---
title: "Does Contact lens solution expire? Unsafe or ineffective after"
description: "No. The date is real, and the opened bottle has a much shorter life than the printed date suggests. What actually changes over time, whether it matters, and how to s"
url: https://atoneplace.net/does-it-expire/contact-lens-solution/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Does Contact lens solution expire?

**Does Contact lens solution expire?: No. The date is real, and the opened bottle has a much shorter life than the printed date suggests.**

Unopened: to the printed date. Opened: usually 90 days

Multipurpose solution contains a preservative system that keeps the bottle sterile, and that system depletes over time once the bottle is open. Past that point the bottle can grow the organisms it is supposed to kill, and contact lens wearers are being asked to put that directly onto the cornea. Acanthamoeba keratitis, the infection most associated with contaminated solution and with topping up rather than replacing, is rare, extremely painful and can cost the eye.

## How to store it

- Never top up old solution — empty the case and refill.
- Replace the case itself every three months; the case is more often the source than the bottle.

## How to tell it has gone

- Cloudiness or particles. But an expired bottle usually looks perfectly clear.

> "Use by" and "best before" are legally different. Use-by is a safety date and should be respected; best-before is about quality, and food is usually fine well past it. Where the two diverge matters, the page above says which applies.

## Common questions

### Does Contact lens solution expire?

No. The date is real, and the opened bottle has a much shorter life than the printed date suggests.

### How long does Contact lens solution last?

Unopened: to the printed date. Opened: usually 90 days

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## Sources

- US Food and Drug Administration — FDA (https://www.fda.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]