Preventing infections from contact lenses
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
Infection outbreaks have prompted recalls of cleaning solutions in the past, but the risks continue.
Contact lens wearer Orlando Tejedor needed a corneal transplant after an infection that initially looked like pink eye. "Then the next day I was dropping puss out of my eye and I couldn't see that day," said Tejedor.
The infection left a scar that blocked his vision. After the transplant, he now wears hard contacts, less likely to cause infections compared to soft lenses. And Orlando’s more careful about hygiene. "I clean the lens every day, change the solution everyday," Tejedor said.
His doctor, Eduardo Alfonso, was on a panel of experts convened by the FDA, "To try to come up with reasonable recommendations that patients could follow to try to minimize the rise," said ophthalmologist Dr. Eduardo Alfonso.
Among the precautions:
- Avoid sleeping with lenses.
- Remove contacts before swimming or going in a hot tub.
- Never re-use cleaning solution.
- Rub and rinse your lenses.
"Even if you have a solution that says don't rub your contact lenses, it's probably safer to rub your contact lens to try to dislodge some of the bacteria that may be adhering to the contact," Alfonso said.
After a recall of some cleaning solutions two years ago, eye experts are recommending the FDA strengthen product testing.
