At times using contact lenses can be a daunting endeavour. Especially if you are not very comfortable with touching your eyes. Dr Pallavi Joshi, Consultant - Cornea & Refractive Services, Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore, explains everything you want to know about all about contact lenses care, maintenance and tips.
1. What happens to your eyes when you don t remove your contact lens after a long time or before bed?
Cornea is an avascular (means without vessels) tissue and needs oxygen from tear film to maintain the transparency; long hours of wear and sleeping with contact lens will lead to corneal hypoxia. Cornea will swell up and it will lead to oedema and decrease vision. Prolonged wear also predisposes one to infection of the cornea (Keratitis).
2. Is it ok to drive at night with my daily contacts that I have worn more than 7 hours?
With prolonged use of contact lenses, the oxygenation of cornea reduces and corneal oedema sets in leading to blurry vision. Read here 10 dos and don ts for contact lens care.
3. What is the harm in extending the life of my contact lens?
Being a biological material, it is imperative to change the contact lens within the stipulated time. There are high chances of infection if the same is not replaced with a new one and can also lead to red itchy eyes and blurred vision.
4. My contacts makes my eyes pink and crusty? Why does this happen?
Some of the causes for the pink crusty eyes are infection, low humidity, lens deposits, allergy or lens that is unfit for your eyes. Dust or foreign particles or hypoxia which means reduction of oxygen supply to the cornea, are a couple of other possible causes. It s best to consult an eye specialist during such situations to assess the right reason. Here s why you should NEVER soak contact lenses in water.
5. If I flip my contacts the other way, will they work differently?
It is significant to wear the contacts the right way for optimal vision. Soft contacts have a front and back; and when turned inside out, the shape of a contact lens changes slightly. While the lens usually holds a gentle dome shape, when flipped, it tends to peak more in the centre. This can impact the fit of the lens in your eyes making it uncomfortable to the wearer, and cause itchiness or blurred vision.
6. If I wear my contact lens for a longer period of time, will it affect my cornea?
Long-term contact lenses wear induces significant changes in all layers of the cornea and can lead to corneal swelling, corneal vascularisation, corneal infection, dry eye diseases, and Gaintpapillary conjunctivitis. Read more about 7 things to keep in mind while choosing contact lens
7. Why is it important for me to clean your lens after every use?
Contact lenses need to be cleaned daily before soaking it in contact lenses solution for storage mainly to remove the debris and minute foreign bodies adhering to them. This reduces the chances of developing infections and also intolerance to contact lens.
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