Cutting Corners With Contacts Could Lead To Blindness
If you wear contacts, odds are at some point you've cut some corners when it comes to using and caring for them properly. In fact new research from the American Academy of Ophthalmology shows up to 80 percent of people don't do a good job protecting their peepers when using contacts.
The reason that even a small amount of "cheating" is a major problem is pretty simple. By their very nature, contact work by sticking to the cornea -- and by doing so, cut down the amount of oxygen the cornea gets. That makes it much easier to get an infection, even with a small shortcut.
Less oxygen can be a very bad thing.
The study finds more than 50 percent of users wear their contacts while sleeping = a major no-no. And more than 75 percent use their contacts for days or weeks after they are supposed to be chucked out.
And when it comes to cleanliness and hygiene -- well, we don't even go there.
Just remember that even the healthiest tap water contains amoeba, which can cause infection. And the number of germs in your own saliva number in the zillions, so licking your lenses to lube them up isn't such a hot idea ...
Because of that barrier effect, germs can multiply like the plague and cause severe infection in less than 24 hours. Infection can lead to inflammation, which can lead to scarring, which can then lead to a cornea that is like a window that's been painted over -- you can't see through it. You're vision is shot.
So here are some rules of the eyeway:
- Don't try to stretch out the user life of a pair of contacts. If they are supposed to be used for a set period of time, such as a day or week, don't try to squeeze extra time from them. Replace as directed.
- Tap water and saliva don't mix with contacts.
- Use fresh cleaning products in your storage case. Don't be cheap.
- Change your storage case at least every 3 months.
- Don't sleep with your contacts in
- And finally, if you have any eye irritation -- out come the contacts, and get things checked out.