How Contacts Can Be Harmful to Your Eyes

Though they might be more convenient than glasses, wearing contacts comes with serious risks.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), wearing contact lenses increases the risk of developing eye infections, corneal ulcers, and other eye-related health conditions. Left untreated, many of these conditions can later cause permanent eye damage and, in rare cases, blindness.

Though keeping contact lenses clean can help mitigate these risks, it’s usually not enough to avoid them. Since contact lenses are always in direct contact with the surface of the eye, they can easily cause eye irritation through rubbing or by trapping dust—and both can lead to an eye infection.

Common symptoms to look out for include blurred vision, “grittiness,” itchiness, redness or burning, and eye discharge. In most cases, these symptoms come on suddenly and can quickly become worse if the contacts aren’t removed immediately. If you start experiencing these symptoms, don’t wait: Remove and clean your contacts, and then call a doctor if your symptoms persist.

Even if you keep your contacts perfectly clean, the risks are still there: Handling your contacts or rubbing your eyes throughout the day can also lead to infection. As a result, many contact users eventually switch back to glasses or permanently fix their eyesight with LASIK.

For more information on the risks of contact lenses and how minimally invasive LASIK can restore your vision, check out the infographic below or call Dougherty Laser Vision at (805) 987-5300.