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THE USE OF CONTACT LENSES IN WET OR DAMP ENVIRONMENTS
Author(s) -
LÖVSUND PER,
NILSSON SVEN ERIK G.,
ÖBERG P. ÅKE
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1980.tb06693.x
Subject(s) - contact lens , lens (geology) , adhesion , underwater , optics , falling (accident) , salt water , saline , materials science , ophthalmology , environmental science , medicine , composite material , geology , environmental engineering , physics , oceanography , environmental health , endocrinology
The adhesion between the eye and a contact lens was recorded when influenced by water with varying salt concentrations. Both active removal and spontaneous loss of hard and soft contact lenses applied to the eye were investigated. In environments with saline < 9 0/00 the risk of a soft contact lens falling out from the eye is almost negligible. In environments with saline ≤9 0/00 the risk increases since adhesion in active removal decreased considerably. In reality, based upon the investigations of spontaneous loss of contact lenses in an underwater environment, well fitted soft lenses still do not however fall out of the eye. It should therefore be possible to use well fitted soft contact lenses without any significant risk even in working conditions which may include splashing of water upon the eye and regardless of the various salt concentrations of naturally occurring water in Sweden. For hard contact lenses, independent of salt concentration, adhesion in the underwater environment is extremely low and such lenses cannot therefore be used on an unprotected eye in conjunction with, for example, swimming. The risk of them falling out under splashing with water upon the eye is clearly greater than for soft lenses.