Debate on contact lenses in Great Britain
Monday, April 1 2013 | 00 h 00 min | News
In Great Britain, the national press has sounded the alarm about eye infections related to contact lens wear. In response, the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) is pushing for mandatory warnings to wearers about the danger of contact with water.
A number of articles have reported incidents of infection from Acanthamoeba keratitis, some of which resulted in the loss of an eye. “A significant risk factor for this condition is contact with water, either from inadequate drying of the hands after washing, showering, swimming, or using a hot tub while wearing lenses, cleaning the lens case with water or even rinsing the lenses with water,” reminds BCLA president Dr. Catharine Chisholm.
The BCLA would like to have a “no water” warning on contact lens packaging, and is producing “no water” stickers for members to put on lens boxes at collection and a patient information leaflet.
However, according to the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers (ACLM), other factors are at work, such as inadequate market legislation and obsolete sales laws. For the ACLM, water is only one of many factors to be considered.
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