If there's one mistake common among contact lens wearers, it's that they think it is fine to shower while they have them in. Contact lenses are great since you enjoy perfect vision without even feeling that they are there, so it can be easy not to take the proper precautions.
However, you do need to take some extra steps to ensure that your eyes remain nice and healthy, and one of the most important steps is to stop showering while you have your lenses in. Here are just few reasons why this is so important.
1. Irritation from Soap
During most showers, people will be using shampoo and conditioner to clean their hair, and many will also use body wash. Since the suds from shampoo and conditioner can easily run from the hair down over the face, it's very easy for small amounts of it to get washed into your eyes. It's also easy for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash to enter the eyes when you've been using your hands to create a nice lather.
In any case, getting those chemicals in your eyes is going to result in intense irritation. Of course, such products are designed to be safe if they meet the eye, but they can still sting, and this is worse for contact lens wearers since those substances can become stuck between eye and lens. Serious problems are rare, but you'll probably find that the affected eye is red and sore for the rest of the day.
2. Altered Shape
Even if you don't use any product, showering with contact lenses is still not recommended since even plain old water can cause damage. Your contact lenses are designed to be stored in saline solution; they should never actually come into contact with water. When they do, the water will be absorbed and the shape of the lens will change. This leads to blurred vision, and it often makes it much harder to remove the lens in question. The warping of the lens against the surface of the eye can also cause small tears and cuts.
3. Acanthamoeba Keratitis
You've probably never heard of something called acanthamoeba, but this microscopic organism can cause painful infections or even a loss of sight if it gets into your eyes. Unfortunately, it is often found within shower water, and contact lens wearers are at risk since the organism can be trapped between lens and eye and then enter the eye through those cuts and tears made by the warping of the lens. This condition is known as acanthamoeba keratitis. It is serious, so you need to respect the importance of removing your contacts before showering.
