Contact Lenses... Eye Infections Possible

If you are to wear contact lenses, then there might be a possible chance of catching eye infections and other problems with the eyes, below ill post the most common ones which i was able to find and then do a little research into each of these so i have also covered this section of the problem!

First of all i found that nearly all eye problems which come from contact lenses are due to poor hygiene, this could be cause you are too lazy to clean them correctly or just lack of knowledge, if you knew about all the eye problems that can happen to you when using contacts then you would change your routine very quickly. i defiantly did once i read the information which i found around the internet...

While contact lenses are safely used by millions of people every day, they do carry a risk of eye infection. The most common infection related to contact lens use is keratitis, an infection of the cornea (the clear, round dome covering the eye's iris and pupil). Keratitis can have multiple causes, including herpes, bacteria, fungus and microbes (such as acanthamoeba—a very difficult infection to treat). Keratitis is the most serious complication of contact lens wear. In severe cases, it can lead to corneal scarring that impairs vision, and may lead to the need for a cornea transplant.

What is Herpes Keratitis?

Herpes keratitis is a viral infection of the eye caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two major types of the virus. Type I is the most common and primarily infects the face, causing the familiar "cold sore" or "fever blister." Type II is the sexually transmitted form of herpes, infecting the genitals.

While both Type I and Type II herpes can spread to the eye and cause infection, Type I is by far the most frequent cause of eye infections. Infection can be transferred to the eye by touching an active lesion (a cold sore or blister) and then your eye.

This to me is pretty grim, knowing that not only can you catch an eye infection from just bad hygiene it can also be sexually transmitted. 

What is Bacterial Keratitis?

Bacterial keratitis is an infection of the cornea (the clear, round dome covering the eye's iris and pupil) that causes pain, reduced vision, light sensitivity and tearing or discharge from your eye. Resulting from infection from contact lens use or from injury to the eye, bacterial keratitis usually develops very quickly, and if left untreated, can cause blindness

Bacterial Keratitis can also cause Photokeratitis (due to intense ultraviolet radiation exposure,eg snow blindness or welder's arc eye, both can be incredibly painful).

Knowing this one can give you discharge from the eye and also make you blind, this has scared me into cleaning them on a regular basis and its something that i don't want to mess around with having a chance at getting, no ones wishes it on anyone to become blind and no one wants it to happen to them as well, this is why i clean my lenses correctly and every day! 

What is Fungal Keratitis?

Fungal keratitis is an infection of the cornea (the clear, round dome covering the eye's iris and pupil) that causes pain, reduced vision, light sensitivity and tearing or discharge from your eye. Resulting from infection from contact lens use or from injury to the eye, fungal keratitis usually develops very quickly, and if left untreated, can cause blindness.

The above quote was defiantly a different statement but it still has a very similar meaning to the one for bacterial keratitis.

Superficial keratitis involves the outermost layers of the cornea. When this form of keratitis has healed, there is usually no scar on the cornea, Deep keratitis affects deeper corneal layers. There can be a scar left after healing, which may or may not affect your vision, depending on where the scar is located.