# How often to you clean your Prosthetic eyes

Category: Health and Wellness

## Post 1 by proud_mama2009 (Veteran Zoner) on Friday, 25-Sep-2009 14:02:24

I've heard so many different ways of cleaning prosthetics. Just wondering how others clean their eyes? My ocularist today said to just use warm water and artificial tears. He also said to only take them out once a month.
What advice has other ocularists given?

## Post 2 by The Roman Battle Mask (Making great use of my Employer's time.) on Friday, 25-Sep-2009 23:24:50

When I'm with a girl who has prostetic eyes I make sure to clean her sockets out on a nightly basis during love making...

## Post 3 by SingerOfSongs (Heresy and apostasy is how progress is made.) on Saturday, 26-Sep-2009 1:01:13

Erm. I'd never heard the once a month thing. For all my life that I can remember I was supposed to take them out (and have done so) daily, and cleaned them. Honestly not doing so sounds a bit... disgusting to me.

## Post 4 by Blue Velvet (I've got the platinum golden silver bronze poster award.) on Saturday, 26-Sep-2009 3:49:55

Maybe some are made out of a material that doesn't need to be cleaned as often? Don't know, just guessing.

## Post 5 by Harp (I've now got the bronze prolific poster award! now going for the silver award!) on Saturday, 26-Sep-2009 12:27:29

I got my eyes towards the end of the 80's and at that time I was instructed to take them out once a day and clean them. That was a piece of advice that I've disregarded ever since. I only clean them as needed, which averages out at about once every 6 months or so and have never had any problem with this at all.
So really I'd say go with your own instincts on this issue. if you feel you need to do them every day then that's obviously what you should do, but equally if you don't feel they need that much attention then leave them alone. That's been my attitude for 20 years and it's not done me any harm. LOL.
Dan.

## Post 6 by bea (I just keep on posting!) on Sunday, 04-Oct-2009 7:30:03

I have had my eyes since the 1980's and the thing i do every day, which is super easy, is to stand under the shower like my ocularist said and let the water run in the sockets. You don't have to take them out to do that. I use salt solution once a day just to clean them too. I take them out once a week and clean them in soapy water, then put them back in. The shower thing I think does the most good and is the easiest. Like the other person said here, use your instincts and do what is comfortable for you. I waited so long to get the prosthesis because I thought it would be so disgusting to care for them, but it doesn't seem that bad to me.

## Post 7 by Shadow_Cat (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Sunday, 04-Oct-2009 7:44:17

I do what Bea is talking about, clean them in the shower by letting the water run into my sockets, which means I don't have to take my eyes out. If I really do feel they need cleaned at other times, then I will take them out and just use warm water. I also visit my ocularist every so often to have them thoroughly cleaned and polished.

## Post 8 by Texas Shawn (The cute, cuddley, little furr ball) on Sunday, 04-Oct-2009 11:08:01

well, I'm getting them in a month or so, so will see what the new rule is. the thought of putting them in I do admit makes my stomach turn a little, I haven't even got curious to see what an eye feels like with out a eye in it yet, probably a good thing to avoid for as long as I can grin. but done with the surgery now for a week, so just playing the waiting game for healing up! I have conformers in there now.

## Post 9 by bozmagic (The rottie's your best friend if you want him/her to be, lol.) on Tuesday, 06-Oct-2009 20:44:53

Yikes. Well, I could tell you what an eye lid feels like without an eye in it, weird to actually handle, but well, like it's just empty. I have an ophthalmea which is basically where you're born without one of your eyes, in my case, my right. We talked about me having prosthetics at the Craneofacial unit in Oxford where we used to go to get my hearing aids and have all the surgeries on my mouth and nose in recent years, but they said that would mean me having an expander fitted for a year. I thought about life with prosthetics, how often you'd take them out and clean them and it seems safest to me to clean them at least once every day, since your brain is right there, at the back of your eye where the optic nerve connects most people's eyes with the brain, so what if they weren't cleaned for say, around a month and that was enough time for an infection to start up and which could so easily, spread to your brain. I haven't given up on the idea of the prosthetic eye to fill in for my missing eye on the right side myself, but mum doesn't want me to have it. I'll just wait till I leave home and get that fixed up anyway. Ya know what I'm like by now, lol.
Jen.

## Post 10 by lelia (Zone BBS Addict) on Saturday, 10-Oct-2009 11:15:11

Hi this is lelia from Colorado and I've had artificial eyes all my life. I was born with no eyes.
I also do the shower thing as well as when I feel I need to take them out I do. My right eye is a heck of a lot easier to take out and put back in then my left eye. I've wondered about using artificial tears can you tell me what that is and how you use them? What do they do?
the thing that bothers me is that when I'm at work my eyes run so I have to wipe them a lot any suggestions?
this is an awesome topic.
lelia

## Post 11 by Blue Velvet (I've got the platinum golden silver bronze poster award.) on Saturday, 10-Oct-2009 14:02:28

Artificial Tears is just a brand name of an eye drop that people use to help provide moisture if their eyes are dry. I'm not sure if they are meant to be used by people with artificial eyes, though. I'd ask my doctor if I were you.

