Findings aren't pretty

Here is a very good illustration of the harm of buying mail-order colour contact lenses and not seeing an eye care practitioner http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20130525-425119.html - a 17-year-old whose eye condition was that of someone 60 years old. It turns out the patient, a contact lens wearer since childhood, had latterly been purchasing colour lenses by mail order and had not seen an ophthalmologist recently. The trouble really seems to be lack of oxygen permeability in the contact lenses. A survey by the Japan Contact Lens Society revealed a high number of cases involving colour contact lenses and at least 80 per cent of these involved patients in their 20s or younger. This also revealed that of 127 cases where the material in the coloured contact lenses was known, 97 involved materials with low oxygen permeability. The other main concern was not taking proper care of the lenses - an age-old story. Presumably the aim of this mail-order purchasing was to save money, but it comes with a major cost, and education is clearly needed on the benefits of oxygen permeabilty offered by modern materials as well as contact lens care among younger patients.