Summer increases contact lens contamination; check the rules of use

With the arrival of summer and holidays, the long-awaited trips finally materialize. One of the most popular places, of course, is the beach, as well as waterfalls and nature. However, what should be a moment of leisure and rest can become a health problem if there is no due attention, from skin care to eyes, especially for those who wear contact lenses.

“The sensation was that the eye was corroded. I was desperate. I have sought treatment here in Bahia, but the eye has only gotten worse. I thought I was going blind,” says Eliana, who had her lens contaminated by an acanthomoeba, a free-living amoeba that is very common in water and can corrode the cornea.

“It’s a difficult infection to cure because there are few drugs and acanthamoeba transmutes quickly. Eliana had already undergone treatment in Bahia, but due to the degree of evolution of the infection, she could lose her sight the next day ”, explains ophthalmologist Leôncio Queiroz Neto, president of the Penido Burnier Institute in Campinas.

According to Queiroz Neto, the diagnosis of keratitis, when there is inflammation of the cornea, a transparent membrane located in the frontal region of the eye, increases every summer. “The hottest season of the year creates the perfect environment for the proliferation of microorganisms in the country. Also, at the beach or in the pool, just dropping a drop of water on the lens can cause a corneal ulcer. So the ideal is to have a pair of glasses for these activities, but many people risk it for lack of information ”, he says.

Data from the WHO (World Health Organization) indicate keratitis as the leading infectious cause of vision loss in the world. According to SOBLEC (Brazilian Contact Lens Society), today 3 million Brazilians wear contact lenses and every year the market gains 500,000 new users. For the ophthalmologist, new technologies that have made lenses increasingly comfortable and dissemination through internet over-the-counter sales explain this growth, which lights up an alarm signal for yet another public health problem in the country.

The cornea accounts for 60% of our refraction and can be contaminated by bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi. Symptoms are usually:

The recommendation is to discontinue use at any of these symptoms. The treatment of keratitis varies according to the type of microorganism and is always an emergency that must be accompanied by a doctor. “The use of inappropriate eye drops can mask the infection, lead to serious sequelae and even blindness due to perforation of the eye, especially in cases of viral or fungal keratitis.”

The use of lenses is contraindicated for many who buy the product online, even when the purpose is only to change the color of the eyes. This is because the fitting includes corneal curvature and relief analysis, refractive examination, tear film assessment, fundoscopy, and trial lens fitting. The estimate of the CBO (Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology), of which the specialist is a member, is that 16% of the population should not wear contact lenses.

According to the doctor, contraindications are external diseases such as allergy, dry eye or irregular corneal edge, which increase the possibility of developing keratitis. “Each contact lens offers more accurate vision correction than glasses because it rests on the cornea, but the population must be informed about the treatments in use,” he underlines.

The main recommendations of the ophthalmologist to preserve the cornea are:

The ophthalmologist also points out that the daily use limit varies according to each person’s tear production and the oxygen transmission from the lens in use. The general rule is never to wear lenses while sleeping, even when they are indicated for night wear. This is because tear film production decreases by 50% during the night. Wearing contact lenses with closed eyelids further reduces corneal oxygenation.

After the summer, the contamination of contact lenses increases; control usage rules appeared first on Olhar Digital.

Source: Olhar Digital