VERY IMPORTANT FDA warning: CONTACT LENS INFECTION

HERE IS A FULL DETAILED Report FROM THE FDA WEBSITE:

The FDA has received reports of eye problems, such as damage to the cornea and eye infections, associated with decorative contact lenses. Most of the reports involve teen-agers. Victor Crosby, M.D., an ophthalmologist in Athens, Ga., reported a case of a 16-year-old female who bought contact lenses at a flea market. "She wore them for a couple of days and ended up in the emergency room with burning, redness, and sensitivity to light in both eyes," he says. "The main problem was a poor lens fit." Contact lenses that are too tight can damage the cornea. Crosby treated her with a topical steroid antibiotic for five to six days and she fully recovered.

Others haven't been as lucky. Thomas Steinemann, M.D., director of the Metro-Health Eye Clinic in Cleveland, treated one of the worst cases related to decorative contact lenses that has been reported to the FDA so far. In September 2001, a 14-year-old female needed treatment after wearing decorative contact lenses she bought for about $20 at a video store. "She wanted to turn brown eyes green to match an outfit," Steinemann says. "But the result was a lot of pain and suffering."

She experienced an aggressive infection caused by a Pseudomonas bacterium in one eye. "You can not only lose vision from this infection, but you can lose the eye," Steinemann says. The teen-ager had to be hospitalized and treated with antibiotic drops every 30 minutes for four days. "Though the infection was eradicated by aggressive topical therapy, the eye remained inflamed for a long time," he says. She was blind in the infected eye for two months. Soon after she began to regain some vision, scar tissue formed, causing further vision loss. In June 2002, Steinemann performed a corneal transplant, which involved removing her diseased cornea and replacing it with a donor cornea. Recovery from the corneal transplant takes about a year, and her vision is not fully restored.

Along with informing consumers about potential dangers with decorative contact lenses, the FDA is seizing decorative contact lenses on the market that violate federal law. The agency has also issued an import alert instructing the FDA and Customs officials to detain decorative contact lenses presented at U.S. ports of entry unless they have been cleared for marketing by the FDA. In a prepared statement issued in October 2002, FDA Deputy Commissioner Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D., said, "FDA will aggressively use the full range of its statutory authorities to prevent the distribution of these potentially dangerous products to consumers."

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[LadyAvarice4590]

@hdk5pl did you have acanthomeoba keratitis ?

[hdk5pl]

@Dreameatertv

Hey I'm interesting patient atm as well... (pls read below) Used to using continuos wear lenses. Got horrible infection from showering with my lenses on, and been seeing various eye-cornea specialists right now, had to had scans of my eye... etc etc...

[hdk5pl]

PLEASE NOTE even if u r using continuos wear lenses (for day&night) DO TAKE THEM OUT FOR SHOWERING, SWIMMING (AND NIGHTS if possible). SAVE URSELF FROM THE PAIN i had to put up with. Seriously! Scary Times!

[hdk5pl]

@kingraider7

I showerd with mine on as well for the last 6mths or more up until the day when i couldn't anymore...! The water can spread bacteria, what happen in my case... and it got so serious that i couldn't close my eye , blink or sleep at all, eye got all red with the feeling that the lens is still inn.PAIN PAIN PAIN!!! (Seriously wanted to call ambulance). Just today heard from my Doc that i could loose the sight in my eye if I carry on using my contacts as i was before...

[kingraider7]

i shower with my contacts in.... TAKE THAT

[cheesey12354]

@Dreameatertv wow xD and yh i heard about the worms :S there was one person who splashed tap water on this face and some water got in his eye..the water was not clean and somehow was "dirty" from the tank..when he splashed the water in his eye the water had eggs and worms grew in his eye :S lol im scared to get tap water in my eye for that reason xD and im glad ur eye is better ^^ must hv been interesting so that the doctor even got students to hv a look at it xD lol u must hv felt famous xD :P

[Dreameatertv]

@cheesey12354 thx cheesey am feeling much better now the drops took effect in 3 days and my eye was good as new :) am glad it was not a worm or anything because i heard worms can grown in your eye and eat it xD , the doctors were so intrested in my eye they even brought 3 students of some college xD

[cheesey12354]

@Dreameatertv im sorry ... and good luck :) (p.s. how is ur eye now since its been 3 weeks since u posted this comment? :) )

[Dreameatertv]

to late for me my left eye has been infected :( and it went red and it closed :( thats what happens for useing the shisue eye for to long.... i went to the doctor i got drop's i hope i heal wish me luck

[satrapy27]

Too late. Can't wear them anymore.