risks of contact lenses

Hi,

I have just decided to switch form regular eyeglasses to contact
lenses and I am, so far, very happy. My question concerns the risks
associated with the use of contact lenses.

I am using soft, permeable, replacable (every couple of months or so)
contact lenses which I clean overnight in a peroxide-based solution
and I only rinse them with a preservative-free solution (aerosol).

When I put them in, however, I always feel a slight stinging, not
strong at all, but just a litte stinging nonetheless. This usually
stops after an hour or so and seems to be worse during pollen season.

My question is: my optometrist says that *ALL* those who had eye
ulcers, bacterial infections and other problems with contact lenses
failed to take action in time and that the first signs of a problem
are *not* subtle *at all*, that the eyes really start hurting, and
that there is *no* risk from properly maintained & cleaned lenses as
long as one changes them according to the schedule and reacts to the
first warning signs which he says *cannot* be missed.

Is he saying the truth?

I mean, I simply cannot believe that all the people who had severe
problems (I personally know two people who almost lost their vision)
would be simply so plain stupid as to ignore warning signs and that
their problems can only be blamed on their alledged stupidity.

Any help, advice, info, pointers or personal testimony would be very
appreciated.

Kind regards,

TW

Robert Martellaro <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news(E-Mail Removed):

> On 9 Jul 2004 08:47:56 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) (tux) wrote:
>
>>I mean, I simply cannot believe that all the people who had severe
>>problems (I personally know two people who almost lost their vision)
>>would be simply so plain stupid as to ignore warning signs and that
>>their problems can only be blamed on their alledged stupidity.
>
> Believe it. About once a month I have a client tell me that they have
> blurred vision in one eye, flashing lights at the periphery, etc. I
> ask how long this has ben occurring and inevitably they say for a
> couple days, sometimes its for a week or more.
>
> I remember reading that the ulceration rate was about 20 per 10,000.
> It was lower with disposable lenses... about 3 per 10,000. I'am sure
> you could find more accurate and up to date numbers at the medical
> sites and their search engines.
>

I would not normally attribute photopsia(flashing lights) to a contact
lens-related problem.

The 20/10,000 rate of bacterial keratitis was found in those who regularly
sleep in their contact lenses (Chang, Lancet, 1999). The rate for daily
wear is approximately 10 times less.

DrG

Hi,

First, I would like to thank you all for your info! I would also like
to ask two short follow-up questions:

1) in your practice have you *ever* seen (or heared) of somebody
damaging his/her eyes with contact lenses *without* clear symptoms and
*without* recklessly ingnoring them?

2) is there a website (other than subscription-only medical databases)
which provides good information on this subject.

(-: yes, you guessed right - I *am* indeed a little paranoid :-)

Many thanks in advance,

TW

PS: what does the risk of sleeping with contact exactly refer to?
Sleeping a full night only or also taking a nap for an hour or so (in
a airplane for example)? Do our eyes behave differently when we sleep
or is it simply that when we are asleep we might not notice some
symptom?

In article <(E-Mail Removed) >,
(E-Mail Removed) (tux) wrote:

> Hi,
>
> First, I would like to thank you all for your info! I would also like
> to ask two short follow-up questions:
>
> 1) in your practice have you *ever* seen (or heared) of somebody
> damaging his/her eyes with contact lenses *without* clear symptoms and
> *without* recklessly ingnoring them?
>
> 2) is there a website (other than subscription-only medical databases)
> which provides good information on this subject.
>
> (-: yes, you guessed right - I *am* indeed a little paranoid :-)
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>
> TW
>
> PS: what does the risk of sleeping with contact exactly refer to?
> Sleeping a full night only or also taking a nap for an hour or so (in
> a airplane for example)? Do our eyes behave differently when we sleep
> or is it simply that when we are asleep we might not notice some
> symptom?

I'll add my comments here, too.

