According to a recently conducted national survey, a lot of people who are wearing contact lenses are practicing poor contact lens habits. Many of them are not even aware that their habits are wrong. Whether they are aware of it or not, such habits can cause severe and even permanent damage to their eyes.
What are the most common poor contact lens habits?
Storing contact lenses in tap water
A lot of people use tap water for storing their contact lenses instead of using disinfecting solution. This can lead to eye infection because tap water cannot fully remove the germs in the lenses.
Rinsing contact lenses in tap water
Some people use tap water in rinsing their contact lenses. Tap water cannot fully clean and disinfect contact lenses so using tap water defeats the whole purpose of rinsing. Similar with storing contact lenses in tap water, rinsing them in tap water can also cause eye infection.
Not rinsing/disinfecting contact lenses before wearing
Rinsing contact lenses using contact lenses solution before wearing them ensures that you will be wearing a clean pair. This is an additional protection if you are storing your contact lenses in solution.
Wearing the lenses for more days than recommended
Eye doctors recommend wearing contact lenses for a specific period of time because of the build-up of lipids and proteins in the contact lenses. The longer they are worn, the greater the build-up. This can lower the performance of the lenses and can also cause eye problems.
Sleeping in contact lenses when wearing daily wear lenses
There are different types of contact lenses. The daily wear lenses are designed to be worn during waking hours only. They can therefore damage the eye when worn overnight.
Not washing hands before wearing and removing contact lenses
Washing hands before wearing and removing contact lenses will ensure that you will not transfer any germs that might be in your hands to the lenses.
Why people have poor contact lens habits
Eye doctors generally provide enough information and education to their patients about the proper care of their contact lenses. They educate them about proper practices and habits must be performed in relation to their use. However, a lot of them fail to follow the recommendations of their doctors because they want to save money; while some are simply too lazy or simply do not care.
What is the best alternative to wearing contact lenses?
For some people wearing contact lenses is too much trouble. One alternative to contact lenses is laser eye surgery or LASIK. There are Houston eye centers that offer the most advance technology in correcting vision, such as Sugarland Eye & Laser Center. They can provide you with all the information about LASIK.
Sugarland Eye & Laser Center leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The Center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Sugarland Eye & Laser Center, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478 or visit us www.houston-lasik.com.
About the Author
Amjad Khokhar, M.D. is Chief LASIK Surgeon at Sugarland Eye & Laser Center. Add Dr. Khokhar on Google+ here.
References:
http://www.examiner.com/article/poor-lens-care-hygiene-habits-that-too-many-contacts-wearers-use
http://www.healthcentral.com/encyclopedia/408/346.html
http://optometrytimes.modernmedicine.com/optometrytimes/news/cost-contact-lens-and-lens-care-noncompliance
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