- Fashion designer Aimee McWilliams, 33, from London wore contacts daily
- Up to 8 hours wear a day recommended but she wore them for 14
- Was in danger of losing eyesight as was starving her eyes of oxygen
18:27 EST, 26 May 2014
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18:27 EST, 26 May 2014
Aimee McWilliams was in serious danger of losing her sight as her eyes were starved of oxygen
After
finally getting round to having a routine check-up for her contact
lenses, Aimee McWilliams assumed it would be merely a formality.
Having worn contacts since the age of 14, the 33-year-old fashion designer from London had never experienced any problems with them.
The
general advice is to avoid wearing contacts for more than eight hours a
day. However Aimee, like many people, had been wearing them for much
longer – in her case, for more than 14 hours every day.
This had
slowly been starving her eyes of oxygen; while the damage wasn’t
apparent to the naked eye, it was spotted when the optometrist used a
special microscope. Aimee was shocked to learn that she was in serious
danger of losing her sight.
‘I was horrified,’ recalls Aimee, fromÂ
London. ‘I’d always worn my lenses from 7?am until nearly midnight.
Nobody had told me that I was jeopardising my sight by wearing them for
so long, though IÂ suppose I just said I used them daily.
‘What
frightened me even more was that there had been no signs anything was
wrong – my eyes looked the same. And I’d delayed my annual check-up by
several weeks because I was so busy and I didn’t think I really needed
one.’
Around 3.7?million people in Britain wear contact lenses. But
many don’t appreciate how meticulous you need to be about using them,
says Hosam Kasaby, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Southend
University Hospital and BMI Southend Hospital.
One of the risks is
corneal neovascularisation, the condition Aimee had. As Mr Kasaby
explains: ‘The cornea – the clear outer layer at the front of the
eyeball – is the only part of the body that gets its oxygen supply
directly from the air rather than from the blood.
‘But a contact lens acts as a barrier to that oxygen supply, so extensive wear can potentially starve the cornea of oxygen.
‘The
body compensates for this by growing new blood vessels over the cornea
to provide an oxygen supply, or corneal neovascularisation.
‘Left
unchecked, the eye can become covered with blood vessels, and turn the
cornea opaque. In rare cases it can threaten sight.’
The problem is
the condition can build up over several years – it’s only when it gets
to an advanced stage that contacts wearers become aware of a problem, as
that’s when it will cause red, irritated eyes, by which time it may be
too late.
The general advice is to avoid wearing contacts for more than eight hours a day
Stopping wearing the lenses can cause the new blood
vessels to collapse, though in severe cases, when there is excessive
blood vessel growth, even if they collapse, they can cause scarring.
Corneal
neovascularisation may be more common with standard soft lenses, which
are made of water-containing plastic. The other main type of lens, gas
permeable, while less flexible, allows in more oxygen, says Robert
Glass, a Manchester-based optometrist.
‘There are also newer types of
soft lenses, known as silicone hydrogels, which allow more oxygen to
pass through to the cornea than previous soft lens materials, making
them healthier,’ he says.
There are lenses licensed for use during
sleep, which are permeable enough to ensure there is minimal risk of
corneal neovascularisation. But you should be assessed by an optometrist
before using these.
It’s not only corneal neovascularisation that’s the problem with wearing contacts for too long.
Lucia
Paovesana, 27, says her big, round blue eyes, which she once considered
her best feature, have been ruined through wearing contact lenses for
more than ten hours a day, as the whites of her eyes are now often red
and sore.
She’s worn contacts since she was 14, then four years ago
she began suffering eye infections every few months. ‘If I was awake I’d
wear lenses,’ says Lucia, who lives in Tamworth and works in a bar.
‘But every few months my eyes would become red and painful. I’d leave
the lenses for a couple of days and they’d settle down. But the cycle
would repeat itself.’
Eventually, she saw her optician, who
immediately referred her to a specialist at Ashfurlong Medical Centre in
Sutton Coldfield, where she was diagnosed with blepharitis –
inflammation of the eyelids – aggravated by wearing her contacts for too
long every day. Blepharitis causes reddening of the whites of the eye
as the inflamed lids scratch the surface. People wearing contacts are at
much higher risk of blephar-itis, as the eye is more likely to be dry
and prone to irritation.
Blepharitis cannot usually be cured, but
the symptoms can be controlled by regularly cleaning the eye with boiled
water (after it has cooled) and massaging it when closed to prevent
deposits of sticky discharge and flakes of skin building up behind the
lid.
She delayed an annual check-up and didn’t think she really needed one
A few weeks after she discarded her lenses, as advised, Lucia’s
eyes began to lose most of their redness. ‘But four years later, my
eyes are still red in the corners and I felt I’ve really ruined my eyes
by wearing contact lenses,’ she says.
It’s not only overuse of
contact lenses that can threaten the health of the eye – carelessness
with hygiene is an obvious problem. And, ironically, some patients think
they are practising good hygeine but aren’t, explains David Anderson,
consultant ophthalmic surgeon and corneal specialist at University
Hospital Southampton.
