Acanthamoeba Keratitis Associated With Tap Water Use During Contact Lens Cleaning: Manufacturer Guidelines Need to Change

Contact lens-associated Acanthamoeba keratitis continues to be a significant cause of visual morbidity in the United States. Although exposure to water sources while wearing lenses has been a known risk factor for infection for decades, this behavior in several contact lens hygiene protocols continues to prevail. In this review, we surveyed the currently available contact lens cleaning solutions for both soft and rigid gas-permeable contact lenses and reviewed the cleaning instructions of the available solutions. Discrepancies between clinician recommendations and written instructions on a solution packages continues to persist, and we advocate a revision in current manufacturer guidelines to include explicit warnings against use of tap or distilled water sources for cleaning contact lenses or their storage cases.