Why? Why are we so lazy about this simple, quick task every night? There are extremely serious risks you’re taking every time you fall asleep in front of the television with those little pieces of plastic in your eyes. Allow me to rant a little and I might save your vision.
Contact lenses are all made of specific types of plastic that our bodies accept as friendly. In the last handful of years the contact lens scientists have really constructed safer, clearer and more comfortable options with prescriptions that range quiet broadly now. Now here's where things get complicated for adults (children are better patients here). If this high oxygen (ie. Oasys, AirOptics, Purevision, Biofinity, Avaira) contact lens is sitting in your eye all day, collecting dirt, how could your eye possibly survive overnight infection free? The immune system in your body will fight all the bacteria sticking to the surface of the contact lens. Your poor white blood cells are exhausted by morning; evidence of them will be seen in large clusters of mucus. After several days, months or years of this constant battle your eye eventually loses. You'll wake up with a bacterial conjunctivitis, an expensive visit to your eye doctor and drops you’ll have to use often for a week during which time no contacts can be worn. Go find your old glasses!
Now let's pretend your immune system is super strong and you "never" get infections and have loyally slept in contacts forever. You have proven my warnings useless right? Wrong. As that lens gets dirtier and less permeable to oxygen it's no longer serving its purpose to keep you safe. The cornea (front transparent surface) begins to become hypoxic (suffocating without oxygen) and starts to malfunction. The cornea wants to stay transparent so that you can see the world, but now it’s becoming opacified (cloudy) from the excess water it can no longer excrete. Your perfectly corrected 20/20 vision starts to fade one letter at a time. Scarring starts to slowly form on the corneal surface, mostly irreversible damage. This patient will often ask for more power in their prescription and I simply have to explain that it's not a prescription problem but a health issue. Now ask yourself if those 5 seconds in front of the bathroom sink are worth permanent damage to your visual acuity.
Eyed LA's advice, if you know yourself to always pass out with your lenses in your eyes please remove them earlier in the night. Take the 5 seconds; remove your contact lenses with clean hands, place them into a clean case with fresh new solution (don't reuse) and walk away with the knowledge that you are protecting your eyes. It’s that simple.
"See and Be Seen" @ Eyed LA Optometry in Brentwood, West Los Angeles
www.eyedla.com
No comments:
Post a Comment