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An ophthalmologist urges people who have contacts to think twice before sleeping in their lenses, whether hard or soft.
Patrick Vollmer, an optometrist at the Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina, shared the graphic images of a recently treated patient who developed a pseudomonas ulcer grown after sleeping in contact lenses to prevent certain harmless habits.
"I sleep all the time in my contacts and I have never had a problem," Vollmer recalls to his patients.
The ophthalmologist however said that a nasty bacterium that he had treated last week was telling a different story.
Vollmer said he was referred to a patient of a patient whose eye had been infected with Pseudomonas bacteria.
"Pseudomonas (bacteria) are a major cause of ocular morbidity and its opportunistic characteristics quickly lead to permanent blindness," he said in an article published on Facebook Sunday that went viral with more than 300,000 actions. "The bacteria eat away the patient's cornea explosively in a few days, leaving behind white and venous necrosis (dead tissue)."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infection usually results from an environmental bacterium, although it is more prevalent among hospitalized people with weakened immune systems. The bacteria may also be present in the water, which is why the health agency recommends removing the contacts before jumping in the shower or in a pool.
Like Vollmer, the CDC also recommends not sleeping with contact lenses.
"Why sleeping in any type of contact lens increases the risk of contracting a serious corneal infection called microbial keratitis 1-4 times by 6 to 8 times," says the CDC. sleep at night with their contact lenses during an average year, 18 to 20 microbial keratitis infections will occur. "
In the recent case he witnessed, Vollmer said it took only 36 hours for the ulcer in the woman's eye to change from "small" to "massive".
To examine the damage, Vollmer used a green fluorescein dye to help detect foreign bodies and any damage to the cornea – in this case he was looking at the "ulcer bed".
Fortunately, he was able to treat the patient's infection with antibiotic drops, which he was given "day and night". He also gave her steroids to help prevent permanent scarring.
"While this patient's eye continues to improve significantly from baseline, it will most likely have some form of residual vision loss even after treatment," said the optometrist.
Vollmer said the case marked the fourth case of cultivated pseudomonas he had treated this year – and that he would see more in the coming months.
To help prevent future cases, Vollmer has published photos of the patient's sight treatment in order to urge him to avoid sleeping in contact lenses, unless special lenses are assigned to him or her. there is another medical reason for "justifying the risk". But if possible, Vollmer said it should be avoided altogether.
"The risks outweigh the benefits every time. It takes a few seconds to delete your contacts, but a potential life of irreversible damage if you choose to let them in. People need to see these images and remember / their family / friends to also be aware of the misuse of contact lenses "message posted on the page of Vita Eye Clinic.
Contact lens wearers quickly thanked the optometrist for passing on the message, especially those who had sleep problems in their lenses.
"I used to sleep in mine all the time, I ended up with an ulcer, fortunately it was not a pseudomonas. I had to get up every hour for 2 days to put eye drops, then every 2 hours for 2 days. Now I will not even wear my contacts for 12 hours, "said a woman.
"I learned very quickly after never having removed mine as I should have and they integrated it into my eye. I could not wear contacts for 6 months. And now, I will never again be able to lose lachrymal ducts. Be wise people, "said another.
"I had a corneal ulcer in both eyes. I will never sleep with contacts again. My optometrist did a great job in saving my sight. I had to wear glasses for 6 months before I could wear contacts. I could not look directly into the sun or the light for days, "added a third. "Very bad bacteria."
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