Volume 26, Issue 120, February 2022

Contact lenses usage across the western regions of Saudi Arabia

Ahmed A Basheikh¹, Reham AlJehani¹, Ola H Abudaowd², Nada A Bugshan²

¹Department of ophthalmology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
²Faculty of medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The use of contact lenses for various purposes is steadily gaining popularity over the years. It is crucial that the awareness surrounding its use and care should be properly communicated to avoid undesirable outcomes associated with its use. Methodology: This cross-sectional study deployed a validated, self-administered electronic questionnaire among 1930 participants in the western regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Demographic characteristics, as well as questions about their practice in wearing and taking care of their contact lenses, were asked and were used to gauge their usage behavior score. Results: The prevalence of contact lenses usage is relatively high (58.9%) with women comprising 94.4% of the users. 7.30% of the users exhibited an “excellent” score, 62.70% demonstrated a “good” score, while the remaining 30% achieved a “poor” score. Conclusion: Although the Saudi population in the area under study is generally aware about the proper usage and care of contact lenses, improvements in practices such as care visits to ophthalmologists/optometrists, changing the container, and changing the contact lens solution, are needed.

Keywords: Contact lenses, prevalence, awareness, complications, hygienic practice.

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms53e1886

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i120/ms53e1886

Published: 30 January 2022