Contents:
- Medical Video: 10 Mistakes with Contact Lenses that Could Damage Your Eyes
- What happens when using contact lenses while taking a shower?
- 1. Acanthamoeba
- 2. Acanthamoeba keratitis
- How do you prevent eye infections when using contact lenses?
Medical Video: 10 Mistakes with Contact Lenses that Could Damage Your Eyes
Are you a contact lens wearer? This tool is already very popular. It not only makes your vision clearer, but makes your eyes look more expressive and dramatic. Do you remove contact lenses while taking a shower? If not, what according to the medical, is this dangerous? Or does it matter? Check out the reviews.
What happens when using contact lenses while taking a shower?
Contact lenses are actually very safe if used properly. The lens itself is designed to be used for a long time every day. However, there are certain times when you have to remove the lens. Especially before contact with any water, including bath water.
Maybe some of you are lazy to take off the lens while taking a shower. However, this can cause infections that can cause pain, visual disturbances and blindness. The following are things that are very likely to occur when you use the lens while taking a shower
1. Acanthamoeba
Bathroom water is very likely to contain acanthamoeba, a microscopic organism that is naturally present in the environment. These organisms can live in sea water, lakes and rivers.
It is very likely that acanthamoeba also lives in a bath or shower that you normally use everyday. Besides being able to cause pain, acanthamoeba can cause infection.
2. Acanthamoeba keratitis
Acanthamoeba keratitis is an eye infection caused by acanthamoeba, which enters the eye through water.
Acanthamoeba keratitis is most common in contact lens users. Bathing with contact lenses increases the risk of infection because lenses can trap water containing these organisms.
Once acanthamoeba is in your eyes, this organism releases protein that dissolves in the cornea, which is in the outer layer of the eye. Then, this organism will attack the cornea and will start eating corneal cells.
How do you prevent eye infections when using contact lenses?
Using contact lenses can increase the risk of corneal infection. This happens because contact lenses reduce the amount of oxygen for the cornea. Although it cannot be completely avoided. You can prevent eye infections in the following ways.
- Always wash and dry hands before attaching or removing your lens.
- Remove the lens before bathing or swimming. Try to keep your contact lenses from getting water.
- Try to always remove contact lenses before going to bed. Even if you use a lens that can be used for a certain amount of time and is designed to be used while sleeping, it is not recommended to wear contact lenses continuously. When we close our eyes with contact lenses that remain in the eye, the amount of oxygen to the eye becomes thinner. This causes the surface of the eye to become susceptible to infection. In addition, the germs in the lens will stick to the cornea while we sleep.
- Use a special cleaning fluid that is recommended by your doctor or pharmacy to clean and soak your lens. Do not use water or other liquids, because even sea water, pond water, even distilled water, can contain acanthamoeba organisms which can cause the eye to become infected.
- Always dispose of cleaning fluid that has been used. Don't reuse the liquid that has been used.
- Gently rub your lens when cleaning using cleaning fluid. Be careful so you don't tear it.
- Note the expiration date and immediately dispose of the expired lens.
- Clean every day and replace the lens storage box once a month to keep it clean.
If you wear disposable contact lenses, you don't need to clean it because this lens is not designed for reuse. Never use disposable lenses for more than a day, because the ability to kill germs that cause infection with a disposable lens will disappear in one use.
