The Impact of Daily Contact Lens Wear

A recent study on the impact of contact lens wear and visual display terminal work was published in The American Journal of Ophthalmology. The purpose of the study, which included 69 contact lenses wearers and 102 non contact lens wearers of the same age and sex, “was to evaluate the effect of contact lens (CL) wear and visual display terminal work on the ocular surface and tear functions.” A dry eye symptom questionnaire was used to evaluate the signs and symptoms of dry eye, and multiple ocular surface and tear function tests, including stainings using fluroescein and rose bengal, Schirmer test, tear meniscus height measurement, and tear film break-up time were performed.

The study concluded that contact lenses wearers are more prone to dry eye. Findings showed that contact lens wearers who spent more than four hours at a visual display terminal had significantly higher incidence of dry eye and a lower tear meniscus volume, as well as more visual symptoms triggered by environmental factors. According to the results of the study, contact lens wearers are at a higher risk of dry eye from sitting at a visual display terminal, such as a computer, than those who are not contact lens wears when all other factors, such as age, sex, and hours spent at a visual display terminal, are the same.

SOURCE: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, 25 AUG 2011