If you wear contact lenses, you're no doubt aware of the risks and good habits you need to adopt to avoid developing eye problems. While they are more aesthetic than glasses (for those who prefer a lens-free face), contact lenses must be worn with great care...
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As this story shows, eye health is no laughing matter. Sometimes, a bad habit can prove fatal. In 2015, Chad Groeschen who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio at the time, paid a heavy heavy price.
The 39-year-old's bad habit landed him in the hospital, but something much worse happened next...
Waking up with blurry vision
USA Today reported his story in 2015 when underlining a serious problem that a study found within the lens-wearing community. The study found that 82.3% of people leave their lenses on longer than they're actually supposed to.
The consequences of such an action can be disastrous, as highlighted by Groeschen's tragic story. He told the publication:
Halfway through the day my eyes started itching, and I thought it was probably allergies, so I popped them out.
The next morning the vision in my left eye started to turn cloudy.
After a month of discomfort, the renovation sculptor got up like any other day, but this time his left eye was extremely painful. What's more, he could no longer see out of it.
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Groeschen's bad habit
Chad Groeschen went to hospital, but it was already too late. The diagnosis: he went blind in his left eye. But what does this have to do with his contact lenses?
The 39-year-old, who said he wore both day and night lenses, assumed he could wear them for 30 days at a time. What's more, he only took them out once a week. He said:
I figured the less I was messing with my eyes, the better.
Read more: Rubbing your eyes often can lead to certain health issues
Bacteria and lenses
Worse still, Chad Groeschen didn't remove his contact lenses while showering. This is highly inadvisable. In fact, running water tends to contain certain impurities or bacteria, which get lodged in your eye through the prism of the lens.
Lenses absorb water very quickly. The more water they come into contact with, the greater the risk of introducing micro-organisms into your eye. The worst of these is acanthamoeba, which can cause severe inflammation of the retina and, in the worst-case scenario, loss of sight.
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
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Sources used:
USA Today: Study: Bad hygiene a problem for nearly all contact lens users
