Contact Lenses and the Risk of Blindness
Contact lenses are one of the most popular methods of vision correction globally. They offer an effective and discrete alternative to glasses, seemingly addressing many of the shortfalls of these more traditional visual aids. However, contact lenses are not without their risks. In this article, we take a look at the risk of blindness and vision loss associated with contact lens use, sharing experiences from those affected.
Contact Lenses for Vision Correction
The first pair of contact lenses were invented and successfully fitted in 1888, but as you might expect, these early prototypes were a far-cry from the products many of us use on a daily basis today. They were made from blown glass and were large enough to cover the entire visible portion of the eye as opposed to just the cornea. As you can imagine, this was quite uncomfortable.
Thankfully, later iterations did away with glass fabrication and made use of plastics. In the 1940s and 50s, contact lenses were made from polymethyl methacrtlate or “Perspex”, which while an improvement on glass, was still relatively hard. In the 1960s, the first “soft lenses” were introduced commercially.
Unlike glasses, which had been around for hundreds of years, contact lenses were designed to sit on the eye itself. This removed the need for external frames which could be easily lost or broken. As newer versions were invented, improved comfort and ease of application helped contact lenses to surge in popularity.
Today, contact lenses can be used to correct almost all prescriptions – but they are not without their risks and drawbacks, as one ex-wearer discovered the hard way.
“Contact Lenses Almost Left Me Blind – Laser Eye Surgery Repaired The Damage”
In 2006, Photography student, Lucy Garrod became all too aware of the risks of contact lenses. Having worn glasses from a young age, Lucy, who lived in Jersey and was studying at Bournemouth University, began wearing contact lenses when she was 15.
“I was always extremely careful with my lenses, only wearing them for the recommended time and using the correct solutions to clean them every day. I had chosen to wear contact lenses for convenience, but I knew it was important to follow the rules precisely – I was very hygiene conscious, and I wouldn’t have dreamt of sleeping in my lenses, swimming in my lenses, or of leaving them in for too long during the day.
It was during her overnight boat from Jersey to travel back for her second year of studies that Lucy became aware of some problems with her eye: “I remember my eye kept watering – it became uncomfortable and got increasingly worse throughout the evening – the only way I can describe it is that it felt like I had scratched my eye.”
Becoming worried that there might be something stuck under her contact lens, Lucy removed them as soon as she was able to do so safely after checking into her overnight cabin. But the irritation didn’t stop.
“As the evening went on the pain become worse, but I still presumed that I must have scratched my eye. Trying to get any sleep was a nightmare; the discomfort went from watering and scratchiness to constant shooting pains in my eye, which continued even with my eye closed.”
And on waking the next morning, things only got worse.
“In the morning my Dad looked over at me and his face dropped – ‘we need to get to a doctor’, he said. When I looked in the mirror I saw that my eye had completely swollen closed and was the size of a golf ball – just what I needed when I was going back to university!!”
A Simple Eye Infection?
On arriving back in Bournemouth, Lucy’s father was relieved to have got a GP appointment for his daughter straight away. Having inspected Lucy’s eye, the doctor informed her that it was simply an eye infection, prescribed some eye drops and sent her on her way. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story.
“Over the next few days the pain and swelling got worse so we decided to get a second opinion. We went to A&E where they did some tests and said that I had scratched a layer of the front of my eye – I was given some cream and told if it did not improve within a couple of days I should go to Queen Mary’s hospital as they had a specialist eye department.”
Bu things still didn’t get better. Two days later, Lucy found herself in Queen Mary’s Hospital seeking advice from a specialist. Finally, someone was able to give her an accurate diagnosis: She had developed a corneal ulcer as a result of bacteria becoming trapped under her contact lens.
She was admitted into hospital, where she was observed and treated for seven days. During this time, Lucy had to remain in a dark room, as her eye was sensitive to light, and apply eye drops every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day.
“I was angry and frustrated as I had always been so careful looking after my eyes and contact lenses. I had worn them for many years with no problems at all, and now I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to complete my degree. On top of that, the pain was unbearable – I’ve never felt anything like it!”
A Close Call with Blindness
Lucy underwent a series of tests and examinations during her time in the hospital. Ultimately, she was told that the ulcer was just off-centre on her cornea, which meant she would be left partially sighted in her right eye.
“Although this was difficult to hear – particularly as I was studying commercial photography – I realised how lucky I was that the ulcer hadn’t been a few millimetres more central – which could have left me completely blind in that eye.”
The doctors informed her that Lucy would never be able to wear contact lenses again, and what’s more, Laser Eye Surgery would be out of the question due to the damage to the eye. She was devastated.
Still, Lucy was determined to carry on with her studies and was soon starting her second year at Bournemouth. But things soon became difficult.
“As the weeks went by I found it harder to complete work or even focus the camera. I was advised by my lecturers to take a year out, but this was the last thing I wanted to hear as I enjoyed university so much. I made the decision to give the first term a go to see if I could cope – I was determined to get my degree!
