Can you damage the eye by touching it with your fingers?!
Question:
Can you damage the eye by touching it with your fingers?
My contact lense tore when taking it out and had to touch my eyeball to look for it, I was mainly toching iris and pupil part of the eye. My eye is kind of feeling wierd for the last few days. Thanks
Answers:
Yes it is possible to damage your eye by touching it, edges of your torn contact lens can also do the same:
1. you can easily pass any germs form your fingers to your cornea
2. you can physically scratch the corneal epithelium (skin of the eye)
The 'iris and pupil part' that you described is what is called the cornea. This is a dome-shaped, transparent multi-layered structure. The contact lenses we use are placed on top of the cornea.
Physical contact to the cornea (from fingers or from contact lens trauma) can cause microscopic or even larger abrasions and scratches. These can pick up any germs in the vicinity and become infected.
Minor cases of this make your eye feel 'heavy' and sore around the socket. Severe infections can cause blurred vision, redness, light sensitivity and even a pus-like discharge.
Any of these symptoms should prompt you to discontinue contact lens use and seek medical attention.