Contact lens- warning

Katiehound

have just heard Jeremy Vine's show today- last quarter of it. I don't have the technology but think you must be able to listen to it on line after broadcast. Linked to :
http://www.visionmatters.org.uk/ & National Eye week

One story highlighted the danger of swimming with lenses in- she got an amoeba infection and is hoping for her eyesight to return.
A second story- listener had to have eye removed after fungal infection.
If you wear contact lenses do listen to the interviews. I shall be telling all my friends.

C_Mababejive

Indeed. Many eye infections are caused by reusable CLs. Best to stick with daily disposables.Some eye infections of this nature are very serious and can actually blind or seriously damage your eye.

Another thing for swimmers,be very careful about wearing eye goggles which are too small/too tight as they can create a suction effect on your eye.

Hermia

I wonder why all this stuff about contact lenses has just started appearing in the media all of a sudden? I started wearing lenses YEARS ago and all this stuff was well known then. I remember my optician telling my not to swim in my lenses or wash them with tap water. I even remember seeing leaflets about it in the opticians. I use disposables now and it's a lot less stressful!

FLA27

I can also remember being told NEVER to swim in contact lenses or use tap water by my optician when I first started wearing them. That was over 20 years ago.....

Agree with Hermia, it's strange how this is coming up in the media now. Did opticians stop giving out this warning?

droiderm

I have been wearing contacts for 19 years now.
Wow just realised how old that makes me feel !
I never knew i shouldn't wear them swimming but i do now.
I wear dailies so hopefully its not an issue anyway.

suki1964

I think its all coming to a light now because after years of daily disposables being prescribed - the usual warnings just went out the door


I WAS wearing monthly lenses, then I took an ucler and so can no longer wear lenses until disposables in my script become available

Now as far as I knew I took great care with my lenses and cleaned then per instruction, but as the optomitrist (sp) proteins would have built up and because they were monthlies they wouldnt have stood up to the cleaning hard lenses take so it really was a matter of time


The Jeremy Vine show today highlighted how many of us who didnt know not to swim or shower in our lenses, However the lass how got the fungal infection from her lenses ( a new sterile pack) has made me wonder if I really want to go back to lenses - an ulcer was painful enough:(

mum2one

i think as well some people become complacant with lenses and just forget things, its like when I'm on holiday abroad I'm never without the hand gel and my daughter got so use to the word handgel - hang on that she would put her hands out, yet although always carry a small bottle of gel, only really think of using it if I sneezed, a fraction compared to when away, weird, but I guess complancy. xx

wondercollie

I work on an opthamology unit. When some one is admited with a corneal infection, the first thing we do is send their lenses and case to the lab. 9/10 come back with fecal contamination.

Usually it's abrasions from poor insertion/removal technique.

Leaving them in too long.

Hot tubs. Don't start the opthamologists on hot tubs and saunas. Just leave it at take the lenses out.

Wash your hands!

Don't start me on the patient who ran out of cash for lense solution so she left them in for a month but continued to be able to smoke.

Honestly, handwashing will prevent so many things.

anniewoo

I have been wearing contact lenses for over 30 years now,various different types over that period,I now have monthly disposables and although I don't swim,it would never occur to me keep my lenses in if I did :huh: Why would anyone do this?

I have always been obsessive about hygiene and handwashing when inserting and removing my lenses,I always use the proper solutions for cleaning and would never dream of using tap water :eek:

I watched a young woman on the bus once,she spent the 30 minute journey putting on her makeup - foundation,blusher,eye shadow etc,all with her fingers and then she put contact lenses in,with the remains of makeup all over her hands :eek:

I may have become complacent about many other things,but never about my contact lens care.

C_Mababejive

I used to wear RGPs many years ago. They are of course still available. They could stand up to quite a bit of abuse re lack of cleaning etc probably because they were more durable. Now i am on dailies and my routine always is to unpack the lens ready for insertion. Was hands thoroughly,do not dry but just shake off excess water,then insert lens.

janejustjane

I wore contant lenses for around 40 years, these were the hard, gas permeable type. There have always been stories ranging from crumbling corneas to lenses which disappear round the back of the eye never to return. I never had an eye infection or any other problem during that time. No one ever warned me about wearing them for swimming. I used to have a container thing which was designed for you to rinse the lenses under the tap, I suppose this does not matter if you use wetting and soaking solutions. My friend always used to use saliva to wet hers. Yuck.