News
Top contact lens
experts dispel
misinformation
regarding COVID-19
Three of the world’s most published towels is paramount. For contact lens or glasses provide protection against
researchers in eye health, including a wearers, this should occur before COVID-19 or other viral transmissions.
professor at the University of Waterloo every insertion and removal.
in Ontario, are responding to misinfor-
mation circulating regarding contact
lens and glasses wear amidst the novel
coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent peer-reviewed paper, pub-
Disinfect Contact Lenses. lished in Contact Lens and Anterior
Contact lens wearers should either Eye, draws attention to how hand
dispose of their daily disposable lens- washing habits could affect the
es each evening, or regularly disinfect development of contact lens relat-
Lyndon Jones, director of the Centre their monthly and two-week lenses ed microbial keratitis and corneal
for Ocular Research & Education according to manufacturer and eye inflammatory events.
(CORE) at the University of Waterloo; care professional instructions.
Philip Morgan, director of Euro-
lens Research at The University of
Manchester (United Kingdom); and
Jason Nichols, associate vice-pres-
ident research and professor at the
University of Alabama at Birming-
ham School of Optometry (United
States) and editor in chief of Contact
Lens Spectrum are advising eye care
professionals and consumers to heed
sound, evidence-based practices.
Disease Control and Prevention and
Some viruses such as COVID-19 can World Health Organization recom-
remain on hard surfaces for hours mend that people clean their hands
to days, which can be transferred to often to reduce their risk of contract-
spectacles wearers’ fingers and faces. ing the virus. Specifically, they advise
This especially holds true for presby- all people to:
opes (people generally over the age of
40). Most presbyopes require reading
glasses and they may be putting them
on and off their face multiple times
a day. This age group appears to be
Contact Lens Wear is Safe. among the more vulnerable popu-
Despite myths and misinformation lation for developing COVID-19, as
that have arisen over the past 48 compared with contact lens wearers,
hours, contact lens wear remains a who are typically younger.
safe and highly effective form of vi-
sion correction for millions of people
worldwide.
Proper Hand Washing is Essential.
When using contact lenses or specta-
cles, careful and thorough hand wash-
ing with soap and water followed
by hand drying with unused paper
36 Optical Prism | April 2020
The United States Centers for
Disinfect Spectacles and Glasses.
Discontinue Lens Wear Only if Sick.
Ceasing contact lens wear when sick
is advised, consistent with guidance
for other types of illness.
• Wash your hands often with soap
and water for at least 20 seconds
especially after you have been in a
public place, or after blowing your
nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily
available, use a hand sanitizer that
contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover
all surfaces of your hands and rub
them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose,
and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Use approved personal protective
Spectacles are Not Proven to eyewear (medical masks, goggles
Offer Protection. There is no scien- or face shields) in certain settings
tific evidence that wearing spectacles involved in the care of patients. OP