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Eye & Contact Lens Factsheets

CONJUNCTIVITIS - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFECTION & ALLERGY

Conjunctivitis describes any inflammation which affects the inside of the eye lids and the surrounding area.

There are 2 absolutely different types of CONJUNCTIVITIS each demands a different treatment. All too often inexperienced opticians and doctors alike fail to diagnose the correct type of conjunctivitis. Prescribing the wrong drugs for the condition can make the problem dramatically worse.

This page explains ALLERGIC CONJUNCTIVITIS - the most common type but the one which is particularly associated with Contact Lens wear. Over-leaf is a description of common INFECTIVE CONJUNCTIVITIS which is the one more normally suffered by the non Contact Lens wearer.

ALLERGIC CONJUNCTIVITIS.

Many people naturally suffer with allergies, the most common being HAY FEVER. This affects the eyelids, especially the inside of the top lid. Aggravation from pollens and other similar irritants can make the inside of the lid swell with many little blister like vesicles. These cause soreness and discharge which can contaminate the surface of Contact Lenses with secretions of PROTEIN. This protein then acts as a continuing irritant to the lids so preventing them from healing.

Alternatively a dirty Contact Lens which a patient has allowed to become PROTEINOUS can, without any other OUTSIDE assistance spark off an allergic conjunctivitis! REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE THE END PRODUCT IS THE SAME AND THERE IS ONLY ONE REALLY EFFECTIVE TREATMENT!

Eye drops and/or ointment, specially formulated to calm the aggravated capillary cells in the lids, need to be prescribed either by us or your G.P. Used as advised the allergy generally responds rapidly to treatment although may be slow to do so if patients have foolishly worn dirty lenses a long time before seeking our advice.

An appropriate medicament such as OPTICROM (Fisons) must be prescribed. Please note the following important advice!

* If we have advised you that your conjunctivitis is ALLERGIC, DO NOT use anything other than
OPTICROM without checking with us - PRESERVATIVES, natural constituents of drops for an
INFECTION will make an ALLERGY worse - be warned!

* Seek our advice regarding the use of OPTICROM eye drops with Contact Lenses in. The advisory
warning of not to use with Contacts in is often incorrect. OPTICROM drops used with lenses in
can, in certain situations, dramatically improve treatment. Ointments should always be used
without lenses in, preferably at night.

*Patients with a history of Contact Lens problems during the Hay Fever season or anyone who suffers with
sore eyes in the spring can benefit from continuing use of OPTICROM. Unlike drops for infections which
require one single course, OPTICROM may be used without problems on a prolonged basis.


INFECTIVE CONJUNCTIVITIS.

Anyone can get an eye infection - most of us have had one, especially during childhood. It is the same as catching a cold, flu, or an even more serious disease. Infections are mainly caused by "bugs" (bacteria, viruses etc.). Just as colds do not kill, eye infections virtually never blind.

Currently eye infections (especially Acanthamoeba keratitis) hit the headlines mainly in the context of Contact Lens wear. What no one explains is that many millions more Non Contact Lens Wearers than Contact Lens Wearers arrive at Doctors or Hospitals every year with eye infections.

The tears contain a special protein which kills virtually all "bugs" that come into contact with the eye. Without this we would experience repeated infections, but as a result they only occur when the eye is swamped by too many bugs for our tears to cope with. These can come from many sources including the air we walk through, polluted water, contaminated hands, make up, infected towels, or sometimes unsterile Contact Lenses.

TREATMENT.

Infective conjunctivitis is usually simply treated with a short course of either antibiotic eye drops or ointment.
In certain cases a second treatment may be needed if the infecting bugs are unresponsive to the first. In cases of emergency we may be able to prescribe appropriate drops for you.

Contact Lenses, assuming proper disinfection, are very safe and there is hardly any more risk of infection than without lenses. The greatest "risk factor" is always the WEARER! The stupidity we regularly hear of is hardly believable. It does however explain just how some patients create their own problems.

FOR EXAMPLE : -
* Short cuts in cleaning and disinfection .
* Changing CARE PRODUCTS without our advice - despite sales claims they are not all the same. Only we
can tell you which will be safest for your lenses and eyes.
* Wearing old, dirty, discoloured or damaged lenses.
* Licking lenses to clean or wet them - amazingly some people do it - some bacteria normal in the mouth can destroy an eye.
* Using outdated solutions.
* Storing lenses in dirty cases - A NEW CASE is a MUST at least every three months better still, monthly.

To wear a clean disinfected pair of lenses is SAFE!
To wear dirty or damaged lenses is STUPID!

MOST OF THE LENSES WE FIT HAVE SAFETY APPROVAL EITHER FROM THE F.D.A.. IN THE U.S.A. or elsewhere.

We don't just fit them - we wear them ourselves.

WHAT MORE CAN WE SAY!