Posted by: Caster Eye Center in eye health

concept for best practices for preventing eye damage

Most people who wear contacts have heard this many times—be very, very careful when caring for your contacts. But then life gets in the way. And can contact lenses really cause very serious infections? How bad can it really be if I don’t use the right solution this time?

Well, pretty bad.

Infections Associated with Contact Lenses

The most common serious eye infection, Acanthamoeba keratitis, occurs almost exclusively in contact lens wearers who do not properly care for their contacts.

And what is it like to get an Acanthamoeba infection? Expect symptoms like:

  • Redness
  • Severe eye pain
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Tearing
  • Blurred vision
  • Very possibly permanent loss of vision!

Treatment with drops hourly can take many months. Meanwhile, all those symptoms are with you day and night.

An Eye Infection Waiting to Happen

Acanthamoeba is a free-living microorganism found worldwide in tap water, swimming pools, hot tubs, soil, and air. It can get into your contact lenses and from there infect your eyes. More than 1,000 cases of Acanthamoeba infection occur every year in the US.

How Can You Prevent This Horrible Problem?

  1. Never use tap water on contact lenses or cases.
  2. Do not swim or shower with contact lenses on.
  3. Use only FDA-approved sterile solutions.
  4. Replace lens cases regularly.
  5. Rub and rinse lenses and cases properly (even with “no-rub” solutions).