DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v5i08.030

Pages: 3111-3116

To assess the level of awareness and use of contact lens among tertiary students and to evaluate lens care practices among contact lens users. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among students in the University of Calabar between May 2013 and October 2013. A total of 242 students were interviewed using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire gathered information on level of knowledge and perception of contact lens use, indications for use and attitude towards lens care among consenting participants. Two hundred and forty two participants were involved in the study, with mean age of 24years. Majority of contact lens wearers were females. The main indication for contact lens use was therapeutic. A higher percentage of students used the daily wear type of contact lens. 40.8% of contact lens wearers had experienced several eye symptoms such as blurring of vision, redness of the eyes, foreign body sensation, and itching of the eyes. 49% of participants bought their contact lens from the eye clinic, although, 81% of the respondents who used contact lens had no formal training on the care of contact lens. This underscores the need for ophthalmologists and optometrists to properly educate contact lens wearers and follow them up closely. The study revealed a relatively high level of knowledge of contact lens use among students, with a higher number unaware of the complications that could follow its use. Therefore, it is recommended that proper training and counseling by eye care practitioners when dispensing contact lenses should be emphasized, as well as follow up of contact lens wearers.