Australia (Commonwealth Union) – The preference for contact lenses over glasses has a wide variety of reasons for people from those who dislike glasses to the lenses ability to move around with the eye and give clearer vision.
A new study however has shown that contact lenses are almost 4 times as likely as those using daily disposables to develop a rare sight-threatening eye infection. The study saw the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), University College London (UCL) and Moorfields Eye Hospital join hands.
The case control study, that appeared in the journal Ophthalmology, noted a variety of factors raising the risk of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), such as reusing lenses and keeping them on overnight or while showering. AK usually manifests itself with blurry vision, redness or pain of eyes to light sensitivity and can lead to total blindness.
According to 1st author Scientia Associate Professor Nicole Carnt from the UNSW Medicine & Health, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, wearing contact lenses in hot tubs, swimming pools or lakes have been linked to AK in previous studies. “[…]and here we have added showers to that list, underlining that exposure to any water when wearing lenses should be avoided,” she added. Associate Professor Carnt further stated that contact lenses play the role of a vector to carry and retain the microbes close to the eye increasing the chance of infection, compared to no contact lens use.
Further evaluations, estimated that 30-62 % of UK incidents, and possibly in many other parts of the world, could be avoided if people swapped reusable lenses instead to daily disposable lenses. Professor John Dart of UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital stated that basic contact lens hygiene can extensively prevent infections, that include thorough washing and drying your hands prior to wearing lenses.
