Why you should never shower while wearing contact lenses?

When Whitney Fleming, a writer in Grand Rapids, Michigan, woke up to find her left eye irritated and sore, she wasn’t worried at first. Fleming has been wearing soft contact lenses since her teens. She cleaned them carefully, replaced them with a new pair every two weeks, and never wore them to sleep.

But as the pain steadily worsened, and none of the treatments prescribed worked, Fleming began to panic. She couldn’t drive. Exposure to light was painful. The pain, which was continuous, spread to her face and neck, and eventually she lost vision in her left eye. “I just started disengaging from life, because I was in so much pain,” she recalls.

Finally, after three weeks, a corneal specialist diagnosed Fleming Acanthamoeba KeratitisIt is a disease that occurs when… AcanthamoebaA common parasite found in tap water, as well as dirt, soil, and any non-sterile body of water, such as a swimming pool or lake, it infects the digestive system. corneaThe transparent outer covering of the eye. Although she’ll never know for sure how she got it, the most likely cause, Fleming’s doctor told her, is something millions of people do every day: wearing contact lenses in the shower.

The dangers of wearing contact lenses while showering

“We tell people that contact lenses and water don’t mix,” says Dr. Thomas Steinman, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a professor of ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

on 90% of Acanthamoeba Cases of keratitis It occurs in contact lens wearers, says Dr. Saba Al-Hashimi, assistant professor of ophthalmology in the department of cornea at the Stein Eye Institute at the University of California. While the amoeba is essentially dormant if you swallow it or get into your ears, “if it gets under your contact lenses, it can find a way to become an opportunistic infection,” he says.

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This happens for several reasons. First, the parasite, which has a high affinity for contact lenses, gets trapped between the contact and the cornea, he says. Because the surface of the cornea has many tiny abrasions caused by your contact with it, they can act as openings for amoeba to sneak in – and the longer you are exposed to them, the deeper they can go.

“Once it gets there, it becomes very difficult — the deeper it goes — to eliminate,” Steinman says.

Unrecognized disease

Despite wearing contact lenses for decades, Fleming had never heard that she shouldn’t shower, swim or soak in a hot tub while wearing them.

“A lot of people don’t understand that any contact with water poses a risk,” Steinman says. “They say: ‘I never knew about this, why didn’t they tell me years ago?’

while Acanthamoeba Historically, keratitis was rare, with only approx 1500 cases annually “In the United States, I think people are gradually realizing that a lot of these infections are going undetected,” Steinman says. Illness often wrong For other conditions, which can delay proper treatment.

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“It is often misdiagnosed as herpes, and patients are put on steroid drops, which makes the infection worse,” says Al Hashimi. Even when the correct diagnosis is eventually made, “it takes at least three to four months to get rid of the infection,” he says. “But there are cases where the parasite persists even after a year of treatment. It is a very difficult pathogen to get rid of.”

If you are offering symptoms to Acanthamoeba For keratitis — including eye pain, runny nose or redness, and light sensitivity — it’s important to advocate for yourself at your appointment, Fleming says. “A lot of ophthalmologists and ophthalmologists have never seen a live case,” she says. Steinman, who trains ophthalmology residents, stresses that eye care professionals must be prepared for it. “The quicker we think about it, when we see a patient with a painful red eye, the quicker we can intervene and treat them.”

How to mitigate your risks

Acanthamoeba They’re not the only waterborne bacteria that can wreak havoc if they stick to the surface of your contact lenses. “Perhaps the most common and the most terrifying” is Pseudomonas aeruginosaWhich can cause severe inflammation of the cornea, Steinman says.

Although there is a risk in any type of contact lens, “I tell all my patients, if you wear soft lenses, wear daily disposable contact lenses,” Steinman says. In addition to reducing the risk of contamination – you start with a new pair every day – it makes it easier to dispose of your lenses if you accidentally expose them to water. “It’s not as good as no Expose them to water, but if you wear a daily disposable lens, let this be your last wear.

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With other types of communications, make sure you’re thorough with cleaning and disinfecting, Steinman advises. Do not reuse the contact lens solution in your bag; Clean the case Apply fresh solution at least once a week and leave it open to air dry; Never use tap water or saliva as a wetting agent. (Pseudo Can also Live in your mouth.)

It may be worth investing in prescription swimming goggles, says Al Hashemi, so you can ditch your contact lenses completely; You can even wear goggles while showering. If you are a candidate for Refractive surgery Like LASIK, “this is one way to get rid of your contact lenses and live your life the way you want,” he adds.

“roll the dice”

Now, nearly a decade later, Fleming has slowly regained sight in her left eye, although she still has a scar above the pupil. But in addition to the initial side effects of the infection, she also developed a stomach ulcer from eating it High doses of ibuprofen During that time, four teeth cracked from grinding in pain, and she says her mental health suffered during and after her illness.

“If I had understood what could have happened, I would have been more careful,” she says. “It’s a roll of the dice you don’t want to make.”