Keratitis???

Question

what are the statistics of people getting keratitis due to contact lens wear?

How many people have died due to it? how many reported cases?

please provide the link . thanks!

Answer 1

This is an inflammation of the eye and if you have scatched your cornea this can cause problems.  I do not think this can cause a person to die, but I'm not a Doctor. I had to have a cornea transplant becuase of this problem.

Answer 2

Hi!  NO ONE will EVER die from keratitis.  My biggest worry with contact lens wearers is not keratitis but rather neovascularization which is abnormal blood vessel growth on the cornea due to contact lens overwear or abuse.  Also, patients who do not take out their contacts for days on end and they get permanently stuck on the corneas unless the contact has been approved for overnight wear.  Keratitis is only of concern if your eyes are seriously dry and it is basically just dry spots on the cornea which do not do much but cause some discomfort.  Wish I had a link but this is alll coming from personal experience.

Answer 3

In disease terms, it's hardly rare.

Superficial punctate keratitis is pretty common in people who *don't* wear contact lenses, though contact lens wear is a factor, particulrly in people who fail to maintain good hygiene regimes on their lenses, or overwear them.

"...viral conjunctivitis, blepharitis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, trachoma, ultraviolet (UV) light exposure (eg, welding arcs, sunlamps, snow glare), contact lens overwear, systemic drugs (eg, adenine arabinoside), and topical drug or preservative toxicity."

Total recovery from SPK is the norm.  In mild forms, people may not be aware that they have it.

No-one dies from keratitis, not even from the more severe forms which can leave irregular, scarred or even totally opaque corneas.

Keratitis runs the whole gamut from a minor temporary inconvenience to a blinding disease.

Acanthamoeba or Aspergillus  keratitis can be disastrous for the eye.

The *additional* risk from wearing contacts is low, provided they are used properly.

The safest contacts are those that are used once and thrown away and never slept in.

The highest risk comes with people trying to stretch the life or wearing time of the lenses, or to save money or time by skimping on cleaning or disinfection.