Contact Lens are made of Plastic - Melting can make you Blind - Facts Analysis

Story:

Important Information :

A 21 year old guy had worn a pair of contact lenses during a barbecue party.(An event or meal at which food is cooked outdoors over an open grill or fire)
While barbecuing he stared at the fire charcoals continuously for 2-3 minutes. After a few minutes, he started to scream for help and moved rapidly, jumping up and down. No one in the party knew why he was doing this?

Then he admitted into the Hospital, the doctor said he’ll be blind permanently because of the contact lenses that he had worn.

Contact lenses are made by plastics, and the heat from the charcoal melted his contact lenses.

DO NOT WEAR CONTACT LENSES WHERE OVERHEATING AND FLAMES ARE CONCERNED…. OR WHILE COOKING…!

Friends if u feel the information is important, Please “share” this message to all your near & dear ones.

Fact Check:

The message claims that a guy at a barbecue party wearing contact lenses has become permanently blind because his plastic contact lenses have melted while he was staring at the fire charcoals continuously for 2-3 minutes. However, there is no such incident reported anywhere. If contact lenses can melt with the heat of fire, they would have been affected with other heat devices in our homes like gas stoves and heaters that we use most of the time. There would have been millions of such incidents, which is clearly not the case.

Contact Lens Making

It is a fact that the soft contact lenses of today are made of special kind of plastics called hydrogels that are water-loving. These hydrogels absorb significant amount of water from your eyes to keep them soft and supple. Moreover, human eyes, by nature, contain fluids that are almost impossible to dry up. Therefore, the possibility of these standard plastic contact lenses getting melted by simply staring at heat of a fire is zero. The message is a hoax, and need not be shared.

Origin of Rumor

The origin of this rumor goes back to 1960’s when an industrial welder in Sydney was reported to have gone blind when the welding flash heat melted his contact lenses into his cornea. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Safety Council (NSC) have condemned any such incidents, but many such rumors have been spreading ever since.

Having said all that, there are certain risks associated with contact lens usage, like possible eye infections and ulcers of cornea, especially when you are not using quality lenses. One should always follow common sense and safety guidelines to avoid any such risks. Read the reference section for safety guidelines.