General Question

arnbev959's avatar

Can I use contact lenses that have frozen (and then thawed, perhaps multiple times)?

Asked by arnbev959 (10908points) November 19th, 2009

I accidentally left a box of new contact lenses in a house that is not going to be used much this winter, and so won’t be heated. Everything in the house will freeze. If there’s a warm day between two cold ones everything will thaw out, then freeze again.

I initially brought them up in the summer when I was spending a lot of time there. I meant to bring them home in the autumn before it got cold, but forgot.

Will the contact lenses still be ok to use by the time I get up there next, which will be about a month from now? They are Acuvue brand soft contact lenses, packaged in buffered saline (58% water).

Contact lenses are expensive.

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19 Answers

hannahsugs's avatar

I would imagine that it might be ok, but to be certain you should call Acuvue customer service or your eye doctor. You don’t really want to mess around with stuff you put in your eyes.

hearkat's avatar

As long as the seal remains intact, they should remain sterile. The only other concern is whether the temperature variations will alter the curve of the lenses… and that I do not know. Does the packaging give temperature recommendations? (I wear AcuVue Oasys, but I’m currently at work).

If it were me, I would probably try them on, as long as the packaging was definitely intact.
But heck, ~I like to live on the edge~

faye's avatar

I would also try them on and see if I could see and if they felt comfortable. I think Acuvue will automatically tell you no-so you can’t sue them later.

janbb's avatar

Yes, but they won’t taste as good as when they were fresh.

missingbite's avatar

I would guess that since they are in saline solution which has a much lower freezing level than if they were in H2O. Unless the house gets REALLY cold, they probably won’t freeze.

CMaz's avatar

@janbb – You crazy bastard!

janbb's avatar

@ChazMaz I’ve been called many things, but never that. Thanks! :-)

oratio's avatar

Not sure. When I had lenses(long term lenses), they dried out several times and they still worked. But in the end I had to get new ones cause my baby sister ate them. But lenses are quite cheap, so I would probably get new ones if I were you.

janbb's avatar

See what did i tell you? ^^You can eat them.

oratio's avatar

@janbb I just discovered they were gone. The only reason I knew that she ate them, was because I got a new pair, and when she saw them she said “Mike, they don’t taste good.” I just looked at her. As she was only two years old, I knew there was no point in asking her “Then why the hell did you eat them both!?”

janbb's avatar

@oratio Got to love kids!

AstroChuck's avatar

What are you doing asking us? Call an optometrist. Better yet, call an ophthalmologist. You don’t want to damage your eyes.

hearkat's avatar

Six months have passed… What did you decide to do?

arnbev959's avatar

Update: They were no good. I opened a package in the spring and they were all warped. I threw them away.

(Hi Richard.)

rpm_pseud0name's avatar

Thank you for the informative update. Much appreciated.

(Hello Pete!)

janbb's avatar

Hey Pete! Hi Pete! How you been?

arnbev959's avatar

Hey hey hi. I’ve been alright.

janbb's avatar

Good to hear!

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