Eye parasite can be avoided with good contact lens hygiene

According to UK researchers , , an uptick in cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis, an eye infection that most often affects contact lens wearers.

Contact lens users can avoid the severe infection by washing and drying their hands when they handle their contacts, storing the lenses in clean solution daily rather than in water or old solution, and as much as possible, avoiding wearing lenses while swimming or bathing.

“We think the condition is 90 percent preventable if water exposure is avoided and effective lens solution is used properly or disposable contact lenses are used,” said senior study author Dr. John Dart of University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

 

“The way the solution is formulated can sometimes cause the problem, too, but users can’t find this easily,” said Dr. Dart