1. No. Each and every person who has damaged their did so ignoring
symptoms of pain or vision changes. The vast majority of those folks
achieved those symptoms by purposefully mis-treating their lenses and
not following clearly presented protocol. For example: sleeping in
lenses not designed for such; using one week lenses for a month, even
much longer; not disinfecting the lenses; wearing torn or damaged
lenses;

I have known a couple of wearers who ended up with some scaring
following infecting resulting from swimming in contaminated water. Of
course they did have pain, light sensitivity, etc, which they ignored,
as well as the protocol of removing lenses before swimming or at least
after swimming followed by cleaning and disinfection. Not to mention
ignoring common sense.

Contact lenses do not cause damage to the eye. The wearer causes the
damage by carelessness, ignorance or stupidity.

There is some additional risk in sleeping in lenses, but today's
silicone-hydrogels reduce that risk to statistically not much more than
daily wear, but there is still some increased risk. As far as I, and
many if not most of my colleagues, the older "approved" overnight lenses
are not acceptable as such in 2004.

2. Napping is not (usually) an issue, but dry eyes is, and airplanes are
therefor often a problem. Appropriate use of lens drops/moisture drops
while on the plan is very important. Also, the type of lens material
becomes important. I plan on using my hioxifilcon material lenses on a
long flight in a couple of weeks, but I'll have drops and my lens case
to put them in if I experience discomfort.

The basic "rule" that I tell my patients is this: Know what the lenses
feel like and how well you see under normal conditions. IF you
experience anything other than that, immediately address the problem.
Add drops. If that doesn't work, remove lens rinse and replace. If that
doesn't work, remove lens, clean, rinse and replace. If that doesn't
work, remove lens and leave it out. If there are symptoms that last more
than 2 hours, call the doctor. If symptoms resolve, put the lenses back
in. If the symptoms return, remove the lens and throw it away. If there
is any redness, discharge or light sensitivity past two hours, call the
doctor. Make and keep your appointments for follow-up care. If you don't
follow these rules, I will not see you as a patient.

The result of this hands-on protocol is that I have a contact lens
practice that is almost completely free of problems and zero patients
(my patients) with contact lens caused cornea damage.

--LB

--
Dr. Larry Bickford, O.D.
Family Practice Eye Health & Vision Care

The Eyecare Connection
http://www.eyecarecontacts.com
larrydoc at eye-care-contacts dot com (remove -)

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 00:56:55 GMT, "Dr. Leukoma"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Robert Martellaro <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>news(E-Mail Removed) :
>
>> On 9 Jul 2004 08:47:56 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) (tux) wrote:
>>
>>>I mean, I simply cannot believe that all the people who had severe
>>>problems (I personally know two people who almost lost their vision)
>>>would be simply so plain stupid as to ignore warning signs and that
>>>their problems can only be blamed on their alledged stupidity.
>>
>> Believe it. About once a month I have a client tell me that they have
>> blurred vision in one eye, flashing lights at the periphery, etc. I
>> ask how long this has ben occurring and inevitably they say for a
>> couple days, sometimes its for a week or more.
>>
>
>I would not normally attribute photopsia(flashing lights) to a contact
>lens-related problem.
>

I should have stated that this has been my experience with non-CL
wearers. It's disheartening to see vision loss when symptoms are
ignored.

Robert

LarryDoc <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<larrydoc-(E-Mail Removed)>...

>
> The result of this hands-on protocol is that I have a contact lens
> practice that is almost completely free of problems and zero patients
> (my patients) with contact lens caused cornea damage.
>
> --LB

Hi Larry,

I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to explain all this to
me. I really appreciate this very much!

Kind regards,

TW

In article <(E-Mail Removed) >,
(E-Mail Removed) (tux) wrote:

> LarryDoc <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:<larrydoc-(E-Mail Removed)>...
>
> >
> > The result of this hands-on protocol is that I have a contact lens
> > practice that is almost completely free of problems and zero patients
> > (my patients) with contact lens caused cornea damage.
> >
> > --LB
>
> Hi Larry,
>
> I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to explain all this to
> me. I really appreciate this very much!
>
> Kind regards,
>
> TW

You are most welcome!

-LB

--
Dr. Larry Bickford, O.D.
Family Practice Eye Health & Vision Care

The Eyecare Connection
http://www.eyecarecontacts.com
larrydoc at eye-care-contacts dot com (remove -)