An increase in the use of contact lenses may be making ulcers of the cornea twice as common. A study of over a million Californians showed that people who wore contact lenses were 9 times more likely to suffer from corneal ulcers. Many people do not follow basic contact lens safety principles.
Researcher Dr. David Gritz of Montefiore Medical Center in New York told Reuters Health: “As new contact lens innovations become available, and people hear that they can wear these contact lenses for weeks or a month without taking them off, they do just that. They don’t realize the dramatic increase in risk it causes them. Our eyes do need breaks from contact lens wear.” He went on to say, “Contact lenses can even act as a bandage over eye irritation, covering up symptoms.”
People infected with HIV were also nine times more likely to develop the condition than those who were HIV negative.
