Washing and Drying Hands Before Inserting Sclerals

[pythonidler]

I've been wearing sclerals for about a couple months now, and had been inconsistent about washing my hands before putting them in. But ever since my doctor said that I risked a bacterial infection by putting serum tears in the lenses, I've been more meticulous about washing my hands before putting them in and changing out the fluid a couple of times each day.

But I've been thinking about what happens between washing my hands and putting my sclerals in - that is, what happens when I dry my hands? I've been using the same hand towel over and over again. Each time I do this, I'm adding more and more bacteria to the towel, so that the more I use it the more bacteria I'm adding back to my hands. I could wash this towel every week, but it would still probably have a lot of bacteria on it at the end of the week. I could also use paper towels to dry my hands, but that's kind of a waste of paper.

What does everyone do when drying your hands before putting sclerals in? Do you use paper towels, or some kind of antimicrobial hand towel? I've been looking into towels that have inherent antimicrobial properties (e.g. bamboo or silver). I'm not sure how effective they are at preventing bacterial growth or if they could be washed at all.

[Guest]

Just in general I never use hand towels more than a few times for the very reason you stated. So I go through tons of paper towels per week simply because it's more sterile. More wasteful of course, but also more sterile. If you prefer a wash cloth, you could go gym style and buy like a 30 pack of cheap hand towels and toss it into a bin after a single use. Washing them in batches would make life easier. Part of the mixed traits with my bipolar disease are anxiety and OCD. So I wash my hands 20-30 times per day, especially with a 5 month old in the house. So I'm hardcore about my hands being clean. The biggest issue with either option, is choosing a towel that doesn't produce a lot of fuzz or dust that will remain on your hand and possibly get on your lens.

Good luck, hope the lenses are treating you well. My biggest concern with serum tears is not getting an infection so I understand your concern.