Academies join forces with CDC to promote healthy contact lens habits

The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Optometry have joined the CDC and its other partners to promote Contact Lens Health Week, Aug. 21 to 25.

The two academies announced that this year’s theme is “Healthy habits mean healthy eyes.”

Eye care providers are encouraged to advise their patients to follow certain guidelines for healthy contact lens wear, which address:

hand washing;
sleeping in lenses;
swimming and showering while wearing contacts;
topping off solutions;
replacement schedules;
rubbing and rinsing;
over wear; and
recommendations for colored contact lens wear.

“While we focus on Contact Lens Health Week, it is important to remember that both patients and prescribers alike should maintain a year-round vigilance regarding eye health,” Clarke D. Newman, OD, FAAO, chair of the American Academy of Optometry’s section on cornea, contact lenses and refractive technologies, said in the joint press release. “Nothing improves the safety of contact lens wear like the continual reinforcement of and compliance with proper lens wear, proper lens care and proper patient follow-up.”

The CDC is hosting a Twitter chat on Aug. 22. The twitter handle, @CDCgov, will co-host an hour-long chat with @NBCNewsHealth from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. (ET), using the hashtag #HealthyContactsChat.