You wake up in the morning to your alarm sounding off; you sit up, put your contact lenses in, and then get up and get in the shower to start your day. But did you know that this exact process could be leading you towards a very serious eye infection, and you wouldn’t even know it? As humans, we have only got two eyes, and taking care of our eyes with proper hygiene is a very important and crucial thing from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep each day. A corneal ulcer is an infection that can occur from water while wearing contact lenses and the infection eats its way into the cornea; which is a worst case scenario. A corneal infection can occur while wearing contacts in lake water, chlorinated pool water, or even tap water, and avoiding water of all kinds while wearing contact lenses is probably a good practice to perform. Water is never good for contact lenses, and if your contact lenses ever come in contact with water, you should take them out, clean them and disinfect them immediately to avoid the risk of getting a harmful eye infection.
Microbial Keratitis Infection:
The infection is known as microbial keratitis, and it can lead to permanent vision loss. The main concern with this disease is that if the bacteria or micro-organism eats all the way through the cornea where the cornea if perforated, then the bacteria can enter the eyeball, and that is how vision loss can occur. If you wear contact lenses, it is essential that you keep them out of water sources of all kinds, and vigilantly clean and disinfect them to avoid contaminants getting into your eye.
Signs and Symptoms of Microbial Keratitis Symptoms:
- Eye redness
- Eye pain
- Excess tears or other discharge from your eye
- Difficulty opening your eyelid because of pain or irritation
- Blurred vision
- Decreased vision
- Sensitivity to light
- A feeling that something is in your eye
If you frequently wear your contacts in the shower or in other bodies of water and you have begun to experience these symptoms, it is important that you seek a doctor immediately to ensure that you avoid serious eye damage. If you would like more tips and tricks about eye health and contact lenses, or about products and services offered at Invision Optical, please feel free to continue browsing through our website, or you can contact us via phone at 905-842-9444 or by email at info@invisionoptical.ca
