Contact lens study reveals surprising information

Who knew swimming, showering with contacts in was a bad idea?

Close to 41 million people in America wear contact lenses.

And chances are, every single person is doing something wrong when it comes to eye care and contact maintenance.

I’ve worn contacts since I was 16, so the report, which was released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, caught my eye, so to speak.

The CDC reports half or more of the wearers admit to sleeping or napping with their contacts in. (I admit to doing this, but usually it happens on accident when I travel and forget my contact lens case).

The study also finds that 55 percent just top off the contact lens solution rather than changing it and rinsing the case.

And roughly 61 percent admit to swimming in their contacts. To this I say guilty — and who knew? I had no idea that was problematic! Apparently, it’s also a bad idea to shower in your contacts. File that one under “learn something new every day!”

So what should you do?

The CDC reports that people should always wash their hands before touching their eyes.

And one should never swim, shower or sleep in one’s contacts. (Whoops!)

Also, be sure to rub, rinse and store contacts in fresh solution each time — and make sure to rinse the case out nightly. In fact, one should replace that case every three months. Why does this matter? Poor eye care habits can lead to infections, pain and, in severe cases, permanent vision loss.

This week, Aug. 21-25, is Contact Lens Health Week. The CDC’s campaign theme is “healthy habits mean healthy eyes.”

The educational campaign is a good idea, because most of my bad contact lens habits stem from a lack of information about the process when I first started wearing contacts.

Maybe the problem was the fact that I was a teenager, and was more focused on being liberated from my hated glasses than the safety lessons from the optometrist. It’s hard to say. Either way, take a few moments, make sure you know how to properly handle your contacts, and make your eyes happy!