Soft contact lens damage: a one-year study in Caracas, Venezuela.

We reviewed 424 requests for soft contact lens cleaning that had been sent to a service laboratory in Caracas, Venezuela in the course of a year. We believe that this sample represents a cross-section of problem lenses in a tropical country (Venezuela). Among the cases for which data were available, there were more extended wear lenses than daily wear lenses sent for cleaning. A majority of the lens wearers were females and/or over age 20. The wearers were experienced handling their lenses. A relatively high percentage of them (52 of 184; 28%) used homemade solutions (unpreserved saline, distilled water, tap water, and/or baby shampoo) for the care and cleaning of their lenses. Although the reasons for referral were similar to those reported from temperate zones, we found a much higher incidence of combined deposits (protein-lipid-inorganic) than reported in studies carried out in other countries. Fungal invasion seemed more prevalent in our area than in temperate zones. From our results, the need for better education of wearers is obvious. In addition, special measures for the control of fungal growth may be required locally. The high incidence of this type of growth may be partly related to tropical conditions that favor the dispersal of fungal spores.