Fingers, bugs and contact lenses

Eye hospitals continue to report a significant cause of red-eye presentation associated with contact lens wear. This begs the questions: why is this, what are we doing wrong and is there anything we can do about it? It is not only bad for the individual concerned but also bad for the contact lens industry/profession and for overstretched hospital eye departments.

Numerous studies show storage case biofilm contamination is likely to be a significant cause of complications1,2,3,4,5 and that daily disposable lenses pose a significantly lower risk of serious visual loss than re-usable lenses.6 Worryingly it also may well be that the disinfecting solutions we rely upon are not as effective as we think particularly against some strains of Pseudomonas7 which Acanthamoebae feed upon.