Things you should know about contact lenses

January 18, 2019

Change your eye color, correct your vision defects... contact lenses allow you to live your life to the fullest without the botheration of wearing glasses. But there is something else you should know in order to properly use these small, thin plastic devices.

Contact lenses divide the tear film into two layers. Therefore your tear film becomes thinner and can be easily disrupted, leading to an increased friction between the eyelid, contact lens, and the eye surface. This friction may cause inflammation and damage to the eye surface, and subsequent instability of the tear film. It can result in a continuous feeling of dryness, itchiness, and foreign body sensation in your eye.^1-4

Contact Lenses To Prevent Infections And Dry Eye

In fact, a recent study in Japan revealed that contact lens wearers show almost 4 times higher risk of having severe dry eye symptoms than non–contact lens wearers.⁵

Discomfort contact lenses For Dry eye syndrome

References

Muntz, Alex et al. “Tear exchange and contact lenses: a review.” Journal of optometry vol. 8,1 (2015): 2-11. doi:10.1016/j.optom.2014.12.001. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4314619/
Nichols J.J., King-Smith P.E. The impact of hydrogel lens settling on the thickness of the tears and contact lens. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004;45:2549–2554. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15277476
Nichols J.J., Mitchell G.L., King-Smith P.E. Thinning rate of the precorneal and prelens tear films. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005;46:2353–2361. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15980222
Keir N., Jones L. Wettability and silicone hydrogel lenses: a review. Eye Contact Lens. 2013;39:100–108. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23274760
Uchino M, Schaumberg DA, Dogru M, et al. Prevalence of dry eye disease among Japanese visual display terminal users. Ophthalmology. 2008; 115: 1982–1988. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18708259

Next is the risk of infection. Whenever you touch a lens, there is a possibility of introducing germs onto it, so if you take care of them poorly or use them longer than the recommended period, they will become home to a plethora of different bacteria, including the dangerous ones. You can imagine the consequences of putting all those microbes onto your fragile eye surface daily.

Fortunately, most of the problems with contact lenses are preventable. Here are some tips to keep your eyes safe and healthy while using them:^1,2

1. Wash your hands before handling your lenses.

2. While you are wearing contact lenses, avoid showering or bathing.

3. Never reuse or “top off” your contact lens solution. Don't forget to clean and replace your lens case.

4. Use re-wetting eye drops regularly, even when your eyes don’t feel dry

5. Let your eye surface breathe by going contacts-free for a few hours a day

6. Seek medical help if your have signs of eye infection: redness, sudden blurry vision, pain and discomfort even after lens removal, etc.

References

Kierstan Boyd. How to Take Care of Contact Lenses. American Academy of Ophthalmology 2019. Last accessed: August 25, 2019.
Healthy Contact Lens Wear. CDC. Last accessed: August 25, 2019.

Finally, remember to follow the usage instructions of your lenses. They are very safe if your wear and care for them correctly.

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