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Study shines
light
on inadequate
2017
Students
of Vision
hand hygiene
among contact
scholarship
Program
lens wearers
A review study by University of Waterloo
researchers has found that up to half of
all contact lens wearers neglect proper
hand-washing procedures, but notes
that education strategies, including
those implemented by eye care profes-
sionals, may help to improve compliance.
The report by the university’s Centre
for Ocular Research and Education,
published in Contact Lens and Anterior
Eye, draws attention to how hand-wash-
ing habits can affect the development
of contact lens-related microbial ker-
atitis and corneal inflammatory events.
“While proof that hand-washing
reduces infection dates back to the
mid-1800s, we’re still facing significant
issues in having consumers change
their hygiene behaviors,” says Lyndon
Jones, the paper’s co-author and
director of CORE.
“In compiling this review of public
health literature, our hope is to make
the facts and possible mitigation
“55% of customers will
pay more for a better
sales experience.”
strategies more accessible to eye care
professionals. They’re on the front
lines of helping contact lens wearers
understand that eye health is literally
in their own hands.”
- DEFAQTO Research
The paper notes that numerous tech-
niques exist to help prevent microbial
keratitis or corneal inflammatory
events among contact lens patients,
including careful and thorough hand-
washing with soap and water followed
by hand drying with unused
paper towels.
While the eye care industry has made
significant investments in patient
education, “literature on the effects of
education of proper hand-washing is
at best scant,” the report says.
The study also says advancements in
contact lens offerings are providing
new hope.
These include more frequent fitting
of daily disposable contact lenses, citing
the reduced contamination due to
removal and discarding after each
wearing period. Additional innovations
include a new lens package design
that minimizes interaction between
the finger and the lens surface and a
novel disinfecting component included
in the lens blister pack solution.
The paper was co-authored by
Desmond Fonn, professor emeritus at
the University of Waterloo, School of
Optometry & Vision Science.
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38 OPTICAL PRISM | March 2019
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