Why You Should Not Shower In Your Contacts

As a longtime contact lens wearer, I’ve usually felt assured in my understanding of eye well being and hygiene. I by no means sleep with my lenses in, all the time wash my arms earlier than dealing with them and do my finest to switch every pair with a brand new one on the really useful time.

However after I got here throughout a Texas girl’s harrowing story on Instagram, I noticed I used to be fully unaware of one other dangerous conduct, one which I do nearly every day: sporting contacts within the bathe.

“I went blind in a single eye from showering in my contacts and needed to get a cornea transplant,” Rachel Prochnow famous in a Reel she posted last month.

Because the Austin native shared on social media, she was identified with a extreme parasitic eye an infection referred to as Acanthamoeba keratitis in July 2023, following weeks of visits with medical doctors who couldn’t determine why her eye out of the blue damage a lot.

The following months have been crammed with “excruciating” ache, out-of-town medical appointments, hourly eyedrops, costly and debilitating remedy, lack of imaginative and prescient and finally, a cornea transplant in the summertime of 2024, she mentioned.

Prochnow determined to share her story to lift consciousness across the risks of showering in your contacts, which she believes was the supply of the an infection.

“I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to do this. I had actually by no means ever been informed you weren’t supposed to do this,” she mentioned in an Instagram video, including, “It will possibly actually occur to anybody” who wears contacts.

So how precisely does showering in contacts trigger horrifying infections like Acanthamoeba keratitis? HuffPost requested eye well being specialists to interrupt down the dangers concerned and what you need to do as a substitute.

“Showering in contacts is dangerous,” Dr. James Kelly, an ophthalmologist and founding father of Kelly Imaginative and prescient, informed HuffPost. “Faucet water will not be sterile and may include dangerous microorganisms, identical to pure our bodies of water.”

He emphasised that even temporary publicity severely will increase your danger of an infection, which might result in extreme ache, everlasting scarring, lack of imaginative and prescient, corneal ulcers and extra.

“Sporting contact lenses within the bathe isn’t as dangerous as swimming in them, but it surely’s nonetheless not really useful,” mentioned Dr. Maria Montero, the affiliate director of medical companies at Orbis Flying Eye Hospital. “Water can introduce dangerous micro organism and parasites, comparable to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acanthamoeba, which might get trapped beneath the lenses.”

If these organisms adhere to your contact lenses, you may develop a serious eye an infection like microbial keratitis, which can trigger imaginative and prescient loss if not addressed promptly. To make issues worse, these circumstances could be very troublesome to diagnose and deal with, notably if you happen to don’t reside close to a specialist aware of the vary of potential pathogens.

“Acanthamoeba protozoans or adenoviruses could be current in swimming pools, seawater, sizzling tubs and showers,” defined Dr. Thomas J. Stokkermans, an optometrist and medical author and reviewer at All About Imaginative and prescient. “Serratia marcescens causes ‘pink mould’ that may be present in loos. It will possibly additionally survive in sizzling water comparable to in sizzling tubs and showers.”

He added that Pseudomonas aeruginosa can also be current in showers, in addition to recent water in nature and inadequately chlorinated swimming pools and sizzling tubs.

“Individuals have misplaced their eyes to waterborne infections,” Kelly famous. “The very best follow is to take away your contacts earlier than showering. If you happen to completely should put on them, maintain your eyes closed as a lot as attainable and use preservative-free synthetic tears afterward to flush out any potential contaminants.”

There are different dangers to showering in contacts past these painful and probably blinding infections.

“Water can alter the form of soppy contact lenses, making them uncomfortable or much less efficient,” Kelly mentioned.

Smooth contact lenses are porous, which makes them extra nice to put on but in addition causes them to soak up water rapidly. So if you happen to bathe along with your contacts in, the lenses can swell and alter form in order that they don’t match as nicely in your eyes and develop into tougher to take away. Cue discomfort, blurry imaginative and prescient and dryness.

And it’s not simply the moisture that causes lens warping.

“Contact lenses are designed to be within the tear movie, which has a sure salt focus, which known as osmolarity,” Stokkermans mentioned. “Water with a special osmolarity can warp the lenses affecting the match. This could irritate or injury the attention’s floor.”

“Bathwater may include micro organism, cleaning soap and shampoo residues which will get trapped beneath your lenses, resulting in irritation or an infection,” Kelly mentioned. “If you happen to’re simply lounging in a sizzling tub or taking a shower with out submerging your head, the dangers are decrease than if you happen to have been swimming or dunking your face within the water, however there are nonetheless some considerations.”

Rubbing or in any other case touching your eyes with moist arms from the bathtub may introduce contaminants. The identical goes for splashing water in your face, whether or not deliberately or accidentally.

Kelly famous that there are different dangers past dangerous microorganisms and potential infections as nicely.

“Scorching tubs and baths create a heat, humid surroundings that may dry out contact lenses, making them follow the cornea and really feel uncomfortable,” he mentioned.

Thus, there’s additionally a danger of corneal abrasions if you happen to’re not cautious.

“The most secure factor is to by no means put on contact lenses when swimming, within the bathe or utilizing sizzling tubs or different baths,” Stokkermans mentioned.

“It’s crucial to keep away from any sort of interplay between water and your contact lenses,” mentioned Dr. Ella Faktorovich, a watch physician and founding father of Pacific Imaginative and prescient Institute. “This contains cleansing your contact lenses with faucet water ― large no-no.”

If water will get into your eyes throughout a bathe or bathtub whilst you’re sporting contact lenses, take them out after which clear your eye space with saline answer or synthetic tears.

“Take away the contacts ASAP and discard them, and put in a recent pair,” Faktorovich suggested.

You may additionally take into account simply sporting your glasses for the rest of the day. If you happen to use month-to-month lenses, take the time to totally disinfect them.

“It is best to by no means rinse or retailer your contacts in faucet water ― it’s not sterile and may introduce dangerous microorganisms,” Kelly mentioned. “You probably have frequent eye infections, take into account switching to every day disposable lenses to reduce contamination dangers.”

Take note of any points that come up following interactions between contact lenses in your eyes and faucet water from a bathe or bathtub.

“If you happen to expertise any sudden eye ache, redness, or blurry imaginative and prescient after water publicity, see an ophthalmologist ASAP,” Kelly suggested. “Early remedy is essential to stopping everlasting injury.”

Usually, you need to be sure you’re disposing of your contact lenses on the really useful timeline, whether or not that’s daily, each two weeks or each month. Your eye well being will not be a spot the place you wish to stretch boundaries, so simply attempt to comply with all of the really useful practices.

“The largest dangers for contact lens wearers come from unhealthy hygiene habits — comparable to sleeping in contacts, not washing and drying arms earlier than dealing with them, or utilizing something aside from contact lens answer to wash and retailer them,” Montero mentioned. “To assist maintain your eyes protected, all the time take away your contacts earlier than mattress, clear them correctly, examine them for tears, and maintain the storage case extraordinarily clear to forestall contamination.”