What is it?
Infection of the eye caused by contact lens.
If one knows the cause of their contact lens infection and one has an eye infection, then one should contact their Medical Doctor immediately
Diagnosis tests
- Slit-lamp examination (main test)
- Fluorescein dye test
- Corneal scraping & microscopy (key confirmatory test)
- check for bacteria, fungal infection, Amoeba
- Culture tests
- Check for bacteria, fungal infection (KOH test)
- Test for amoeba
- PCR tests
- Microscopy
- Corneal scraping
- Viral tests
- Eye pressure and vision tests
Cause
- Rare bacterial infection of lens
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa (most dangerous)
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Serratia species
- Fungal:
- Fusarium
- Aspergillus
- Candida (rare in contact lens cases)
- Viral
- Wearing contact lens for too long
- Poor storage of contact lens
- Poor cleaning of contact lens
- Rinsing with tap water or swimming with contacts lens on or in spending time in hot tubs with lens on (Acanthamoeba Keratitis)
- Sharing contact lens solutions
- Sharing contact lens
Symptoms
- Pain in eye particularly waking at morning or after sleeping (eye is more dry when sleeping, risk of eye being scratched and injured)?
- More visible red blood vessels in the eye typically between 10am – 2pm due to wearing their contact lenses longer than usual or worn too often?
- Painful red eye (because of the pain the eye is slightly closed and watery, risk of bacterial infection)?
- White spot in eye (risk of eye ulcer)?
Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:
Do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:
- Eye ulcer
- Acanthamoeba Keratitis
- Severe eye pain
- Cannot stand bright lights
- Severe blurred vision/reduced vision/Hazy vision – not due to eye stickiness (wipe away stickiness with hygiene measure and check)
One can reduce the risk of this infection by:
- Avoiding contact with contaminated water, which could include freshwater lakes, rivers and hot springs.
Contact lens wearers:
- Filling your contact lens storage case with fresh solution each time you open it.
- Never sleeping in your contact lenses.
- Not showering, swimming or using a hot tub while wearing contact lenses.
- Not using another person’s contact lenses.
- Replacing contact lenses regularly, according to your healthcare provider’s recommendations.
- Using only disinfecting solution (not saline solution) to rinse and store your contact lenses – never use tap water.
- Visiting your optometrist or ophthalmologist for regular exams.
- Washing your hands before touching your eyes or handling your contact lenses
This condition can be associated with
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist/Optometrist) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Contact Lens Infection in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
- Medical News Today
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- Medscape (Professional level)
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- EveryDay Health
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- NHS
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- WebMD
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- Verywell Health
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