Even though these lenses are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for overnight wear, the American Academy of Ophthalmology warns that this type of use increases the risk of infection. By focusing attention on good contact lens hygiene steps, CDC hopes to help reduce the risk of eye infections and complications in people who wear contacts.
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Chad Groeschen, 39, of Cincinnati, Ohio, developed a corneal ulcer infected withPseudomonas bacteria, after sleeping in extended use contacts for nearly a week. Additionally, contact lenses have the ability to absorb water.
A Cincinnati man reportedly went completely blind in one eye after repeatedly sleeping with his contact lenses in.
On a global level, two thirds of the population needs some sort of vision correction, and roughly 10 percent of those have resorted to contact lens.
Ninety-nine percent of contact lens wearers surveyed admitted cutting corners in contact lens hygiene at least once, in a way that could increase the risk for eye infection or inflammation.
The infection became so bad that some of the cells in Groeschen’s cornea started to die, Faulkner said.
Nearly 41 million Americans wear contact lenses – and almost all of them are probably doing something that puts their eyes in danger. They found that with both groups, the eye surface, or conjunctiva, harbored a very diverse range of bacteria than the skin directly beneath the eye.
Disrupt Your Feed: I’ve been wearing my lenses for three weeks straight now.
A separate article from the Daily Mail reveals a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of 1,000 adults.
For example; “Approximately one third of contact lens wearers reported ever rinsing their lenses in tap water and 16.8 percent reported ever storing their lenses in tap water”, the CDC report reads.
“We are recommending refractive surgery to eliminate risky behavior with lenses”, Dr. Whittington continued.
CDC found that majority of respondents (82.3 per cent) kept contact lens cases for longer than recommended.
Unfortunately, CDC medical epidemiologist Jennifer Cope, M.D., M.P.H. states that it seems many users actually are not aware of just how to properly care for and wear their contact lenses.
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The report also reads that improper hygiene may not only lead to painful eye infections but it can also trigger long-term and even irreversible eyesight problems.
