According to a recent article published in the Daily Mail, eye infections from poor contact lens use are increasing. This has been made worse by the availability of cheap contact lenses bought online. Some of the dangers and poor practices include:
• Increased risk of amoeba because the wearer does not store them in a saline solution. Sometimes users store them in water, or a salt water solution
• Increased risk of Acanthamoeba Keratitis – In 2010 there were eleven recorded cases, in 2014 there are eighty so far. Acanthamoeba Keratitis can lead to permanent eyesight damage
• Bad practices such as wearing lenses in the shower or licking the lens to moisten it
• No eye test prior to new contact lens prescription being issued. Eye tests are a vital part of the process, as they help to catch illnesses and ensure your vision is optimal.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, John Dart of Moofields Eye Hospital said:
‘”People will want to save money. So a student or a young person may try to cut corners to save money. They will get their eyes tested for lenses in the high street, but then get new supplies of lenses on the net. They will decide to save money by avoiding contact lens checks. But these checks are vital, not just to see if the prescription needs changing, but to check eye health. You are putting a foreign object in your eye, and it is important your eyes are checked to make sure your contact lenses aren’t harming your eyes.”
Importance of Contact Lens Aftercare Appointments
Regular aftercare examinations are an important part of good contact lens maintenance, not only to ensure the best vision results with through your lenses but also to assess their fitting and your eye health for continuing contact lens wear.An aftercare appointment for a contact lens wearer is different from a routine eye examination. During aftercare examinations the optometrist will use specialist equipment to examine the front of the eye to ensure that your contact lenses are not causing any eye problems. Regular check-ups and a updated contact lens prescription are also now required by law in order to purchase continuing supplies of lenses.
Follow up appointments, as well as being of benefit to your eye health and long term contact lens use are also an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about your lens wear and their care. These visits also give us the opportunity to advise you of advances in contact lens technology which could potentially benefit you such as improvements in contact lens comfort or wearing time.