ASSOCIATION OF DRY EYES AND BLINKING PATTERN WITH CONTACT LENSES

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of dry eyes with the use of contact lenses.

METHOD: This was an analytical cross-sectional study in which a proforma was used to examine the association of dry eyes with the use of contact lenses. A sample size of 86 Contact Lens (CL) wearers had taken in this study. Each CL wearer was using CL’s for more than four weeks, five days in a week and eight hours in a day or more. A Schirmer test was performed and the blink rate per minute of the CL wearers was measured in this study to label them whether they had normal or dry eyes. CL wearers having Schirmer test values ≥ 15mm were considered normal, those having Schirmer test values 9 – 14 mm had mild dry eyes, those having Schirmer test values 4 – 8 mm had moderate dry eyes and those having < 4mm Schirmer test values had severe dry eyes. This study was conducted in September, October and November 2018.

RESULTS: This study revealed that out of total 86 CL wearers, 56(65%) CL wearers had dry eyes having Schirmer test values less than 15 mm and 30(35%) CL wearers had normal eyes having normal Schirmer test values. The subjects who were using CL (both hard as well as soft) did not have a significant proportion of dry eyes. (p=0.088) according to the independent sample t-test. Similarly, out of 56 CL wearers that had dry eyes, 27 CL wearers had mild dry eyes having Schirmer test values 9 – 14mm, 25 CL wearers had moderate dry eyes having Schirmer test values 4 – 8mm and 4 CL wearers had severe dry eyes having Schirmer test value less than 4mm. Out of 86 CL wearers, 43(50%) CL wearers have excess blink rate > 15 per minute, 42(49%) CL wearers have normal blink rate 12 – 15 blinks per minute and only one CL wearer have less than 12 blink rate per minute. The subjects using CL (both soft as well as hard) also did not have a significantly increased blink rate per minute. (p=0.157798) according to the independent sample t-test.

CONCLUSION: This analytical cross-sectional study concluded that the Contact lens wearers are most often suffering from the dry eye disease and blink rate per minute has also increased among contact lens wearers due to dry eye disease.