Worldwide pandemics have a way of making people really nervous. The problem with this kind of anxiety and uncertainty is that it results in a lot of false information spreading around and that only makes people more nervous.
So we wanted to make sure that our vision and LASIK patients at Shinagawa have accurate information about their eye care during COVID-19. The two topics most people seem concerned about are LASIK eye surgery and contact lens precautions.
Let’s take a look at some of the concerns people have, get the facts straight, and talk about why this might be the best time to get LASIK.
There are lots of questions people have about their eye health during COVID-19, but we’re going to touch on 3 of the biggest ones about contact lenses. These are some of the top concerns we’ve come across, so let’s give you some clear answers.
Common Questions About Contact Lenses During COVID-19
Am I More Likely to Contract COVID-19 When I Use My Contact Lenses?
Contact lenses alone will not transmit COVID-19 to your eyes, however, we do know that eyes can be susceptible to the virus. If you contract the virus because of exposure to your eyes, it is most likely because your hands were not properly cleaned before you touched your face or eyes.
The thing that makes contact users more susceptible to COVID-19 is that they are more likely to touch their faces often. Contact users touch their eyes to insert or remove contact lenses, but they also might rub or itch their eyes when their contacts irritate their eyes. They may also touch their faces if their contacts make their eyes water.
It’s frustrating, but using contact lenses does often necessitate touching your face more often than you would otherwise. If this makes you nervous, you may want to switch to glasses for the time being. However, good eye and contact lens hygiene should keep you safe.
Can I Contract COVID-19 From My Contact Lenses?
There have been no recorded cases of COVID-19 being transmitted by using contact lenses. If you are caring for your contact lenses properly, there should be no concern about contracting COVID-19 from your contact lenses alone.
However, even though the contact lenses themselves are not inherently at risk for COVID-19, using contact lenses could make you susceptible to the virus because of the need to touch your face more frequently.
What Are Best Practices for Wearing Contact Lenses During COVID-19?
The most important thing you can do during COVID-19 is to continue to give your contacts proper care. Our best tips are to keep great contact lens hygiene. If you use daily disposable contact lenses, make sure you throw them away every night. Don’t sleep or shower with contact lenses in your eyes because doing so can cause eye damage. And make sure you sanitize your contacts often and correctly. Most importantly, make sure your hands are clean before you touch your contacts or eyes.
If your contact lenses frequently irritate your eyes, you may want to switch to glasses or have LASIK during this pandemic. Doing so should help you limit how much you touch your face, especially your eyes. Another option is to use blue light blockers if you find yourself dealing with frequent digital eye strain. Blue light blockers should help ease the dry eye or eye exhaustion that comes from digital eye strain and should help prevent the need to touch your face as well.
LASIK vs. Contact Lenses During COVID-19
Though contact lenses alone aren’t high risk during the pandemic, they do bring an increased risk of infection if proper handwashing and contact hygiene aren’t observed. One way to limit this risk is by switching to glasses, but another is to have LASIK eye surgery.
Having LASIK at Shinagawa is a safe option at this time. Given the situation with the pandemic, it is important that your trusted LASIK provider observe increased health safety measures, but if you and your doctor are doing your part to observe safety measures, you should be fine to receive LASIK at this time.
Additionally, you’ll find that post-surgery, you won’t need to touch your eyes or face as much as you do with contact lenses, and you won’t need to deal with the annoyance of glasses either. Schedule your LASIK screening now for a better and safer life! Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries and appointments.
