eye infection from contacts may cause blindness – new study

eye infection from contacts may cause blindness – Certainly, you heard about the disadvantages of eye contact lenses; but do you know that these lenses infection may lead to blindness ?!

eye infection from contacts

In a 2018 study which performed at University College London and published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, it showed that there is an eye infection result from contact lenses may lead to Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Acanthamoeba keratitis is an eye disease which occurs due to the infection with a micro-organism called (Acanthamoeba) that affects the cornea and causes eye pain and inflammation

Although this infection is rare and affects 2.5 people per 100000 contact lenses user; but the number of affected cases in increase and it is preventable, therefore all contact lens users especially who use reusable lenses must take care of the hygiene of their contact lenses to avoid the risks and prevent this dangerous eye infection.

eye infection from contacts symptoms

there are some symptoms which appear when the person has an eye infection, as follows:

• swelling and redness of the eyes.
• strong and painful eye inflammation.
• excess of tears.
• blurred vision.
• sensitivity to light.
• itching in the eyes.
• corneal abrasion especially when using contact lenses for a long time.

in the case of appearing of the previous symptoms; please call your doctor as quickly as possible, because most of the eye infections may lead to very dangerous complications which may end with blindness.

eye infection from contacts may cause blindness

the current study which is (case-control) study depends on 63 patients who diagnosed with Acanthamoeba keratitis and 213 people without the disease, all of them answered a questionnaire, and by analyzing their answers; the study teamwork found that, the risk of developing the disease related to many parameters, such as:

• lenses users who don’t wash, clean or dry their hands before touching the lenses.
• patients who used disinfectant solutions which contain a chemical material called Oxipol.
• those who wore contact lenses while swimming or having hot showers or while washing face.

The researchers also referred that the micro-organism Acanthamoeba is found in the united kingdom more than other countries, and it reaches the water supplies at high levels, therefore the water contamination of eye lenses is of concern especially in the UK.

but the researchers think that the cause of the Acanthamoeba keratitis unlikely to be due to only one of these parameters in isolation.

eye infections pictures

the following pictures shows eye infection of people diagnosed with Acanthamoeba keratitis due to poor contact lens hygiene:

eye infection from contacts treatment

there are two ways for treating contact lenses infection, which are:

1- Medical treatment: 

medical treatment may include prescription antibiotic which may be eye drops or ointment, in some cases, the doctor prescribes an oral antibiotic, or steroid eye drops to relieve eye inflammation

Note: eye medications only be administered under the supervision of the physician and according to the patient’ overall health.

2- eye infection from contacts home remedy:

• water solution:

you can relieve the contact lens infection by using lukewarm water to clean your eyes, although this home remedy is simple; but it can do wonders for your eye, just dip a clean and soft cloth in water, then take it and remove the excess water and apply the cloth to your face for 15 minutes, repeat it for 2 – 3 times a day, and you will notice the significant improvement of the eye infection within 2 days.

• Coriander Seeds:

the solution of Coriander seeds also can do wonders in treating the contact lens infection, just soak some of the coriander seeds in water for 8 – 10 hours, then dip a cloth in the resulted solution and apply it to your face for 10 – 15 minutes, repeat it 3 times per day, and you will notice the relieve of your eye contact lens infection within 7 days.

• SaltWater Solution:

saltwater solution plays an important role in relieving the symptoms of contact lens infections, and you can use this remedy by adding a tablespoon of salt in a suitable amount of warm water, then leave it to cool down, after that dip a clean cloth in the salt water solution and apply it on face, leave it for 10 minutes, and repeat this remedy 3 times a day.

contact lens infection treatment and prevention

Prevention is better than cure, so every one of eye contact lens wearer should take the following precautions into consideration:

• for the reusable lenses, you should make sure that you thoroughly wash, clean, and dry your hands before touching the lenses.
• you should avoid wearing lenses while swimming or having a shower or washing your face.
• we advise all contact lenses users to use the daily disposable eye lenses because of it may be safer than the reusable ones.
• avoid the prolonged wearing of contact lenses or wearing it while sleeping.
• for women, you must avoid using makeup because it considered a common cause of contact lens infection.
• you must clean your eyes from the impurities before putting on lenses.
• don’t lubricate the lenses by using your saliva because it results in getting stuck of pathogens on the lenses.

Conclusion

all contact lens wearers should beware of the infection and follow all health precautions when handling with the contact lens, because although the contact lenses are a good alternative to eyeglasses; but it often leads to many health complications on eyes.

source

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