13% of the population uses contact lenses. In other words, more than six million Spaniards use contact lenses in our country according to .
However, a vast majority continue to opt for prescription glasses (82%), followed by 13%, who do not use any visual compensation system or 3% who choose pre-assembled glasses, with a standard graduation for both eyes and which are marketed in establishments such as pharmacies.
The age group between 18 and 35 years old are those who prefer contact lenses over glasses (or used by several).
“Glasses are the compensating element most used by both men and women in any age segment. It must also be emphasized, according to these data, that there are 45% of people over 18 who do not use any visual compensation system” , indicates the aforementioned study.
The reasons for opting for contact lenses range from aesthetics to comfort.
However, the misuse of contact lenses, as well as their acquisition through unauthorized shops on the Internet, can seriously endanger our eye health, as warned by the doctor José Manuel Benítez del Castillovice president of (SEO).
What to do if I don’t have contact lens fluid?
One of the most common mistakes is to search the net for home remedies to store contact lenses because the solution has run out or you have forgotten to take it with you on vacation.
Well, it must be very clear that they cannot be cleaned or stored in water, either from the tap or mineral. The reason is that it contains bacteria and microorganisms that can be very dangerous for your eyes.
But then what can you do?
The specialist Benítez del Castillo is clear. “If you don’t have liquid, it’s best to throw them away”.
Do cleaning fluids expire?
The answer is yes.
Once they have been opened they have an expiration date of three months. Therefore, it is essential to keep track of the opening date to avoid continuing to use them when they have expired.
And what if that happens, and we use them expired?
The first thing is that they stop fulfilling their function of disinfecting the lenses, which inevitably increases the risk of eye infections.
Daily or monthly?
It is one of the most important decisions that contact lens wearers have to make once they have decided to wear them.
The daily contact lensesAlso called disposables, they are designed to be used for a single day. And when you take them off, they throw away.
The point in favor of this type of lenses is that do not require maintenance.
It is the big difference with the monthly contact lenses, which last approximately one month, and require maintenance. You have to keep them in a contact lens case with liquid to disinfect and hydrate them for the next use.
However, the vice president of SEO points out to this portal that the best contact lenses “are those for daily use because contact lens solutions have chemicals and can cause dry eye syndrome and blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids) in the long run” .
Therefore, he insists. “The fewer hours you use them a day, the more days in your life you will be able to enjoy them”.
For this reason, he recommends, for example, not using them to work if we need constant use of screens. And he assures that in those cases it is preferable to opt for prescription glasses.
The semi-rigid or gas permeable (RPG) contact lenses They are preferable to soft ones, the doctor specifies.
“They’re much easier on the eye because they’re smaller and don’t absorb preservative fluids.”
But if we opt for the soft ones, the specialist recommends that they be for daily use, and made of silicone hydrogel with little water content.”
sleeping with contact lenses
“It is a fatal error”, explains the ophthalmologist, which can lead to an infectious corneal ulcer caused by the pseudomonal bacteria (present in soil and water and grow in wet areas such as sinks or swimming pools).
However, beyond the consequences that it can produce, the use of contact lenses at night blocks the passage of oxygen to the eyes, and also does not allow them to be sufficiently hydrated by not blinking at night.
So it’s better to throw away the lenses than to sleep in them all night.
How often do you have to have your eyes checked?
The specialist doctor in ophthalmology recommends that patients with myopia go for a review every year.
“It also depends on age, although from 40 years it is essential that it be once a year. Because in addition to presbyopia, it is in that age group that . A problem that can be treated, but if we don’t it can leave us blind.”
Of course, it must be taken into account that before an ophthalmological examination, it is necessary to spend a while without using the contact lenses. Specialists recommend doing without them between one and two hours before the consultation.
On the other hand, if a corneal study is going to be carried out, usually prior to a laser operation on the cornea, it is convenient that it be extended up to 24 hours before the visit to the ophthalmologist.