Anyone who wears contact lenses regularly, you know that you have to be very careful with the hygiene of them to avoid eye problems, which can range from conjunctivitis to much more serious. But problems can be even greater in those who wear lenses to disguise themselves.
A study by researchers at the Forensic Chemistry Center, United States Food and Drug Administration, in Ohio, looked at 258 models of decorative lenses sold in the United States (some without the permission of health agencies), and found that All of them were contaminated with microorganisms very dangerous for the human eye. Even those that were authorized.
Of course, the differences between the contamination levels of both were considerable. Among the unauthorized, the proportion of lenses affected was 60%, whereas in the legal ones it was only 4%.
Among the microorganisms detected is Bacillus cereus, which causes endophthalmitis, an infection that affects the entire eyeball, including the inside of the eyeball, causing redness and progressive vision loss. In the most severe cases it causes total blindness and forces the eye to be excised. The presence of Pseudomona aeruginosa, a bacterium that produces enzymes that cause irreparable damage to the cornea, has also been detected.
It should be remembered that the study has been conducted in the United States, but similar cases have also been reported in our country on a timely basis. Like the one that happened in 2013, when the Ministry of Health ordered the removal of a batch of lenses from an authorized brand that were contaminated with Bacillus cereus.
