By: Ronald Young, O.D.

Contact lenses can be a wonderful alternative to glasses. Unfortunately, they can also cause significant risks to a contact wearer’s vision. The two main contact lens complications are reduced oxygen availability to the surface of the eye (the cornea), and the accumulation of protein deposits on the surface of the contact. When the cornea does not get enough oxygen it will swell on a cellular level, and the protein deposits provide a breeding ground for bacteria, fungi, or other potentially harmful patho-gens.

In combination, this presents opportunity for infection. Recently, across the country, there have been some very serious contact lens related eye infections that have prompted the recall of a few contact lens solutions. Contact lens solution manufacturers are faced with the challenge of providing an effective disinfectant that is also safe to put on the eye.

In order to reduce the risk of infections, many eye doctors are now recommending daily disposable contact lenses. The response from the contact lens manufacturers has been swift. Now almost every brand of contact lens is available as a one day disposable option. The materials that these lenses are made from allow for oxygen to pass through them more readily, while a new sterile contact lens in your eye each day largely reduces the opportunity for protein to deposit. Thus the possibility of infection is greatly reduced.

The conveniences to patients are many. A two week supply of daily disposable contact lenses in your purse will not take up as much space as one pair of traditional contact lenses and their accompanying solutions. Everyone who knows the feeling of a fresh contact lens every two weeks will truly appreciate a new lens every morning.

After wearing contact lenses for some time, it can become so routine that proper disinfecting and replacement is often overlooked until discomfort signals the need for a new lens. This drastically increases the chance of a corneal complication. Disposing of your contact lens daily allows you to fall into an automatic and safe routine.

As always, it is important to remember that a contact lens is a medical device that must be properly fit on your eye. So be sure to schedule an appointment with your eye doctor to see if contact lenses are a good option for you.

Dr. Young is a part of the thirteen-physician team at Delaware Ophthalmology Consultants. For more information about this article or to schedule an appointment, call 302-479-EYES (3937) or visit www.delawareeyes.com. Delaware Ophthalmology Consultants has two convenient offices in Wilmington, and a third now open in Middletown. Each location offers full-service optical centers featuring affordable, fashionable frame designs and the latest in lens technology.