translated from Spanish: Why wearing contact lenses increases the risk of getting COVID-19

Specialists have recommended that people constantly change the use of contact lenses for framing lenses during these weeks of alertness for the coronavirus pandemic. This is due to the ease of contracting the virus when putting your hands on your face. Although one should always wash one’s hands with soap and water before putting on or removing a pupil, there are people who get used to this procedure without passing their hands through the wash.
Contact lenses also often cause feelings of discomfort in the eyes at every once, so it’s normal for people to touch their faces frequently.
“You rub your eyes, then you rub your face, you scratch your face, you put your fingers in your mouth and you put your fingers on your nose. Some people aren’t very hygienic and may have forgotten to wash their hands first.”
This was expressed by Thomas Steinemann, clinical spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “You touch your eye and then you touch another part of your body,” he warned about this involuntary reaction that makes people susceptible to contracting all kinds of germs.
As an additional preventive measure to prevent coVID-19 infection, it is safest to opt for framing lenses, at least these days. These lenses also offer an additional layer of protection, although specialists point out that there is no evidence that coronavirus – or any virus – can be contracted through the eye pathway.
If you have no choice but contact lenses – for example, for rigid lens wearers – then try to disinfect them every day. Although the odds are remote, the new coronavirus is able to manifest itself in the eye as viral conjunctivitis, although only in extraordinary cases. Between 1 and 3 percent of COVID-19 patients in China and other parts of the world reported having this infection.
Also known in English as pink eye, conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, that is, the thin, transparent layer of tissue that covers the white part of the eye and the inside of the eyelid.
Dr. Steinemann, an ophthalmologist at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, said the conjunctiva lends itself to the development of symptoms, being “a modified mucous membrane, such as the inside of the mouth or inside the nose or nasal cavity and pharynx.”
“It’s wet and nice and hospitable for viruses, in fact, there are many organisms that can easily adhere to their conjunctiva, or actually adhere to a contact lens that also rests on their conjunctiva.”
Conjunctivitis can be extremely contagious when transmitted through contact with the eye secretions of an infected person. In this way, the coronavirus could also spread by touching the fluid in an infected person’s eyes, either on their face or on a contaminated surface.
However, having conjunctivitis does not indicate that someone may develop COVID-19. Conjunctivitis is so common because it can be detonated by any virus or bacteria; the new coronavirus has simply added to the list, which was no cause for surprise in the scientific community.
“There are many organisms that can very easily adhere to their conjunctiva, or for that matter, stick to a contact lens that also rests on their conjunctiva,” Dr. Steinemann said.
Conjunctivitis can also be caused by an allergic reaction, such as smoke or dust, shampoos, pool chlorine and even eye drops.

Original source in Spanish

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