Health and Well-Being-Don't use bottled water to store your contacts!
You may think that because water comes in a bottle it's pure, but that's not necessarily the case, new research shows. And rinsing and storing your contact lenses in bottled water may open your eyes to infection.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found low levels of bacteria and other germs in several samples of bottled water purchased in Houston-area grocery stores. The results of the study were published in a recent issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Under criteria proposed by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Baylor study found that 20% of bottled-water samples exceeded acceptable sanitation limits. Another 17% of the samples consisted of lower levels of microbes. Using contaminated bottled water to rinse contact lenses passes the bacteria to the surface of the lens.
"This study shows that bottled water is not always sterile," says Kirk Wilhelmus, MD, a professor of ophthalmology at Baylor's Cullen Eye Institute and a director of the study. "Bottled water should not be used as a substitute for sterile solutions used in contact lens care. Contact lens wearers must follow a strict disinfection regimen to avoid serious eye infections.
"Some of the water tested in our study contained coliforms, mold, amoebas, and algae," he continued. "Many of these have the potential to infect the eye."
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