Sleeping or swimming with contact lenses on can result to an eye infection, and based on a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), millions of people in the United States are observing these poor habits.
Out of the estimated 41 million people in the United States who wear contact lenses, majority of them are guilty of not observing proper care for their contact lenses, the CDC survey finds.
The agency surveyed 1,000 people and found that more than half of the wearers have admitted they go to sleep with their contacts on.
Fifty-five percent of users just topped off the lens care solution instead of replacing them with a clean one and cleaning the case.
Surprisingly, 61 percent of those people have admitted swimming with their contact lenses on.
The report also found that 33 percent of lens wearers said they have rinsed their contact lenses using tap water, and 17 percent have stored the lenses in tap water instead of the proper solution.
This likely puts those people at 99 percent risk of developing serious eye disease because of poor hygiene.
According to the federal agency, while household tap water is generally safe for consumption, it still harbors microorganisms that can contaminate contact lenses and harm the eyes.
The CDC survey did not include adults, which only mean that there is a big possibility that young people who wear contact lenses don't follow proper contact lens care as well.
The agency strongly recommends that those who wear contact lenses should observe proper care habits which include: performing proper hand washing techniques and drying the hands before handling contact lenses; making sure not to wear the lenses when showering or swimming and sleeping; using the appropriate lens care solutions for rinsing the contact lenses once they are removed; and rinsing the contact lens case using the solution and drying it after every use.
