RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Prevalence of Contact Lens Wear and Improper Use Among Students of Al-Baha University, Saudi Arabia
Mahadi Bashir1, 2, *, Ali Hendi Alghamdi1, Aimun A. E. Ahmed3, 4, Sarah S. Taishan5, Wafaa S. Taishan5, Mohammed G. Alghamdi5, Hind A. Hendi Alghamdi5, Lara M. Alsakka5, Njood A. Alghamdi5, Hadeel M. Alzahrani5, Asail S. Alghamdi5
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2024Volume: 18
E-location ID: e18743641306553
Publisher ID: e18743641306553
DOI: 10.2174/0118743641306553240313061238
Article History:
Received Date: 03/02/2024Revision Received Date: 29/02/2024
Acceptance Date: 06/03/2024
Electronic publication date: 24/04/2024
Collection year: 2024
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background
This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and practice of contact lens wear (CLW) among Al-Baha University medical students.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was carried out using an online self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms. The questionnaire had three domains: sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, CLW hygiene practices, and CLW-related complications.
Results
A total of 432 students were enrolled. Almost half of them (203,47%) were CLs wearers. Almost half of the participants, 95 (46.8%), used CL for therapeutic and 108 (53.2%) cosmetic purposes. 81 (40%) wore their CLs for a duration of (1-10 hours/day), 149 (73.4%) did not sleep while wearing their CLs, 61 (30%) shared theirs with others, 110 (54.2%) washed their hands before putting on their CLs and 90 (44.2%) replaced their CL cleaning solution regularly. Only 10 (5%) of the participants did not experience any complications related to CLW, while 108(52.6%), 102 (50%), and 97 (47.8%) experienced dry eye, tears, and foreign body sensations, respectively. Moderate satisfaction of the users was reported.
Conclusion
The medical students at Al-Baha University showed a high CLW ratio and used CL predominantly for cosmetic reasons; both male and female students were very aware of hygienic practices, and moderate satisfaction, with moderate complications, was reported.