The problem was that Lucy’s right eye was her ‘shooting eye’ – that is, the eye used to look through the lens when taking photographs. Now that her right eye was permanently damaged, she had to learn to use her other eye.
“[It’s] like trying to teach yourself to draw with you left hand when you’re actually right handed.”
Still, with help from her friends and family, Lucy completed the first term and later her degree with a 1st Class Honours in Commercial Photography – quite the achievement! But she still struggled with the restricted vision in her right eye.
A Potential Solution?
Along with her Dad, Lucky began looking for specialists that might be able to help her regain some of her vision. Eventually, they found a specialist in Southampton who was able to fit her with hard contact lenses. Lucy was thrilled. But soon enough, she began to also experience problems with these lenses.
“They started to become very uncomfortable to wear and my eyes were constantly bloodshot. I saw a number of specialists, and was eventually recommended to go and visit Professor Dan Reinstein at the London Vision Clinic.”
So, Lucy decided to visit our clinic, which was then based in Devonshire Place, London. After a series of tests and other assessments, including a corneal scan using the Artemis Insight 100 Ultrasound Scanner (the most accurate corneal scanner in the world, invented by Professor Reinstein himself), Lucy was anxious to hear the results.
“After all these tests, and a long consultation, I was told by Professor Dan that he may well be able to fix my contact lens damaged eye with Laser Eye Surgery. I couldn’t believe it!”
But the good news didn’t end there…
Not only was Lucy told that we would could able to treat her partial-sightedness, but also that we could correct the vision in her other eye at the same time. As a result, Lucy could potentially end up being completely independent from glasses and contact lenses!
“When everything happened to my eye in 2006, I was told that Laser Eye Surgery was not even an option, as the scarring would be in the way. It wasn’t until I got referred to the London Vision Clinic that I found out that this advice was completely wrong!
“As soon as I left the London Vision Clinic after finding out they might be able to help me, I broke down in tears – I felt excited, happy and relieved that I might finally start to see some positive changes.”
Lucy’s Laser Eye Surgery Treatment
Professor Reinstein was able to treat Lucy’s damaged eye with a technique called Artemis Insight 100 Guided TEPTK (Trans Epithelial Phototherapeutic Keratectomy). This technique uses ultrasound measurements to precisely guide the laser to remove the scarred area of tissue while preserving as much of the clear tissue underneath as possible to restore sight in the eye.
Lucy’s undamaged eye was treated with LASIK – the most common Laser Eye Surgery procedure.
“I was a little nervous – as I’m sure most patients are! – but the procedure was over in minutes, and I didn’t feel a thing.”
Moreover, while it took a few days for her eyes to heal, Lucy was amazed at the immediate improvement in her vision.
“‘It is true that the results of Laser Eye Surgery are instant – as soon as I sat up from the bed after my treatment, I immediately looked at the clock and I could see the little ‘second’ dashes in-between the numbers and was also able to read text up close – it was incredible!”
As Lucy’s recovery went on, she attended follow-up appointments at London Vision Clinic to check the progress of healing in her damaged eye. Eventually, it became clear that more could be done to further improve Lucy’s vision, so she was booked in for a simple enhancement procedure.
“Professor Dan completed the treatment of the damaged eye with a minor enhancement procedure to perfect my vision (because of the contact lens damage, there was still a small prescription left over in that eye, after the repair surgery procedure). After the enhancement procedure, I was left with perfect, 20/20 vision in both eyes – one year on, I still can’t believe it!
Celebrating Her New Vision
Following her Laser Eye Surgery treatment at London Vision Clinic, Lucy was thrilled with her new vision. Understandably, she remains cautious about the risks of wearing contact lenses.
“I still find it hard to understand how a contact lens could have damaged my eye so badly – it’s made me realise that many people, myself included, just have no idea about the risks involved with wearing them. I’ve been told that my experience with contact lenses is unusual, but not unheard of – and, of course, if it happened to me then it could happen to someone else.”
It is true that such side effects of wearing contact lenses are extremely rare; however, many wearers are completely unaware of how significantly contact lens-related infections could affect their sight should the unthinkable happen.
“I did everything right with my contact lenses, in terms of being careful and hygiene conscious, and following the rules, and I still almost lost my sight – if it wasn’t for my Laser Eye Surgery, I would almost certainly still be struggling with my vision.”
Thankfully, today Lucy is able to enjoy her clear, glasses-free vision, thanks to Laser Eye Surgery.
If anyone is even thinking about having Laser Eye Surgery they should at least go for a consultation. I know so many people say this, but it really is the best thing I have ever done and it has changed my life more than anyone can imagine.
“The team at London Vision Clinic have been amazing – from start to finish the service, care, professionalism and warmth has been perfect, I can’t thank them enough for everything they have done for me.”
An edited version of this article appeared in the Daily Express on the 23rd September 2014.
If you’re looking for an alternative to glasses and contact lenses, it might be time to consider Laser Eye Surgery. Get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today to find out if you could be suitable.