‘Most people tend to wash their hands in the
bathroom before putting in their lenses. But many are unaware that
unless they dry their hands properly or if they leave their contact
lenses uncovered in their case, they’re potentially exposing themselves
to a bug known as acanthamoeba. This lives in water tanks, which tend to
provide the supply to bathrooms. As such it can be found on bathroom
surfaces too.’
Acanthamoeba bugs stick to contact lenses and can then
burrow their way through the cornea, causing acute pain. It’s only at
this stage that a sufferer would be aware they had a problem.
Prescription
drugs may be able to treat the bug in the early stages, but specialists
say it is very difficult to get rid of. In serious cases, the patient
needs a corneal transplant but these have a high failure rate, resulting
in sight loss. Other steps to prevent the infection include never
swimming or using a hot tub or shower when wearing contacts, advises
Jeff Kwartz, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at the Royal Bolton Hospital.
‘And never hold them under running water.’
Each year, infections
cause around 6,000 cases of a severe eye condition known as microbial
keratitis – inflammation and ulceration of the cornea that can lead to
vision loss. Contact lens wearers are at a higher risk, since bacteria
can get trapped in the lenses.
So how should you protect your eyes?
Mr Kwartz recommends using daily disposable lenses, which are usually
more expensive as each new lens will be sterile and will never need to
be cleaned.
If you do use monthlies – these are taken out and
cleaned every night, and replaced after a month – rub them with the
solution recommended by your optometrist before putting them in their
case.
The lens case should also be replaced every month, adds Mr
Glass. ‘Over time, cracks can form in which micro-organisms can thrive,
leading to infection.’
126
The number of years since contact lenses were invented
And never reuse or top up disinfecting
solution – put fresh solution in the case every time you take the lenses
out, says Mr Glass. Rinse the storage case and leave it open to dry
after use every day and clean it once a week with a clean toothbrush and
contact lens solution.
But the most important thing is to try to
limit lens use to eight hours a day and keep hands scrupulously clean,
says Mr Kasaby.
‘Break the habit of wearing lenses from the moment
you wake up until you go to bed – when you get home from work, switch to
glasses in order to allow the eye’s oxygen intake to get back toÂ
normal. Or, if you have a social event, do this the other way round.’
As
for Aimee, she feels she has had a lucky escape. She was advised by her
optician at Optical Express to stop wearing her lenses immediately –
and for good.
Once she stopped, within a few months the tiny blood
vessels had collapsed and were no longer a threat to her vision. But she
struggled wearing glasses – after years of wearing lenses they made her
feel dizzy when she glanced to the side – and she decided to have laser
treatment to correct her vision.
‘Now I have 20/20 vision, but I
still shudder to think I could have ended up losing my sight simply from
wearing my contact lenses for much too long every day.’
or comment on this article
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Comments (32)
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The comments below have not been moderated.
YankeeDoodleDandy,
Londontown, United States,
10 minutes ago
hammer horror beauty
dr95,
london, United Kingdom,
21 minutes ago
i am crying laughing about the comments on her fringe hahahaha
whatsamatternow,
Galt, United States,
26 minutes ago
There are contacts designed to wear longer, even contacts you can sleep in now. I’m confused do you not have those types of contacts there? Didn’t she see her optometrist once a year? You’re not supposed to go then never go back. My eyes change every year….
Cesca,
Manchester – EUSSR,
29 minutes ago
Sorry to post another comment, but this piece is all over the place. Yes, you should wash and dry your hands but then you should sluice each lens with sterile saline solution before putting it in unless you’ve just taken it from a sterile pack. You only really touch the outside of the lens and not the inside that touches the eye. This is a poor article that is scaremongering about lenses when it quite clearly states that this lady did not adhere to the guidelines for daily disposables. When I started on dailies, the instructions were quite clear: no longer than eight hours and do not sleep because of the lack of oxygen.
Person,
Nottingham, United Kingdom,
32 minutes ago
I got rid of my contact lenses when I got a very bad eye infection about 10 years ago. My eyes have never felt better. I don’t miss that feeling of itchy, dry and irritated eyes at all. It wads hard at the time, but I’m now a proud glasses wearer. I would encourage anyone to do the same. You only get one pair of eyes.
JJ,
world citizen,
42 minutes ago
I had horrible vision (-9) and had PRK type laser surgery – it’s like a miracle. Can’t believe I fiddled about with pesky contacts for so many years (glasses gave me headaches) because I was scared of laser surgery. Seriously if you are badly short sighted, get lasered.
Wellheld,
Hurghada, United Kingdom,
26 minutes ago
Sound off,
Dallas,
44 minutes ago
Good information, WHO KNEW???!!!???
JE,
Kansas City,
1 hour ago
Her haircut is destroying my vision.
jouk,
London, UK,
1 hour ago
Change your lens case every month?! I’ve had mine for years!
sqt,
California,
24 minutes ago
Dolly,
UK, United Kingdom,
1 hour ago
It looks like someone has also destroyed her fringe.
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