CONTACT LENS CARE GOES BACK TO BASICS
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Experts are urging eye care professionals to adopt a new set of guidelines to help educate their patients on the importance of proper contact lens care to avoid eye infections.
Recent research shows that one in three eye health problems suffered by lens wearers are a direct result of improper lens care and cleaning. Eye care professionals believe up to 90 percent of lens wearers do not clean their contact lenses correctly, putting themselves at risk of bacterial eye infections, including bacterial corneal and conjunctival infections.
The research has prompted leading eye health clinicians, researchers and academic experts at the Asia Pacific Contact Lens Care Summit, held recently in Singapore, to develop a back-to-basic set of lens care guidelines.
The guidelines, endorsed by the Institute for Eye Research, advise users how to take better care of their lenses. By highlighting safety issues associated with contact lenses and offering instructions on their use, maintenance and storage, they aim to ensure optimal eye health and reduce the chance of serious infection.
Scientia Professor Brien Holden of the University of New South Wales, CEO of the Institute for Eye Research and Chair of the Asia Pacific Contact Lens Care Summit, said contact lenses are safe if they are used properly but many people are ignoring the product use cleaning instructions.
“Contact lenses have developed over the last thirty years to a point where they are an optimal form of vision correction. However, we see our patients cleaning and handling their contact lenses in ways that risk serious eye infections,” Professor Holden said.
“These medical devices are safe if they are used properly and the product use instructions are followed. The guidelines show users how to take better care of their lenses using a ‘rub and rinse’ technique which has been shown to reduce up to 99 percent of microorganisms present on the contact lens ,” he said.
“Just rubbing for 10 seconds on each side of your contact lenses and rinsing both before and after using a multipurpose solution or hydrogen peroxide system, can dramatically reduce the chance of bacteria growing on the lenses and causing problems,” Professor Holden explained
Professor Deborah Sweeney, President of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) urged practitioners and the industry to restore emphasis on the importance of contact lens care.“We welcome these new guidelines which will be an important resource for all contact lens educators, providing them with concise instructions to improve consumers’ eye health,” Professor Sweeney said.
“A proper eye care regime is specific to each individual and our role as practitioners is to ensure that patients are properly informed and understand the details of appropriate care of the lenses they are prescribed. This includes taking responsibility for training patients in correct contact lens care techniques,” she said.
Key points covered by the guidelines include: specific instructions for eye care professionals, how consumer compliance, education, and contact lens hygiene can be improved, as well as importance of regular proper follow up care.
Download the full guidelines here.
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