Corneal staining as a response to contact lens wear.
OBJECTIVE
To review the effects of contact lenses on the corneal surface.


METHODS
A review of the literature and in-house research of corneal staining and its various forms of presentation.


RESULTS
Corneal staining manifests in many different forms. The severity of staining or insult of the cornea is usually determined by the extent (area of coverage), density, and depth. The cause of staining is multifactorial, and its location is often linked to the type of lens that is being worn, the solution used to clean/disinfect the lens, the state of hydration of the soft lens, and the state of the cornea that has been affected by the lens.


CONCLUSIONS
Sodium fluorescein dye effectively highlights corneal integrity changes referred to as corneal staining. This review describes the manifestations, the cause, the mechanisms, and the methods of remediation of corneal staining.
Fonn
Desmond
D
Centre for Contact Lens Research, School of Optometry, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada. dfonn@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca
Peterson
Rachael
R
Woods
Craig
C
D018639:Contact Lens Solutions / Q000009:adverse effects; D003261:Contact Lenses / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic / Q000009:adverse effects; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D019793:Fluorescein; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D018639:Contact Lens Solutions; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D019793:Fluorescein