What are the basics of daily contact lens care? What are my options?

Your eyes and your vision are precious, and good contact lens care can help assure a lifetime of healthy eyes. It’s important to follow the instructions for daily or weekly lens care prescribed by your eye care professional for your type of lenses. The basic steps include cleaning, rinsing, and disinfecting (for storing).
Cleaning solutions remove dirt, protein, oils, mucus, and debris that get on the lens during wear.
Disinfecting solutions kill bacteria and other germs on the lenses. Disinfection is necessary to help prevent serious eye infections.
Rinsing solutions remove other solutions from the lenses. They also prepare the lenses for wear.
Enzyme solutions remove protein and other deposits that accumulate on the lenses over time.
Rewetting solutions are used to wet (lubricate) the lenses while you are wearing them, to make them more comfortable.
These steps can be performed using separate solutions. However, recently, there has been a strong movement to “one-bottle” systems. These all-in-one solutions are the easiest and quickest to use. You should not make your own lens care solutions, nor should you mix different brands of solutions unless instructed by your eye care practitioner. However, if you are particularly sensitive to chemicals, it may be better to use a hydrogen peroxide system. One must remember that all contact lens cases need frequent cleaning, including disposable lens cases. As a rule never bring any contact lenses in contact with tap water as it can be source if serious (sight-threatening) eye infection.