Soft Contact Lenses and Eye Infection

The convenience of extended-wear soft contact lenses may bring unwelcome consequences: a greater risk for eye infections.

According to a recent study, wearing soft contacts can increase your risk for microbial keratitis. This is a rare but serious infection of the cornea, the outermost part of the eye. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungus and an organism called acanthamoeba. The study found infection rates were highest in those who wore extended-wear soft contacts.

Soft contact lenses and infection
If you wear soft contact lenses, follow the rules for proper lens care. If you ignore them, you could be creating a breeding ground for eye infections. For instance, swimming with your contacts creates a space for dangerous germs to thrive. These germs live in swimming pools, even those treated with chlorine. Once in the space between the lens and the eye, these germs can cause keratitis. This damages the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye.

Symptoms include:

• Pain
• Redness
• Blurred vision
• Sensitivity to light
• The sensation of something in the eye
• Excessive tearing
• A white patch on cornea
• Burning
• Itching
• Discharge

If you have these symptoms, remove your contact lenses. Contact an eye doctor right away if your symptoms don't go away. Untreated microbial keratitis can destroy the cornea in as little as 24 hours.

Proper contact lens hygiene
If you wear contact lenses, follow proper hygiene. This can improve lens comfort and prevent conditions that could lead to eye infections. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following:

• Wash your hands with soap and water. Make sure they're dry before you handle contact lenses.
• Do not rinse lenses with tap water, which can contain harmful organisms.
• Read and carefully follow contact lens solution instructions.
• Use a "rub and rinse" method of lens cleaning instead of a no-rub method. This will reduce the number of germs on the lens.
• You can use this method with any type of cleaning or disinfecting solution.
• After rubbing, rinse lenses thoroughly with a multipurpose disinfecting solution.
• Fill contact lens cases with fresh solution from the bottle each time you clean your lenses. Never reuse old solution or "top off" old solution in storage cases.
• Do not transfer contact lens solution from original containers to anything other than storage cases.
• Rinse storage cases with sterile contact lens solution. Never use tap water. Leave cases open to dry after each use.
• Remove your contact lenses before showering, swimming, using a hot tub or taking part in other water activities.
• Replace lens cases at least every three months.

Related Articles Phony Contact Lenses, Real Danger

External Sources American Academy of Ophthalmology. Member alerts and updates, contact lens care guidelines. Released by the Quality of Care and Knowledge Base Development Secretariat. May 2007. Accessed August 10, 2007. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health/CDRH. Advice for patients with soft contact lenses: new information on risk of serious fungal infection. May 30, 2006. Accessed August 10, 2007. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Preferred practice pattern, bacterial keratitis. Approved by: Board of Trustees, September 17, 2005. Accessed August 10, 2007. American Academy of Ophthalmology, Preferred practice pattern, refractive errors. Approved by Board of Trustees, September 2002. Accessed August 10, 2007. American Academy of Ophthalmology, Academy news releases. American Academy of Ophthalmology offers contact lens wearers advice on protecting eyes against infection. May 30, 2007. Accessed August 10, 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Acanthamoeba infection: topic home. May 29, 2007. Accessed August 10, 2007. Cornea. Microbial keratitis in prospective studies of extended wear with disposable hydrogel contact lenses. March 2005. Accessed August 10, 2007.

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