Home | Health And Fitness
Cheap and discounted contact lenses - they're probably one of the most mistreated items we own, yet they're vital to healthy eyes. But with a few simple care tips we can really turn things around. With so many discount contact lens suppliers it's not even a major financial issue any more. Would you believe a recent survey discovered that lots of people clean their contact lens by licking or sucking them clean. Many people wear them for several days at a time without removing them; we sleep in them, swim in them and lean them with tap water (which has high levels of bacteria). Believe it or not, people have been known to devote more care and attention to a pair of shoes than they do to their contact lenses. Contacts have become so popular, and so comfortable, that's it's all too easy to forget that they're actually a medical device - which can, and often does, give rise to some serious complications if they are not treated with care - all it takes is some contact lens cleaner, some contact lens cases and your set. Bacterial infections can cause painful inflammations in the cornea. Organisms living in tap water can colonize the eye and resist most drugs intending to kill them off. In severe cases, patients can go blind or require cornea transplants. In our area, the past 18 months has seen higher numbers of patients infected with a particularly nasty protozoan called Acanthamoeba. Just recently, a young man in his early twenties (Rocco) had only been a contact lens wearer for a matter of months when got an infection that gave him throbbing pain in his left eye, which was also very inflamed and angry red inside. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with having Acanthamoeba. They tried various drugs to clear, but after several months of nothing working, he had to have a cornea transplant. Doctors said it was the only way they could save his sight, as all of the medications they'd tried had been ineffective. Now Rocco is facing a second transplant in his other eye. "I'd hate to see this happen to anyone else," Rocco said. "Tell the people to keep those things clean." All it takes is an effective contact lens cleaner and some contact lens cases and you're set. Having said all that, outbreaks of Acanthamoeba are still relatively rare. Statistics show that there are only about one or two reported cases of it in every one million contact lens wearers. The more common problem is bacterial infections, which affect approximately 1 in every 2500 wearers each year. The eye has natural defense mechanisms, but contact lenses counteract them. When you blink, your eyelid acts like a windshield wiper to spread tears across the top layer of the eye, or epithelium, washing away any bacteria or foreign bodies (like dust). A contact lens puts a barrier between your eye and your eyelid, so your eyes natural defense is interrupted. So it's vital that you keep your lenses clean with a good contact lens cleaner kit.
Keyword Articles: http://www.keywordarticles.org
John Jones explains why, with so many discounted contact lens suppliers offering cheap lenses it easy to overlook the need for lens hygiene, and why contact lens care is vital to eye health.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
