EFFECTS OF DAILY DISPOSABLE VS EXTENDED WEAR CONTACT LENS ON EYE HEALTH

Background: Vision and eye health are essential for quality of life, impacting education, employment, and daily activities. Vision impairment remains a major public health concern, affecting 596 million individuals worldwide, including 43 million who are blind. The burden is disproportionately higher in low- and middle-income countries, where access to affordable interventions remains limited. Contact lenses serve as an alternative to spectacles, with daily disposable and extended wear lenses being widely used. While daily disposable lenses minimize contamination risk due to their single-use nature, extended wear lenses, made from oxygen-permeable materials, can be worn continuously for up to 30 days, potentially increasing ocular health risks. Objective: To evaluate the impact of daily disposable and extended wear contact lenses on ocular health by comparing the prevalence of dryness, redness, swelling, and tear film stability between users of both lens types. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Eye2Eye Optometrists, Lahore, with a sample size of 74 participants, divided equally between daily disposable and extended wear lens users. Participants were aged 17 to 23 years and were regular contact lens users for refractive correction. Those with pre-existing ocular or systemic conditions or occasional lens wearers were excluded. Data were collected through questionnaires assessing ocular symptoms and clinical evaluations using slit lamp examination, Schirmer’s test, and tear breakup time. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26, with a p-value <0.05 considered significant. Results: Extended wear users reported significantly higher ocular symptoms, including dryness (81.1% vs. 32.4%, p=0.00), redness (51.4% vs. 13.5%, p=0.00), swelling (16.2% vs. 2.7%, p=0.03), and blurry vision (13.5% vs. 2.7%, p=0.04). Schirmer’s test showed reduced tear production in extended wear users (56.8% had <10mm in 5 minutes vs. 21.6% in daily disposable users, p=0.00). Tear breakup time was also significantly lower in extended wear users, with abnormal values in 54.1% for the right eye and 56.8% for the left eye compared to 27% and 24.3% in daily disposable users (p=0.01, p=0.00). Slit lamp examination revealed higher rates of corneal opacity (62.2% vs. 21.6%, p=0.00) and conjunctivitis (43.2% vs. 16.2%, p=0.00) in extended wear users. Conclusion: Extended wear contact lenses were associated with a higher prevalence of ocular surface complications, including increased dryness, redness, and corneal abnormalities, compared to daily disposable lenses. The findings highlight the need for careful selection of contact lenses and adherence to recommended wear schedules to minimize ocular health risks.