With summer holiday season at its peak, people tend to take care of their skin, often forgetting about eye care. Usual activities like open water swimming, sunbathing or even a plane ride can lead to eye infections and even vision loss.
Nimmi Mistry, professional services optician at Vision Direct, is here to answer these questions ensuring you, and your eyes, have a stress-free summer.
Can I sleep with contact lenses in on the plane?
When you’ve a long plane journey ahead of you, you might wonder if you can enjoy a nap without the faff of removing your contacts. Unfortunately, in this case, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Lenses limit the amount of oxygen and moisture that pass through to your eyes. Due to this lack of oxygen and hydration, falling asleep in contact lenses can have detrimental effects on the eye. These can range from mild symptoms such as redness, irritation and discomfort, to more profound effects including difficulties removing the lens, ulcers and infections which could potentially cause keratitis (inflammation of the cornea.)
If you’re taking a long flight and are likely to sleep, travel wearing your glasses. Not only will you not need to remove your lenses on the plane, but your eyes will reap the benefit of not feeling as dry as they might have at high altitude if you were wearing contacts.
Does it matter what sunglasses I buy?
All sunglasses (with a fixed tint) should carry the CE mark and meet the European Standard BS EN 1836:2005. CE marking indicatesprotection against UVA and UVB, and sunglasses are also graded into five categories. The higher the category, the better protected your eyes are, so make sure to factor this into picking your everyday pair.
If you are planning activities or just want to ensure extra comfort for your eyes while in bright conditions, then polarised lenses are highly recommended. These lenses feature a fixed tint that reduces glare occurring from light reflecting off shiny surfaces, snow or water. Polarised lenses can help reduce eyestrain, enhance contrast and provide clearer vision.
Cheap sunglasses don’t offer any protection against harmful UV radiation and prolonged exposure to them can cause cataracts,macular degeneration, and pterygium (growth on the eye’s surface).
Can I go swimming with my contact lenses in?
Water contains bacteria, whether it is water from your tap, the sea or swimming pools, and contact lenses are exceptionally porous and absorbent. This combination allows bacteria to spread on the surface of the contact lens when exposed to water, increasing the potential risk of sight-threatening eye infections.
Unfortunately, the chlorine in swimming pools, won’t kill all pathogens, and can act as a mild irritant to the eye too. As soft lenses are exceptionally porous, the bacteria and the chlorine in pool water can still easily reach and harm your eyes.
Wild swimming or water sports in the sea, lakes and rivers can present more issues for your eyes than a pool. This is because natural bodies of water are usually teeming with bacteria that are not killed off by pool chemicals. Acanthamoeba, one of the most dangerous organisms found in these sources, can result in a rare but serious eye infection, Acanthamoeba keratitis. If left untreated, this infection may lead to inflammation of the cornea, resulting in vision loss and sight-threatening complications down the line.
If you are looking forward to a swim but struggle to see, either opt for some daily disposable contact lenses under tight-fitting waterproof swimming goggles, and throw the lenses away afterwards or, better yet, purchase prescription goggles and forgo the lenses in the pool altogether.
What should I do if I get sand in my eye?
If you are enjoying yourself on the beach and happen to get sand in your eye, the most important thing is to avoid rubbing your eye. Although this is a normal reaction, rubbing the eye could cause the coarse sand to scratch the eye, potentially causing a corneal abrasion and ultimately an infection if ignored.
Try and blink frequently to attempt to flush the sand out and at the first opportunity find a clean water source to rinse your eye out with.
If you wear contact lenses, be sure to remove them as soon as possible with clean hands and dispose of them. If your eye is sore and irritated, switch to glasses for a day or two as this should allow for your eye to settle.
Do I need to wear sun cream on my eyelids?
Whether it is due to make-up, forgetfulness or reliance on sunglasses, not everyone will remember to apply suncream to their eyelids before heading out into the summer sun. Prolonged exposure to UV rays from the sun not only puts your vision at risk but there’s also increased chances of developing cancers of the eyelid, including basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
Cosmetically, failing to apply sufficient sun protection to your eyelids and the skin surrounding the eyes could also lead to premature ageing around your eyes. You should also wear a wide-brimmed sun hat to further protect your eyes from the sun.
What’s the best way to get sun cream out of your eyes?
If you accidentally get some sun cream into your eyes, there are a few things you should do to minimise irritation and discomfort for your eyes.
Rinse your eye: Immediately flush your eye with plenty of clean, cool water. Tilt your head to the side and hold your affected eye open while pouring a gentle stream of water over it. Allow the water to flow over your eye several times to help remove the suncream. Blink your eye repeatedly while rinsing with water. This helps to further flush out the sunscreen.
Remove contact lenses (if applicable): If you’re wearing contact lenses when sunscreen gets into your eye, it’s important to remove them with clean hands and to throw these lenses away and replace them with a fresh pair when the discomfort has faded.
Avoid rubbing your eye: While it may be tempting to rub your eye to alleviate the discomfort and itchiness of the sun cream sensation, try to avoid doing so. Rubbing can cause further irritation and aggravate your eye. Not only that but, if you rub your eye with unwashed hands, you are at risk of adding more irritants to the eye or even causing an infection.
Seek medical attention (if necessary): If the discomfort persists or you experience severe pain, visual changes, or any other concerning symptoms, it’s advisable to seek medical attention.
