Why You Should Never Shower While Wearing Contacts

When Whitney Fleming, a writer from Grand Rapids, Michigan, woke up to find her left eye sore and irritated, she wasn't worried at first. Fleming has worn soft contact lenses since she was a teenager; she cleaned them diligently, replaced them with a new pair every two weeks, and never wore them at night.

But as the pain grew worse and none of the prescribed medications worked, Fleming began to panic. She couldn't drive. The exposure to light was excruciating. The pain, which was unrelenting, affected her face and neck, and she eventually lost sight in her left eye. “I was actually just starting to withdraw from life because I was in so much pain,” she recalls.

Finally, three weeks later, a cornea specialist diagnosed Fleming: Acanthamoeba keratitisa disease that occurs when Acanthamoeba– a common parasite found in tap water, as well as in dirt, soil and any non-sterile body of water, such as a swimming pool or lake – infects corneathe transparent outer layer of the eye. Although she will never know for sure how she became infected, the most likely cause, Fleming's doctor told her, was something millions of people do every day: wearing contact lenses in the shower.

Risks of wearing contact lenses in the shower

“We tell people that contact lenses and water don't mix,” says Dr. Thomas Steinemann, a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a professor of ophthalmology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

ABOUT 90% Acanthamoeba cases of keratitis Common in contact lens wearers, says Dr. Saba Al-Hashimi, assistant professor of ophthalmology in the cornea department at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute. While the amoeba is essentially inert, if you swallow it or get it in your ears, “if it gets under your contact lenses, it can find a way to become an opportunistic infection,” he says.

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This happens for several reasons. First, the parasite, which has a high affinity for contact lenses, becomes trapped between your contact and the cornea, he said. Because the surface of the cornea contains many tiny micro-abrasions from rubbing against it, they can function as openings for the amoeba to enter—and the longer you're exposed to it, the deeper it can burrow.

“Once it’s there, it’s extremely difficult—the deeper it goes—to eradicate,” Steinemann says.

Little-studied disease

Despite wearing contact lenses for decades, Fleming had never heard that she shouldn't shower, swim or get in a hot tub while wearing them.

“Many people don’t realize that any contact with water is dangerous,” Steinemann says. “They say, 'I never knew about this, why wasn't I told about this years ago?'”

Bye Acanthamoeba Keratitis has historically been considered a rare disease, occurring only about 1500 cases per year In the US, “I think people are slowly realizing that many of these infections go undetected,” Steinemann says. The disease often occurs erroneous for other conditions that may delay proper treatment.

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“In most cases, it is mistaken for herpes and patients are prescribed steroid drops, which only makes the infection worse,” says Al-Hashimi. Even if a correct diagnosis is eventually made, “it will take at least three to four months for the infection to clear,” he says. “But there are cases where even after a year of treatment the parasite persists. This pathogen is extremely difficult to get rid of.”

If you show symptoms from Acanthamoeba For keratitis, including eye pain, watery or red eyes, and sensitivity to light, it's important to stand up for yourself at your appointment, Fleming says. “Many optometrists and ophthalmologists have never seen a live case,” she says. Steinemann, who trains ophthalmology residents, emphasizes that eye care providers must be prepared to identify the disease. “The sooner we think about it when we see a patient with a red and painful eye, the sooner we can intervene and treat it.”

How to reduce risk

Acanthamoeba is not the only waterborne bacteria that can cause damage if it sticks to the surface of contact lenses. “Probably the most common and most terrible” is Pseudomonas aeruginosawhich can cause a severe infection of the cornea, Steinemann says.

Although there are risks with any type of contact lens, “I tell all my patients: if you wear soft lenses, wear disposable daily contact lenses“,” says Steinemann. Besides reducing the risk of contamination (you start with a new pair every day), it makes it easier to throw away the lenses if you accidentally expose them to water. “It's not as good as No expose them to water, but if you wear disposable daily lenses, let this be your last wear,” he says.

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For other types of contact, clean and disinfect thoroughly, Steinemann advises. Do not reuse contact lens solution that is left in your case; clean the case fresh solution at least once a week and leave it open to air dry; and never use tap water or saliva as a wetting agent. (Pseudomonas may also live in your mouth.)

According to Al-Hashimi, it may be helpful to purchase prescription swim goggles so you can ditch contact lenses altogether; you can even wear glasses in the shower. And if you are a candidate for refractive surgery like LASIK, he adds, “it's one way to get rid of your contact lenses and start living the life you want.”

“Roll of the Dice”

Now, almost ten years later, Fleming has gradually regained vision in her left eye, although she still has a scar above the pupil. But in addition to the main side effects of the infection, she also developed stomach ulcers due to taking high doses of ibuprofen Broke four teeth during this time from grinding them in pain, and says her mental health suffered during and after her illness.

“If I had realized what could have happened, I would have been much more careful,” she says. “That’s a roll of the dice you don’t want to make.”