Contact Lens users are reckless with lens usage: CDC

One-third of those surveyed reported they sought medical help for red or painful eyes related to wearing contact lenses.

One thousand contact lens wearers aged 18 and over took part in the survey.

Millions of Americans are not taking care of their contact lenses and it is putting them at risk for serious eye infections.

16 percent indicated they stored them in water which is bad because of microorganisms that can contaminate the lenses.

Participants in the survey indicated that more than half of contact-lens users top off their lens cases more extra solution, rather than emptying the case out and filling it with more solution.

Contact lenses have become commoditised prematurely with the prevalence of lenses designed for the average eye and fitters have to be able to offer all of their patients a viable solution to differentiate themselves and allow the market to grow.

After his experience, Groeschen recommends seeking a specialist immediately and maintain impeccable hygiene when it comes to your eyes.

More than eight in ten people admitted showering while wearing them and six in ten went swimming while still wearing contacts. Adding new solution to old solution already in the case, or cleaning lenses with water, has been linked to cases of Acanthamoebakeratitis, a rare but painful infection that’s hard to treat.

Almost all of the estimated 41 million contact lens wearers in the U.S. may be engaging in risky eye behaviors, according to a new study.

– Keep all water away from contact lenses.

The worst thing about these statistics is the fact that the 1,000 surveyed lens users are only adults.

The contact lenses that Groeschen had been using were the extended-wear types. The total costs associated with the visits round out to approximately $175 million.

More than 90 percent of people who had rigid or hard lenses admitted to using tap water. He chalked it up to allergies at first, and then to a sinus infection after his eye got goopy and he could not see out of it. He had no idea his contact lenses were the problem.

“Individuals are likely doing at least one, if not more, of these behaviors”, said Dr. Jennifer R. Cope, medical epidemiologist at the CDC and lead author of the report.

If people do make the mistake of jumping into a pool or a lake with their contacts on, they are advised to remove them as soon as possible and dispose of them, because they are compromised at that point, due to the high level of bacteria in pool or lake water.