Prevent Oxygen Starvation: Contact Lens Care

Contact lenses can be a great substitute for glasses when they are worn correctly. However, sometimes they can cause problems for some individuals. One of these problems is oxygen starvation.

What is It?

Oxygen starvation occurs when your eyes do not receive enough oxygen. Older types of contact lenses such as Optima FW may cause this problem if they're worn for too long. These older types of contact lenses do not allow as much oxygen to enter your eyes, which is why they should be worn for briefer time periods or not at all.

How to Tell

Only a trained professional can tell you with absolute certainty that you have oxygen starvation. However, if the white portions of your eyes have permanent small spidery like red veins running throughout them then you may very well have oxygen starvation. As for pain, your eyes will probably not hurt if you have oxygen starvation; they will feel just fine. So pay close attention to your eyes, and visit some type of eye doctor at least once a year.

Treatment

Yes, oxygen starvation is treatable. However, you need to catch it early because the damage can be irreversible in many cases. Unfortunately, this means that those small spidery like red veins may be permanent. As for the treatment, it is fairly simple. You can either switch to a more oxygen friendly type of contact lens (like O2 Optix), or you can just wear glasses. Another more expensive possibility is eye surgery. The choice is yours.

Long Term Complications

Ignoring oxygen starvation can lead to serious consequences. Eventually, the red veins that are in the whites of your eyes will grow directly into your pupil. This can interfere with your ability to see clearly. Also, the whites around your pupil may become swollen and open up in spots. This gives bacteria easier access to your eye, which means you have an increased likelihood of getting an eye infection.

Or something more serious such as a corneal ulcer could develop. Corneal ulcers usually hurt, but they can be painless as well. More than likely, a microscope will have to be used in order to detect the ulcer because sometimes they can't be seen by the naked eye. In rare cases, oxygen starvation can even lead to blindness.

Oxygen starvation can be a serious problem if it's not corrected in a timely fashion. However, if you simply follow your eye doctor's advice then you should be just fine. But always keep your eyes open just in case.