Prevalence of eye infection among contact lenses users compared to non-users, Saudi Population, 2019

The contact lenses (CL) can cause a break in the epithelium of cornea that result from deficient oxygen and lubrication provided by tear film in a normal eye. Objective: The present study aims at assessing the awareness and practices amid contact lens users to enhance healthy vision. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study where data were collected via an online questionnaire from the different regions in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was closed-ended, with potential respondents only recruited into the study upon completion of the consent form. For respondents under 18 years, consent was obtained from the parents. Data were stored temporarily in Excel and later analysed via SPSS version 25. The inference was carried out at a 5% level of significance. Results: The majority of the sample respondents said that they purchase their lenses from eye care providers (51.9%), compared to 2.7% of the respondents who said that they purchase the lenses from pharmacies while the rest purchased from internet(8.0%) and retail store without eye exam (37.4%). There was a significant association between patient abrasion in the eye and whether the patient replaces the lenses after the recommended time p<.001 Just above half (53.7%) of the respondents reported using lenses within the recommended period before changing or acquiring new ones. Conclusion: The knowledge of hygiene of use of CLs is high in Saudi Arabia, but the proper use in terms of extended use is a factor still ignored by approximately half of the population.