Are Contact Lenses Good for You?
Contact lenses might certainly feel good for you, especially if you’ve been wearing glasses for a long time. After all, contacts allow you to exercise, play sports and work outdoors without having a clumsy frame that gets sweaty and lenses that fog up. If fact, you consider contacts to be one of the most freeing investments that you’ve made for yourself!
The Dangers of Poor Contact Lens Hygiene
For many, wearing contacts it seems like a great idea to stretch out the life of the contact lens for as long as they don’t rip. After all, you can save a few dollars. But actually if there’s any microscopic dirt or harmful bacteria on the contact lens, you’ll not only have to deal with the pain of an eye infection and the frustration of not wearing your lenses for a while, but you can even cause permanent damage or scarring to your cornea. You can always buy more lenses, but you can’t always pay to have your healthy corneas back.
During the hot days of summer, many people feel that they can wear contacts in the pool and in the ocean, but what they don’t know is that contact lens disinfection solutions are designed for everyday household bacteria and not the germ soup that’s in an ocean, lake or even a hot tub. Those can lead to fungal infections that everyday antibiotics can’t treat well and can potentially lead to vision loss even if you go to the doctor right away.
Since the eye reacts to its environment, there are even other side effects that may not damage the vision but can lead to an unhealthy eye. Bumps under the eyelid also called giant papillary conjunctivitis, are often a reaction to wearing a dirty lens for too long. Treating that can lead to stopping contact lens wear altogether for months! Also, some eyes don’t get enough oxygen from an old lens and can cause neovascularization or blood vessels that grow from the white part of the eye, the conjunctiva, to the cornea making the cornea cloudy. And nobody can see through a cloudy cornea.
That’s why it’s so critical for individuals who wear contact lenses to have regular check ups with their eye doctors. The exams can help determine if your contacts are still fitting properly and check for signs for early problems to the cornea. You can also ask your doctors about newer products that can allow more oxygen to the eyes or multifocal contacts that allow you to see up close and far away without needing bifocals. The doctor can also help remind you of how to properly clean and replace your lenses and what new solutions do a better job of cleaning or keeping the eye hydrated.
Visit New View Eye Center
To protect your eye health while still enjoying the use of your contact lenses, visit New View Eye Center in Reston, VA – also serving the greater Washington DC, Fairfax county, and Herdon, VA area- today.