There have been many various eye infection issues with contact lenses in the recent years; sometimes it is blamed on specific products, but mostly it is lack of good hygiene. There are some major issues that specifically have to do with people who wear soft contact lenses. Those people are definitely at a heightened risk for a serious contact lens eye infection.
One specific such infection is called Fusarium Kerititis. Although this contact lens eye infection is uncommon, it is definitely a cause for concern. The major symptoms of this particular infection involving contact lens wearers include, but are not limited to: blurred vision, redness, pain and extreme tearing or discharge. It can be so serious that the infection could cause total vision loss if not immediately treated.
Problem-Solving
If you wear contact lenses and begin feeling eye discomfort, remove your lenses. If you flush them but continue feeling pain, or see signs of an infection involving your contact lens usage, go to an eye doctor right away. If you have a contact lens eye infection, you do not want to delay treatment because eye infections are significant.
People who wear disposable daily lenses seem to have lowest risk of contact lens eye infection. However, anyone using lenses has a higher risk of getting an eye infection if they leave their lenses in when they go to bed, do not disinfect their storage cases, do not wash their hands before handling the contact lenses, or smoke.
Strangely, the risk of a contact lens eye infection was three times more likely when the lenses were purchased over the Internet. In order to avoid a contact lens eye infection, it is very important to know where your lenses have been. The ones sold on the Internet are typically mishandled, which can be a greater risk for this particular type of dangerous infection. It is recommended to purchase the lenses from at least a well-known store where a contact lens eye infection is less likely.
Reportedly, there is now a material called a sulfoxide hydrogel polymer that prevents a contact lens eye infection through enhancing the level of water in the eye and decreasing a problematic protein buildup. They claim it will enable contact lenses to be more comfortable when worn for long periods of time and successfully prevent bacterial buildup in the eye. It is the bacterial buildup that can lead to a contact lens eye infection.