Show ITipsOnBasicCare I For Contact Lenses Hnt inil J lull t ? f t 4‘ ' I CONTACT UMSESccmrirwmf u I r one expert pat it: “They behive though they’re deal-in- g with socks A contact lens is a medical device" Dr Scott MacRae of die Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland says if you wear such lenses contacts for up to 30 dm"says the corneal specialist rod soni Dr David Haight chief physician forthe Coc-Lens Service of the at Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital in New York Gty “We know better now he adds “The maximum recommended time is one week but some people should a week at a time nor try to wear them as long because their eyes are just too sensitive” Dr Oliver Scfaein and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School discovered that even 24 hours may be too extended a time for wearing the lenses Their study showed that if you wear ary soft contact lens overnight even once you nm the nsk of developing a for 20 years your chances of experiencing a serious problem with them in that time all things staying constant-c- an be as high as one in 25 However some conservative eye doctors say that nonstop wear even for seven days is dangerous was once said to be safe to wear extended-we- It 3 ar u ! f' j crater on the cornea which is me sight-threateni-ng window of the eye That ride is nine to 15 times lower for people who remove their lenses daily ’ r ? t f' i tI Dr Scfaein who is now at the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University warns that if you don't douse yot lenses properly you may add to the danger: “Contact lenses are generally safe for everyone” he says “But though hygiene is important constant overnight wear appears to be the major risk factor" V If any of die nation’s 20 million users of all types of contact lenses wear their leases overnight they imper-i-il their eyesight But there are 4 million users of extended-we- ar contact lenses who go for days without removing them putting their eyes in peat jeopardy Of course the number of people blinded by their misuse of contacts is small Many more suffer an allergic reaction that sometimes can doom tiieir ability to 'wear contact lenses of any kind That condition is called giam papillary conjunctivitis (GPC) Its under the upper lid mucus secretions redness and irritation - Cheryl Sacra 28 a writer in Hoboken NJwore soft contacts for 10 years “They were convenient andl got used to them and took them for granted" she says “But theal went to my eye doctor because they had become so uncomfortable My eyes were itchy red swollen and sticky and a cloudy discharge fogged the lenses I could not see" She adds that now she - -- can't wear any lenses for more than a few hours You can develop GFC in response to chemicals in ihc leas hselfreirom the buildup afprotein deposits on the lens from the natural eye fluids CPC develops not ' with extended-wea- r lenses but also with other band hard lenses It is most common with soft lenses Rarely does GFC lead toblindness But ifyou don’t trite care of tine little piece of plastic yourcye becomes so sensitive to the lenses that you no longer can wear them The protracted wearing of contact lenses also can cause additional Mood vessels to grow into the cornea and to obacure vision somewhat These engorged vesrelsriiink when thelens is removed ' Gontart lenses have evolved rapidly since World War nwhea it was noteddial fragments oftheplastic canopies of fighter planes sometimes entered the eyes of pilots abnor-mal- ly continued MGE24M |