## Post 12 by lelia (Zone BBS Addict) on Saturday, 10-Oct-2009 21:05:20

thanks I will ask my doc.
lelia

## Post 13 by proud_mama2009 (Veteran Zoner) on Saturday, 10-Oct-2009 23:37:32

I use the artificial tear drops especially in the winter when my eyes seem to dry out easily. I put a few drops on the prosthetics or on my bottom eyelid if they are scratchy.

## Post 14 by Deadnight Warrior (Zone BBS Addict) on Sunday, 18-Oct-2009 16:27:35

I wash them when I feel they need to be. But I think I'll try the thing with the shower.

## Post 15 by LakersFan (Generic Zoner) on Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 16:25:29

I do the shower thing as well but if they need mor cleaning I will take them out and clean them but if not I will just wait to go to my ocularist and they will do a cleaning and a polish and I am ready to go.

## Post 16 by icequeen (move over school!) on Thursday, 29-Oct-2009 19:58:18

one occularist told me to use boston rewetting drops when it gets dry or uncomfortable. those didn't seem to work that great. Another ocularist said to use saline solution and mineral oil to keep things clean and comfortable. Doing these things plus rinsing in shower does not seem to help the fact that my lids feel itchy and irritated all the time. What kind of artificial tears drops can anyone recommend?

## Post 17 by OceanDream (An Ocean of Thoughts) on Friday, 30-Oct-2009 10:02:16

I don't wear mine anymore, because I only had to wear them while my face was growing, but when it was, I cleaned them twice a day, and my eye sockets were still irritated. Therefore, I stopped wearing them altogether. I had to get mine sized a lot too, which was a pain, since we lived in a small town, and we had to take a plane to get to the nearest occularist. My mom also cleaned mine out once a month with a weak bleach solution, and then rinsed them out with water before putting them back in. The occularist didn't recommend that, but said it was ok as long as it was a weak bleach solution. That is, bleach diluted with water.

## Post 18 by icequeen (move over school!) on Friday, 30-Oct-2009 13:22:13

why did your mother feel that a weak bleach solution should be used? I realize it was dilluded but stil bleach on something that goes in one's body would freak one out! Yeah I have heard having the prosthetics from a young age is a pain because of the whole growing thing.

## Post 19 by OceanDream (An Ocean of Thoughts) on Friday, 30-Oct-2009 15:22:56

The bleach is fine, just as long as you make sure to completely rinse all of it off before putting them in again. It gets any bacteria off that other solutions may miss. For me, it didn't help much, but it made it a little more tolerable until I was allowed to stop wearing them.

## Post 20 by icequeen (move over school!) on Friday, 30-Oct-2009 15:39:52

ah got ya. So did you talk to your occurlarist or eye doc when you decided to not wear them anymore? Just wondering if there are any possible health negatives to be aware of.

## Post 21 by OceanDream (An Ocean of Thoughts) on Friday, 30-Oct-2009 19:24:10

Well, I did. She basically said that since my face was done growing, it was ok not to wear them, especially since they were bothering me. Some people wear them for appearance purposes. I also do have some form of an eye, but it's too small, and has no color.

## Post 22 by KC8PNL (The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.) on Saturday, 31-Oct-2009 13:00:43

Whenever Jared wants to have his way with my eye sockets...

## Post 23 by Reyami (I've broken five thousand! any more awards going?) on Tuesday, 03-Nov-2009 6:19:19

I've been told that if you don't wear your prosthetic eyes, your eye socket will eventually cave in on itself. just a thought ...

## Post 24 by OceanDream (An Ocean of Thoughts) on Tuesday, 03-Nov-2009 9:03:59

It will if you're a small child and your eye socket is still growing, yes.

## Post 25 by kolby12091988 (Generic Zoner) on Monday, 02-Aug-2010 14:35:20

I have prosthetic eyes, and I take them out to clean them about every three months. For cleaning my ocularist recommends effradent, and for storing saline solution. For cleaning you place an effradent tablet in a container of water with the prosthetic eye, and let the eye soak in the solution for fifteen minutes. Be sure to use the non flavored effradent. Effradent is actually dentcher cleaner, but the dentchers and prosthetic eyes are made of the same material. At least in the United States. If my eye sockets become irritated for whatever reason, I will either use an eye drop or remove them and run them under water with mild soap.
Kolby