Recommendations of the American Academy of Ophthalmology indicate that wearing contact lenses during a pandemic is dangerous. People who use them rub and touch their eyes much more often during the day. This is a normal reaction to a foreign body in the eye, but at the same time a pathway to a potential coronavirus infection. Dirty hands in contact with the eye can be a source of infection. The virus not only penetrates the body, but can also spread dangerously outside with tears.
– Contact lenses are usually worn by young people, in whom the COVID-19 disease does not always give symptoms, or it is quite mild, so they may infect others unconsciously – warns Prof. Robert Rejdak, head of the General Ophthalmology Clinic of the Lublin Medical University. – Moreover, in each case there is a symptomless period when the disease can already be transmitted. For our own safety and prevention of coronavirus infection, we appeal to everyone to give up wearing contact lenses for the time of the epidemic and return to the use of glasses.
Spring is a period of allergy and increased exposure to eye injuries. Wearing contact lenses aggravates the symptoms of infection and disease conditions. This is an additional reason to give them up during the raging epidemic and wear glasses.
– By the way, I would like to remind you that conjunctivitis and their acute congestion may be the first symptom of coronavirus infection, adds the professor. – All people who come into professional contact with a large group of people should preventively wear safety glasses or transparent visors in case of medical personnel. This recommendation cannot be ignored for the sake of one’s own health and to save the lives of others and to transmit outbreaks. The inhibition of the COVID-19 pandemic depends on strict observance of hygiene and prevention rules.
