Contact lens is great alternative for
glasses. They don’t restrict your peripheral vision,
don’t steam, don’t press against your nose
and eyes and let your play any sport your like.
However, eye doctors, often talk
about risks related to contacts
lenses.
Wearing contact lenses that aren’t
properly fitted for you and not caring
for contact lenses properly, can cause your serious
eye problems. If you want to wear contact lenses, you
should be aware of the risks they present.
Color contact lens danger
Color and special
effect lenses are fun, but you should never assume
that you could just buy a pair without consulting and
eye doctor. Even if you need non-prescription color lenses.
When buying color
lenses, make sure that you consult your optometrist
first and buy only the lenses of top quality. While colored
contacts by reputable manufacturers like Freshlook or
Acuvue 2 Colors are safe for your eyes, colored contacts
that are sold in beauty salons and flea markets can cause
serious eye infection.
Also all color contacts
(even the top quality ones) are thicker then clear lenses
and have low oxygen permeability. This means that you
shouldn’t wear them for longer then 8 hours and
should not sleep in them. Otherwise blocking oxygen flow
to your cornea can cause keratitis (inflammation of the
cornea).
Contact
lenses and water
It is better not to let your lens to come in contact
with water at all. Bacteria that live in water stick to
contact lenses causing infections. In some regions the
risks are higher than in others, because of different
hardness of water. In hard water bacteria breed faster
than in soft. People who wear extended wear contact lenses
are in most danger.
Eye doctors agree that in regions with hard water, people
should be very careful with water contact with their eyes
if they wear contacts. So always wear goggles when swimming
and take a shower before you put your lens in.
Contact lens can literally damage your cornea
Often eye doctors notice that patients who wear contact
lenses have little scratches on the surface on their eyes.
Usually these are harmless, but in some cases can also
cause infection.
People who wear disposable contact lenses usually don’t
suffer from lens damaging their eyes. Most of the patients
with scratches were people who wore conventional (annual
replacement) lenses and people who neglected proper care
for their lenses.
If your eye doctor notice that your eye surface is scratched,
it is best not to wear contact lenses while your eyes
heal themselves. After that you can switch to disposable
contacts.
Contact lenses and children
Some doctors think that vision correction for children
isn’t necessary, because it only helps shortsightedness
to progress. Other doctors on the contrary prescribe contact
lenses to their young patients.
With proper care contact lenses are safe for children,
but very often children don’t realize how important
it is to follow all recommendations regarding their contacts.
If your baby wears contact lenses, make sure that she
or he takes them off every night and clean them properly.
For safety reasons, it is best if your child wears daily
disposable lenses. This way no cleaning is involved and
she or he only has to learn how to insert and remove the
lenses. Daily disposables are more expensive, but they
are definitely the safest choice for your child’s
eyes.
Most optometrists agree that extended wear contacts (lenses
that you can wear for several day without removing) aren’t
recommended for children.
