Contact Lens Infection

Wearing glasses for people who need to correct their vision, can be bothersome. The frequent adjusting of the specs, taking care that they do not fall off, and not to mention, the chore of cleaning them. That is why, contact lenses offer an easy way out for people who do not fancy dealing with glasses everyday. Nowadays, people can avail contact lenses which do more than just correcting vision problems. Such specialized lenses have been developed to treat eye conditions, as well. However, as handy as wearing a pair of contact lenses may be, it also has its own share of disadvantages; the most common being eye infections, and it is common with soft contact lenses. Their use can increase the risk of developing eye infections which, for some people, may be too mild to attract medical attention, while for some, it may necessitate immediate medical help.

Infections Caused by Wearing Contact Lenses

Corneal Ulcers
Wearing contact lenses reduces the amount of oxygen reaching to the cornea. This risk increases by wearing the lenses overnight, or when the lenses are used for an extended period of time. So the dearth in oxygen damages the surface of the cornea, and this causes what is known as corneal ulceration. It refers to the formation of open sores in the outer layer of the cornea. Also, improper cleaning habits, and condition of dry eyes add to the risk of developing this infection.

Pink Eye
Pink eye or conjunctivitis is marked by the infection or inflammation of the conjunctiva. Users of contact lenses remain vulnerable to develop this condition. The factor which mainly causes this infection is poor hygiene. Now, this could be improper treatment of lenses, solutions and cases.

Dry Eyes
Dry eyes occur when the eye lacks proper production of tears, or produces bad quality tears. Now what a pair of contact lenses may do is, it may absorb water from the natural tear film of the eye. In this way the tear production lessens and triggers the development of dry eyes.

Keratitis
This refers to the inflammation of the cornea. It can be infectious and non-infectious too. In this case, amoebic keratitis, and bacterial keratitis are common to contact lenses wearers.

Contact Lens Infection Symptoms

Depending upon the type of infection, the symptoms may vary. But the general ones may include:

• Reddening of one or both the eyes
• Eye discharge
• Pain in the eyes
• Blurred vision
• Sensitivity to light
• Itchy eye, that may be accompanied by a burning sensation
• A feeling as if the eye is covered with small materials.
• Excessive tearing
• Swelling
• Eye tiredness after short periods of reading
• Scratchy sensation in the eyes

Prevention

An infection caused by using contact lenses is best treated by a medical professional. As soon as you notice the symptoms, visit your doctor and get the infection cured. Eye infections cannot be prevented completely. However, there are a few measures following which, you may reduce the risks significantly. These measures are all a part of practicing good personal hygiene.

• Never ignore the need to clean, and dry your hands thoroughly before handling the lenses.
• Avoid using the lenses overnight, or while sleeping. Although there are some which have been designed for extended use, prolonged use increases the risk of infection.
• Never prepare homemade solutions to rinse your contact lenses. Always and only use commercially prepared, sterile solutions for this purpose. Also, always use fresh solution.
• Using saliva to wet the lenses is not a good idea, hygienically and otherwise too. Follow what is recommended by the doctor.
• Before indulging in any activities which can wet your lenses, such as swimming, bathing, it is better to remove them.
• Replacing the lenses as recommended by the doctor is also equally essential.

Eye infections caused by wearing contact lenses must not be taken lightly. Eyes are among the most sensitive parts of the body. An infection may seem to be mild initially, but you never know when it might take on an ugly form, and make matters worse. So if you are a contact lens wearer, and your eyes are itching more than usual, or your eyes are getting redder, then visit an eye specialist and fix the problem as soon as possible.