THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Unsafe use of contact lenses -- such as sleeping with them in place or using the same pair for too long -- is triggering serious eye injuries for many Americans, a new report finds. 
 
 In fact, eye damage occurred in nearly 20 percent of contact lens-related eye infections reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over 10 years, researchers say. 
 
 "Improper wear and care of contact lenses can cause eye infections that sometimes lead to serious, long-term damage," Michael Beach, who directs the Healthy Water Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an agency news release. 
 
 One eye specialist believes many Americans don't take contact lens hygiene seriously enough. 
 
 "There is a serious health crisis with contact lens-related eye injuries," said Dr. Mark Fromer, an ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Unfortunately, many of the 41 million contact lens users in the United States do not think of a contact lens as a medical device they are placing on the surface of their eye." 
 
 In the study, CDC researchers analyzed nearly 1,100 cases of eye infections related to use of contact lens that were reported to the FDA between 2005 and 2015. 
 
 According to the researchers, nearly 1 in 5 patients had either a scarred cornea, required a corneal transplant or had other types of eye damage because of the infection. 
 
 More than 10 percent of the patients had to go to a hospital ER or urgent care clinic for immediate treatment. 
 
 "While people who get serious eye infections represent a small percentage of those who wear contacts, they serve as a reminder for all contact lens wearers to take simple steps to prevent infections," said study author Dr. Jennifer Cope. She's a medical epidemiologist in CDC's Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. 
 
 Even when lens-related eye infections are minor, they can still be painful and disruptive. 
 
 For example, patients may have to make daily visits to an eye doctor or use eye drops every hour to treat the infection, Cope's team said. ||||| Contact lens wearers must be vigilant in taking proper care of their lenses in order to prevent infections, the CDC warns in a new report. 
 
 About 41 million Americans wear contact lenses. While they are a safe and effective alternative to glasses, contact lenses can lead to serious problems if not handled properly. 
 
 In fact, the CDC reports that nearly one in five lens-related eye infections reported to a federal database involved a patient who experienced eye damage. 
 
 “Contact lenses are a safe and effective form of vision correction when worn and cared for as recommended,” said Michael Beach, Ph.D., director of CDC’s Healthy Water Program, in a statement. “However, improper wear and care of contact lenses can cause eye infections that sometimes lead to serious, long-term damage.” 
 
 For the report, researchers reviewed more than 1,000 contact lens-related infections reported to the FDA between 2005 and 2015. 
 
 The infections included patients who had a scarred cornea, needed a corneal transplant, or otherwise suffered a reduction in vision. 
 
 More than 10 percent of the incidents involved a visit to an emergency department or urgent care clinic. The researchers point out that even minor damage can be painful and disrupt daily life. For example, many of the reports describe the patients needing to make daily visits to an eye doctor or hourly administration of eye drops to treat the infection. 
 
 Furthermore, the report found that more than one in four of the reports mentioned easily avoidable behaviors that increase the risk of infection, such as wearing lenses while sleeping and wearing them longer than recommended. 
 
 Experts urge that proper contact lens care is paramount to maintaining good eye health. 
 
 “While patients, especially younger patients, are really excited about being fitted with contact lenses, I stress to them that contact lenses are medical devices that have to be properly fitted, evaluated and that they must adhere to proper contact lens care,” said Dr. Andrea Thau of the American Optometric Association (AOA). “If they don’t follow my guidance, they can end up with serious eye problems.” Thau was not involved in the CDC study. 
 
 The AOA recommends the following tips to safely wear and care for contact lenses. 
 
 Visit your eye doctor every year. Annual in-person eye examines determine whether or not your prescription changed and evaluate eye and overall health. An optometrist can diagnose eye diseases (such as glaucoma diabetes strokes 
 
 Buy your contact lenses from a trusted source. Contact lenses and lens care products are medical devices regulated by the FDA, yet some online retailers sell them without prescriptions and sometimes ship contact lenses of the wrong prescription. Poorly fitted contact lenses can cause significant damage to the eye’s function, which could lead to irreversible sight loss. 
 
 Don’t panic if your lens is “lost” in your eye. Sometimes rubbing your eyes can cause a contact to move around, but it is not possible for it to get lost behind your eye due to a membrane — the conjunctiva — that covers the eye and the inside of the eyelids. If the lens has moved and is not visible, stay calm and instill a few drops of saline solution to moisten the eye, look away from where you feel the lens and lift your eyelid. When you see the lens, use the tip of your finger to remove the lens. If this happens repeatedly, make an appointment with your eye doctor to check the fit of your lenses. 
 
 Don’t ever share contacts. Sharing contacts means sharing germs and bacteria, which increases the risk of infection and complications. Additionally, friend’s contacts may not be the right size or fit for your eyes leading to serious problems. 
 
