How well do you actually clean your contact lenses?

Happy World Sight Day!

Last edited: 11/13/2021

Today is the second Thursday of October, which can only mean one thing…

Yay! Almost Halloween!

Well, yeah… That, too.

But actually, today is World Sight Day! 🥳

And to celebrate, I’ve compiled the results of our contact lens cleaning email survey.

Because what better way to celebrate World Sight Day than to dwell on all the ways we’ve disappointed our optometrist.

Contact Lens Cleaning Habits – Survey Results

Just kidding!

But really, today is as good a time as any to think about improving the way we care for our contact lenses.

How do you compare to the average contact lens wearer?

According to a massive study by the CDC, almost all American contact lens wearers (99%) practice at least one risky behavior that could result in infection. Yikes.

That stat held true in our own micro-survey, too.

The most common risky behavior that we admitted to was… wearing our lenses longer than prescribed!

I’m not terribly surprised, to be honest. Throwing out lenses can feel wasteful. But if it’s something you do often, it might be a good idea to just ask your doc about switching to a longer-term contact lens type.

Another interesting difference between us and the average: we’re more ready to admit that we don’t wash our hands.

But one thing we have to give ourselves credit for: at least we know that we have room for improvement.

In the CDC study, the majority of respondents (85%) rated themselves as compliant with proper cleaning procedures.

By comparison, our survey had almost the exact opposite result!
94% of us feel that we could improve. And just 6% of us gave ourselves a perfect score.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

Don’t worry if your cleaning habits aren’t the best, yet. None of us is perfect.

In fact. the CDC estimates that 33% of us will have to visit the optometrist because of irritation caused by our contact lens cleaning mistakes…

😳

Forget Halloween!
It’s World Sight Day that’s scaring me this year!

Data last updated: Nov 13 2021

Nothing in this article is to be construed as medical advice, nor is it intended to replace the recommendations of a medical professional. For specific questions, please see your eye care practitioner.