To worry about forever chemicals in contact lenses?

[Bumpitybumper]

Anyone else a bit concerned about the news this week that soft contact lenses are basically made of forever chemicals?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/09/contact-lenses-pfas-forever-chemicals
As someone that wears them everyday and has done so for the past 20 years AIBU to wonder if I've massively risked my health by doing this?

Why do they pose less hygiene issues? I've never fancied them, they sound uncomfortable. I've worn daily disposables for years as I find them the most comfortable option

Wow isn't Mumsnet amazing, an optometrist and chemical regs expert on 1 thread.
I'm going to decide not to worry.

The risk to my eyeballs is alot more if I inadequately rinse hard or monthly lenses. Daily disposables ok for me.
(I save the plastic cases and bring them back to the optician when I call in)

I used to work for a contact lens company years ago. When the lens was being made, if you were pregnant you weren’t allowed to work in that process of the job. It was a horrible liquid that smelt strange.

Thank you! This is really reassuring. I kind of assumed that these things would be tested etc but this news has been reported as if nobody knew that the chemicals were in the lenses.

Fluropolymers are pretty inert, which is why they are used in a range of stuff.

Non stick pan coating is fluropolymer.

I would be more worried about the amount of oxygenation available through lenses than stuff like their fluropolymer composition, and possible what is in the buffer solution of the lens itself, which is far more likely to interact negatively with your body IMO.

Lenses do actually vary quite widely in their ability to allow oxygen through to your corneas, so if you wear them for a long time it can inhibit this but your optician should select appropriate lenses for your wear time.

Yes I feel so grateful that experts take the time to respond. Such a kind thing to do for someone that's worried.

Loving this thread! I have no advice but this news probably won’t stop me getting soft contact lenses for occasional use which I plan to. Everything seems to temporarily become a scare story at some point.

Oh dear, not good news, on many fronts.

I had no idea about the forever chemicals, or that they are so bad for the environment. I have worn daily disposables for the past 20 years. So bad news for the environment ☹️

I have gone for dailies because I am extremely scatty, quite possibly neurodiverse, and regularly overwear my lenses, shower in them and fall asleep with them in by accident. So dailies just seemed safer than trusting myself with monthlies. But my carelessness probably means my cornea is not in the best shape. Bad news for my health too ☹️

I’ve worn two weekly lenses for 35 years .. I figure there is little I can do now .. thank you though to those with relevant info that have commented

@pinkgown third set of hard lenses since 1968!?! Please explain! I used to wear hard ones but changed them every few years.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/05/18/worrisome-bpa-levels-found-in-sportswear-by-nike-adidas-patagonia-and-more-group-alleges/?sh=31048cfa4581

What about the lenses they give people after cataract surgery, and IOL for short sight , what are they made of ?
There have been millions and millions of cataract ops throughout the world.

I hate these "studies" that come up with statements such as "people who do X have 3 times the chance of being affected by Y than those who don't do X" but don't tell you that 1 in 100million people are affected by Y so it means that 3 in 100million who do X will be affected. Even if you do X you are more likely to be struck by lightning than being affected by Y, and Y might not be serious anyway.

Another way to look at something like this is that on average people who wear soft contact lenses will suffer the effects of PFAS after 600 years of daily use.

I posted the following in a recent thread to show that even reputed sources are prone to scaremongering:
Travelling by train leads to headaches, deafness, incessant noise in the ears, sleeplessness, depression, numbness of the limbs, chilliness, softening of the brain, spinal softening, epileptic seizures, and apoplexy (The Lancet 1862). If a woman sets out for a journey by rail the day before her menses should appear, she will be very apt to skip one period, and perhaps more. As an indirect consequence, she will be likely to suffer from some form of uterine flexion or dislocation (New England Medical Gazette 1870).

@jcyclops

I hate these "studies" that come up with statements such as "people who do X have 3 times the chance of being affected by Y than those who don't do X" but don't tell you that 1 in 100million people are affected by Y so it means that 3 in 100million who do X will be affected. Even if you do X you are more likely to be struck by lightning than being affected by Y, and Y might not be serious anyway.

It’s not the studies that do this, it’s journalists.

PFAS and PFOAs in general are everywhere. We’re exposed every day from all kinds of sources. It’s nothing new and they’re not going anywhere, so it’s not really worth worrying about.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/revealed-scale-of-forever-chemical-pollution-across-uk-and-europe

I would say that you can get water filters that filter PFAS out (I’ve got a £32 on the go bottle that claims to), switch to stainless steel or cast iron pans, and not use Tupperware or plastic spatulas. I know they’re ‘everywhere’ but we do have some control. I’m not sure what to do about my contacts though!