Reusing Contact Lenses Raises Odds for Rare Eye Infection - Moore County News Press

25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Although wearing reusable contact lenses is generally safe, it can be associated with a greater risk of a rare eye infection, new British research shows.

In the study, people who wore reusable contact lenses were nearly four times more likely to develop the infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) than those who wore daily disposable lenses.

Risks increased for those wearing them overnight or leaving them in while in the shower.

"Contact lenses are generally very safe but are associated with a small risk of microbial keratitis, most commonly caused by bacteria, and which is the only sight threatening complication of their use," Dart said in a college news release.

"Given that an estimated 300 million people across the globe wear contact lenses, it is important that people know how to minimize their risks for developing keratitis.”.

The researchers found that people who wore reusable soft contact lenses had 3.8 times the odds of developing AK compared to people who wore daily disposable lenses.

Showering with lenses in increased the odds of AK by 3.3 times, while wearing lenses overnight increased the odds by 3.9 times.

"Previous studies have linked AK to wearing contact lenses in hot tubs, swimming pools or lakes, and here we have added showers to that list, underlining that exposure to any water when wearing lenses should be avoided," said study first author and associate professor Nicole Carnt.

Somewhere between 30% and 62% of cases of AK in the United Kingdom, and potentially in many other countries, could be prevented if people switched from reusable lenses to daily disposables, researchers found.

“Contact lens packaging should include information on lens safety and risk avoidance, even as simple as ‘no water’ stickers on each case, particularly given that many people buy their lenses online without speaking to a health professional,” Dart said.