7 ways to make your bad contact lens habits a little better
Here are some ways you can make your bad contact lens habits a little better
I’ll be the first to admit it: I wear my contact lenses to bed most nights. I sometimes wear them longer than I’m supposed to. And on a few rare occasions, I’ve found myself nowhere near contact lens solution and used a little bit of water instead. (Shameful, I know!)
Bad contact glass wearer? That’s me! If you are one of the estimated 38 million Americans who also wear contacts, it’s probably you, too.
According to studies, it is shown that nearly 1 million doctors appointments and emergency room visits a year are for eye infections — most of them due to the improper use and care of contact lenses.
If you are a contact wearer, you know how easy it is to take short cuts.
Most people have found themselves in a tricky situation, where they have to deal with an errant lens with no contact solution in sight.
Not to mention that once you get away with sleeping in your contacts once, you’ll probably do it again.
But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
“People who wear contact lenses over night are more than 20 times more likely to get Keratitis,” said Jennifer Cope a medical epidemiologist . “Wearing contacts and not taking care of them properly is the single biggest risk factor for Keratitis.”
Keratitis is an eye infection of the cornea that is not at all pleasant. It occurs when germs invade the cornea, resulting in a clear dome that covers the colored part of the eye. It causes infection, pain, inflammation, scarring of the cornea and yes, it can lead to blindness.
Doctors can easily treat the infection, depending on how early it is diagnosed and what type of bacteria is causing it. But there can and are more serious health consequences.
Even some seemingly harmless behaviors can lead to infection — like, for example, not replacing the contact case often enough. ( do this every three months.)
Here are some ways you can make your bad contact lens habits a little better:
- Wash hands with soap and water and dry well before touching contact lenses
- Take contacts out before bed, showering or swimming
- Rub and rinse contacts in disinfecting solution each time you remove them
- Rub and rinse the case with contact lens solution, dry with a clean tissue and store upside down with the caps off after each use
- Replace contact lens cases at least once every three months
- Do not “top off” solution in lens case
- Carry a backup pair of glasses in case contact lenses have to be taken out
