Posters

An investigation the attitude towards contact lens wear and hygiene among young students

Poster Details

First Author: E.Kanonidou GREECE

Co Author(s):    C. Kanonidou   G. Sakkias   L. Papazisis        

Abstract Details

Purpose:

The use of contact lenses for visual, therapeutic or cosmetic reasons has increased over the last few years and is higher among young people. There are still reports of contact lens - related complications which range from mild to severe. The aim of the study was to evaluate the compliance in safe handling, care and maintenance among contact lens wearers.

Setting:

Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Veria, Veria, Greece./ Department of Ophthalmology, ‘'Hippokrateion'' General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Methods:

173 students (male/female: 85/91, aged 19-24 years old) attending a Vocational Training Institute who were contact lens wearers participated in the study. 91% wore them to correct an existing ammetropia and 9% for cosmetic reasons for a mean duration of 3 years. All used monthly disposable hydrophilic contact lenses bought from an optician. The study was performed using anonymous self-administered questionnaire.

Results:

49% of the participants washed their hands before lens insertion and 67% after lens removal. 23% followed the rub and rinse technique after the contact lens removal. 82% wore the lenses longer than recommended (extended daily wear, overnight wear) and 93% were not compliant with the recommended replacement schedule. Only 13% of them followed the rub and rinse technique for the cleaning of contact lens case and 25% replaced the storage case after a period of three months. All of them were using a multipurpose solution for cleaning, disinfecting and storing. It is noteworthy that all reported occasional use of saline solution or tap water to clean, disinfect and store their lenses. The findings were not significantly different among males and females and were not correlated with the year of contact lens wearing.

Conclusions:

It was interesting to observe the poor hand hygiene as well as the inadequate cleaning and disinfestion patterns of lenses and storage cases followed by the participants. Health professionals should therefore acknowledge these issues and spend more time in educating their patients. FINANCIAL INTEREST: NONE