 Never use tap water to clean and rinse lenses. Contact solutions remove mucus, secretions, films or deposits that can build up during use and lead to bacterial growth if not removed properly. Use the disinfecting solution that your doctor prescribed each night to keep contacts clean and safe. When you find yourself at a last-minute overnight stay and don’t have your solution, don’t rely on tap water as it contains bacteria and other microorganisms that have been proven to cause serious eye infections. 
 
 Keep your lens case clean. After you insert your reusable, disinfected contact lenses, rinse your case with solution, and store it upside down and open to dry fully. Every three months, toss your old case and replace it with a fresh, new one. 
 
 No matter how tired you are, do not sleep in your contacts. While some lenses are approved for continuous overnight use, sleeping in lenses does increase the risk of an eye infection. If you regularly fall asleep with your lenses in, talk to your optometrist during your next appointment about extended wear contact lenses. ||||| This website is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated. 
 
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 Nearly 1 in 5 contact lens-related eye infections reported to a federal database involved a patient who experienced eye damage, according to a report published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 
 
 The infections, submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Medical Device Report Database, included patients who had a scarred cornea, needed a corneal transplant, or otherwise suffered a reduction in vision. These contact lens-related eye infections can lead to long-lasting eye damage but are often preventable. 
 
 “Contact lenses are a safe and effective form of vision correction when worn and cared for as recommended,” said Michael Beach, Ph.D., director of CDC’s Healthy Water Program. “However, improper wear and care of contact lenses can cause eye infections that sometimes lead to serious, long-term damage.” 
 
 Contact lens manufacturers, eye care providers, and patients can report adverse events related to contact lens use to the FDA, which regulates contact lenses as medical devices. The report reviewed 1,075 contact lens-related infections reported to FDA between 2005 and 2015. 
 
 More than 10 percent of the reports indicated that the patient went to an emergency department or urgent care clinic for immediate care. Whether eye infections are minor or lead to long-lasting damage, they can be painful and disrupt daily life. For instance, the reports describe patients’ daily visits to an eye doctor or hourly administration of eye drops to treat the infection. 
 
 The MMWR was released in advance of Contact Lens Health Week, which runs August 22-26 and promotes healthy wear and care practices that can help contact lens wearers reduce their chances of getting an eye infection. Contact lens wearers can help prevent infections by properly using lenses and supplies and following directions on the lens labels. More than 1 out of 4 reports of infections mentioned easily avoidable behaviors that increase the chance of getting an eye infection, such as wearing contact lenses while sleeping and wearing them longer than recommended. 
 
 “Around 41 million people in the United States wear contact lenses and benefit from the improved vision and comfort they provide,” said Jennifer Cope, M.D., M.P.H., medical epidemiologist in CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. “While people who get serious eye infections represent a small percentage of those who wear contacts, they serve as a reminder for all contact lens wearers to take simple steps to prevent infections.” 
 
 The findings in this report highlight the need for contact lens wearers to take good care of their lenses to help prevent contact lens-related eye infections. 
 
 Three recommendations related to commonly reported and risky behaviors: 
 
 Don’t sleep in contact lenses without discussing with your eye doctor. Sleeping in contact lenses increases the chance of an eye infection by 6 to 8 times. Don’t top off, or add new contact lens solution to old solution that has been sitting in the case. Adding new solution to used solution can lower germ-killing power. Replace your contact lenses as often as recommended by your eye doctor. People who do not replace their lenses as often as recommended have more complications and report more eye problems than those who follow the replacement recommendations. 
 
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 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
– Sleeping with contacts in or forgetting to swap in a new pair according to schedule may be the unintended result of a harried lifestyle, but it could also lead to long-term eye damage, a new CDC study reports. Researchers looked at 1,075 cases of eye infections reported to an FDA medical device database over a 10-year period ending in 2015, and of those infections, almost 20% of them ended up causing more serious eye injuries, a CDC release reports. Those injuries ranged from scarred corneas and cornea transplants to other forms of vision problems. And of those who reported infections, the issue was bad enough for more than 10% of them to go to the ER or an urgent-care clinic for treatment. Yet most people don't give a second thought to the perfunctory way in which they handle their contacts, a Lenox Hill Hospital ophthalmologist tells WebMD. "Unfortunately, many of the 41 million contact lens users in the United States do not think of a contact lens as a medical device they are placing on the surface of their eye," Dr. Mark Fromer says. In addition to replacing contacts as recommended, users should also follow other recommendations from the American Optometric Association to keep eyes healthy, per CBS News, including not sharing contacts with anyone, not using tap water to clean contacts, and no snoozing with them in, which the CDC says can raise the risk of an eye infection between six to eight times. (And then there are the eyeball-devouring amoebas.)