Colds and contact lenses

People should not wear contact lenses when they have a cold, according to a top German expert.

Gerald Boehme, head of the contact lens department of Duesseldorf’s Ophthalmologists Association, says those who fail to heed this advice could get eye infections if they cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze, and then rub their eyes.

Soft lenses are particularly prone to collecting germs that may cause conjunctivitis or inflammation of the cornea, he says. Contact lenses just naturally carry germs and they can be commuted to your eyes.

Boehm advises people not to touch their eyes in general – except in the morning, when they should wipe them with a clean washcloth.

“And children should be taught to keep their fingers out of their eyes,” he says. Most important, overall contact lenses care should be administered on a daily basis.