9 Worst Eye Care Mistakes You’re Making

You rely on them from the moment you wake up to when you turn off the lights at night. But are you really giving your eyes the care they deserve? We talked to Deeba Chaudri, OD, a New York City-based optometrist with LensCrafters, about her patients’ biggest bloopers when it comes to taking care of their baby blues (or browns, greens, or hazels).

Here’s what not to do to make sure your vision stays healthy well into your golden years.

Even though makeup artists often swear by putting liner on the inside of your lower lashes, Chaudri says it’s actually quite risky. “When you put liner inside your eye, you’re mixing it with your tears,” she explains. If you’re wearing contacts, your lenses then get coated in tiny makeup particles, which can deprive your eyes of oxygen. And even if you’re not wearing contacts, those makeup particles can also be carrying germs that can cause infection.

Liquid liners are especially dangerous, she adds, since the applicator tip sits in a tube that can harbor bacteria.Soft pencils are safer since they are continuously being worn down and a new “tip” is exposed, but she still recommends applying them outside the eye only.

Hitting the sack without washing your face can do more than leave mascara stains on your pillow; it can also clog the glands around your peepers and lead to irritated skin, pimples, and even styes—painful, raised bumps that can appear on or around the eyelids.

False lashes are a no-no in Chaudri’s book, too. “If you’re sleeping in them and rubbing them, that glue can get into your cornea and lead to major inflammation.”

There’s nothing wrong with saving a slightly-past-its-prime bottle of contact lens solution, right? Actually, there could be. “These solutions have cleansers that kill bacteria on your lenses, so you want to make sure all of those ingredients are still doing their job,” Chaudri says.

The same thing goes for the lenses themselves, which sit in a sterile solution that can break down over time. Artificial tears and prescription eye drops also have expiration dates that you should pay close attention to, as well. And definitely don’t rinse your contact case or store contacts in any liquid that’s not sterile, like tap or distilled water; both have been associated with Acanthamoeba keratitis, a drug-resistant corneal infection.

“My biggest pet peeve is the overuse of redness-reducing eye drops,” Chaudri says. The kinds you buy in the drugstore contain vasoconstrictors, which shrink blood vessels and temporarily make your eyes appear less red. “But they also contain preservatives and other chemicals that can make your problem even worse in the long run, and it’s only a matter of time before you experience a rebound effect.”

If your eyes are constantly red or irritated, it’s important to see an eye doctor who can get to the root of your problem, Chaudri says. He or she can recommend an over-the-counter product (like a moisturizing “artificial tears” drop) or suggest other forms of treatment.

“A lot of people think sunglasses are only for the summer, or that they’re only for fashion purposes,” Chaudri says. “But wearing them in the winter can be even more important because the sun reflects off the snow.”

Failing to wear proper UV protection can result in corneal burns, skin cancer on the eyelids, and visible spots on the whites of the eyes. Make sure your glasses provide protection against UVA and UVB rays, advises Chaudri, and wear them whenever you’re out in the sun.