Artificial Tears or Bausch and Lomb Advanced Conditioning Solution. Your ocularist or ophthalmologist can recommend a solution that would be the best for your individual care.
  • Consult your ophthalmologist should any infections or other problems arise relating to your eyes.

 

WEARING

To wear an artificial eye successfully, we suggest the following:

  • Practice moving your head and shoulders, not just your eyes.
  • Point your nose directly at the person you are conversing with to compensate for any lack of eye motion.
  • Try to overcome being self-conscious about wearing an artificial eye.
  • Never wipe or rub AWAY from your nose, because it can cause your prosthesis to rotate or fall out. If you must, gently wipe TOWARD your nose or gently pat your eye.
  • Do not wipe, rub, or pull your lower eyelid down, because this action may cause the prosthesis to fall out.
  • Some eye socket conditions can be improved with prism corrections, a service provided by a specialized optician.
  • Slightly tinted lenses will reduce the surface reflections of an artificial eye.
  • Swimming with the prosthesis is fine provided you do not dive or open you eyes under water. Use goggles or remove your prosthesis if you plan to dive under water, or participate in any water sports.
  • Unless your eyelids and socket have been severely damaged, your tear glands should function normally. The amount of tears and secretion will vary with the individual and can be considerable at times.
  • Excessive secretion (and occasionally infection) can be brought on by: head colds, allergies, working in heavy dust areas, tiredness, wind, extreme temperature changes, and a poorly fitting or rough ocular prosthesis.
  • Avoid wearing a roughened or ill-fitting artificial eye because it could injure your socket.
  • Have your prosthesis checked regularly.

 

REMOVAL

1. Dip the open end of the suction cup into water.

2. Lift the upper eyelid near the eyelashes.

3. Squeeze the suction cup, and place it onto the iris (colored part) of the prosthesis.

4. Stop squeezing the suction cup.  The suction cup should stick to the prosthesis.

4. Pull down the lower eyelid near the eyelashes.

5. Tilt the lower edge of the prosthesis up and over the lower eyelid.

6. Pull the prosthesis out from underneath the upper eyelid.

 

INSERTION

1. Dip the open end of the suction cup into the water.

2. Place the suction cup on the iris (colored part) of the prosthesis.

3. If needed, smear a “wetting solution for lubrication” onto the surface of the prosthesis.

4. Lift the upper eyelid near the eyelashes to open the eye socket.

5. Place the top of the prosthesis underneath the upper eyelid as far as it will go.  The top of the prosthesis is usually labelled with a date, a hole, or a dot.

6. Release the upper eyelid

7. Pull the lower eyelid down, and place the prosthesis behind the lower eyelid.

8. Squeeze the suction cup to release it from the prosthesis.