A Unique experience of an American doctor who removed 23 Contact Lenses from a patient who failed to remove them every day.
A Horror Experience of using Contact lenses
Contact lenses are an excellent replacement for eyeglasses, which makes the user feel comfortable during traveling, exercising, etc.” In my 20 years of experience I have never seen such a patient who had 23 contact lenses in her eyes” – Statement given by Dr. Katerina Kurteeva, an ophthalmologist in Newport Beach, California.
It was a freaky Monday when a woman visited the ophthalmologist in Newport clinic, CA. The patient was in her mid-70 and she had some uncomfortable feelings in her eyes with pain. Though it was necessary to have a monthly eye check-up every year, she has neglected it. As the doctor enquired, she told “I use contact lenses regularly and I feel some discomfort in my eyes”. The doctor examined her using a yellow stain for the presence of some foreign objects in her eyes and couldn’t find anything.
After that, the doctor proceeded to check manually by pulling her lower and upper lids and found nothing. Then the patient was examined using an eyelid speculum to open the lids for a long period. The doctor found that a couple of lenses got stuck together. Then she asked her assistant to record the entire process.
The doctor asked the patient to look down and she got puzzled to see a lot of contact lenses were merged altogether as if it looked like a second pupil of the eye. The lenses were separated using a Q-tip and they dropped down one by one from the patient’s lids. It looked like a deck of cards. This moment seemed to be a Guinness World Record moment for the doctor.
Even though the biggest blob was removed, a few more lenses were found from the corners of the eye. It was about 23 lenses in her eyes. The doctor asked her to wash her eyes in sterile water and prescribed some anti-inflammatory drops for her. The patient felt much better at last.
After this incident, the entire clinic was puzzled to know this. They exclaimed how the woman managed to see with so many lenses in her eyes. As per the doctor’s observations, it might be due to the reason of corneal nerve desensitization, as was wearing lenses for the past 30 years.
Contact Lenses –Side Effects
Using contact Lenses can lead to several side effects described as follows :
- Cuts off Oxygen supply:
Contact lenses directly cover the cornea of the eye, thereby reducing its oxygen level to the eye. Thus Silicon Hydrogel lenses are recommended for patients as it allows more oxygen supply than conventional ones.
- Leads to Dry Eye Syndrome:
Mostly the tears that we get on the cornea are limited by these contact lenses. This in turn causes Dry Eye Syndrome, accompanied by itchiness and redness of the eye.
- Causes burning and infection
A person who wears contact lenses should avoid birth control pills as this combination causes burning and eye infections as restricts the oxygen supply to the eye which in turn causes eye damage .
- Causes Reduction in Corneal reflexes
The corneal Reflex is a mechanism of the eye in which the signals from the brain make the eyelids drop down. This will help to apply a low amount of pressure to the eye, thereby protecting our eyes. If we feel like getting a trauma/ object hitting our eyes, we will involuntarily close our eyes. This is due to the Corneal reflex of the eye.
- Leads to Corneal Scratching:
In some cases, corneal lenses can scratch our cornea if it’s not fitted properly and it leads to corneal abrasion of the eye.
- Causes Contracting Conjunctivitis:
If contact lenses are worn for longer hours that is, during the night times doctors believe that it may lead to Contracting Conjunctivitis of the eye.
- Causes Corneal Ulcers:
When a fungal/bacterial infection is caused to the eye, it should be treated immediately as it can cause Corneal Ulcers of the eye. Otherwise, this may lead to loss of vision.
Contact Lenses – Do’s and Dont’s
Do’s
- Check your eyes regularly
- Clean your hands always while handling lenses.
- Use fresh solution always to clean your lenses.
Dont’s
- Do not take bath with Contact Lenses
- Don’t sleep with Contact lenses
     Sleeping with contact lenses is dangerous. A type of bacteria named, Pseudomonas can cause eye infection if the lenses are left overnight which can lead to loss of vision. this can make our eyes dry and sore. It is not recommended even to take a short nap in between, as these lenses prohibit oxygen supply to the eyes which may in turn leads to ulcers and inflammations.
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