Friday 23 September 2022 05:23 PM Reusable contact lens users are nearly four times more likely to develop ... trends now
People who wear reusable contact lenses are nearly four times more likely to develop a rare eye infection that could rob them of their sight, a study has found.
The British scientists behind the research also warned that wearing lenses in the shower, swimming pools and while sleeping raised the risk too.
In the study, they looked at more than 200 daily or reusable contact lens users who came to clinics with either an eye infection or another illness.
They found Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) — which inflames the surface of the eye and can lead to blindness — was far more common among those who popped the same lenses into and out of their eyes.
The infection is triggered when the micro-organisms get onto contact lenses via a contaminated solution or dirty hands, and then enter the eye through tiny tears.
Patients suffer eye pain, redness, blurred vision, a cloudy look to the eye and, in severe cases, may end up losing their sight. Treatment includes antiseptics that must be placed directly onto the surface of the eye, possibly for six months to a year.
Pictured above is the cloudy looking eye that can be triggered by an Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) infection. About 85 percent of cases are among contact lens users (stock image)
