Researchers have recently found that contact lens wearers were about 9 times more likely to develop corneal ulcers than non-wearers (note for consumers: corneal ulcers are sores on the transparent front layer of the eye usually caused by viral or bacterial infections that frequently follow an injury as minor as a small scratch in the thin layer of tissue protecting the cornea).

The research was based on a study of 1,093,210 patients treated in the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Health Care Program. Researchers collected information on the presence of corneal ulcers, contact lens use, eye trauma or disease, and HIV status.

Researchers warned that consumers need to be made aware of the corneal ulcer risk from extended contact lens use as new contact lens innovations become available, and people hear that they can wear these contact lenses for weeks or a month without taking them off. It is the extended use, without removal, that creates the risk since eyes need a break from contact lens wear.

Read ^[1] the full story on the FoxNews website.