Contact lenses have been getting a lot of attention recently as the Center for Disease Control has been studying to see if contact lens users’ bad habits affect their health. Many contacts lens wearers tend to clean too infrequently, wear their contacts past the expiration or wear them overnight against advisement.
In fact, most contact lens users don’t care for them properly and this study looks at the severity of the effects. Not only does improper care pose a big health risk for eye infections caused by fungus, bacteria or waterborne amoebas, but unknown and untreated infections can cause permanent vision loss. What effects are poor contacts lens habits having on health and what are some advances in the area they people should know about?
Why is contact lens safety is so important?
Almost all contact lens wearers admit to having at least one bad habit with their contacts lens care including:
- Wearing them in the pool
- Wearing them in the shower
- Sleeping in them
- Not cleaning their contact lens case daily
- Not replacing their contact lens every three months
These bad hygiene practices can often lead to enough eye pain and red eye that lead most patients to schedule a visit with the eye doctor. While anyone can contract an eye infection, contacts lens wearers are 10 times more likely to develop one and lenses are the cause of about 30% of all corneal infections.
Not removing lenses before sleep is probably the worst habit contacts lens wearers can have and it’s the most common. Sleeping with contacts allows the bacteria that enter the eye through the lens to bind to the cornea which can actually lead to an ulcer. It’s important to remove them before bed and for users to use new solution each time they change their contacts. They should rinse out cases daily and let them dry out, as well as avoid wearing contacts in tap water or salt water.
Are There Any Advances In The Field That Would Make Life Simpler?
There is good news for contacts lens wearers regarding some new solutions to the daily struggle. Researchers have come out with a new contact lens case that can warn a contact lens wearer that there is bacterial contamination on their lens. The new case design will cause the case to change colors if a contacts lens contains an unsafe level of bacteria. This will signal to the wearer to discard the lens immediately. The device can work in real time and alert you if there is an abnormal level of live bacteria on the lens by using tetrazolium dyes that can detect pathogens.
Other Alternatives
In addition to this exciting advancement in contact lens cases, contacts lens users are wise to start taking proper precautions with their hygiene habits. A contacts lens wearers should also start using an over-the-counter hydrogen peroxide kit to help with cleaning contacts properly. While the solution shouldn’t go in the eye, users can soak contact lens in it for 6 hours to help with those suffering from allergies or sensitive eyes. It will break up proteins and deposits which benefits patients that have a lot of build-up on their lenses. Don’t simply use hydrogen peroxide sitting around the house; you need the special case that comes with the solution because it has a gray colored disk that causes a chemical reaction by working with the solution before it’s safe to put back in your eye.
Some are going as far as having eye surgery to correct their vision for good. Rather than to wear contacts for their whole lives, contacts lens wearers are opting for LASIK surgery for a more permanent solution to their vision problems. Some experts believe that LASIK may be a safer option. However, it depends on the situation and who you ask. At the end of the day, it’s still surgery even if it’s not going under the ‘knife’. Many people that have gotten the LASIK surgery have ended up with vision problems at night and other complications, but both methods should continue to become safer over time as new technological advancements are made.
Are you really doing what’s best for your eyesight? Consider if you are doing some of these dangerous habits and if it might be time to using a safer alternative to protect your health.
