Fast Facts

• More than 30 million people in the U.S. wear contact lenses ^{1, 2}.
• Two-thirds of contact lens wearers are female ².
• The average age of contact lens wearers worldwide is 31 years old ³.
• Ten percent of contact lens wearers are under 18 years old, 15% are between ages 18-24, 50% are between ages 25-44, and 25% are age 45 or older ².

• Contact lenses are medical devices and are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ⁴.
• Rigid, or hard, contact lenses made from plastic were first produced in the U.S. between 1938-1940 ⁵.
• Soft contact lenses were first introduced to the U.S. in 1971 ⁶.
• Eighty percent of contact lens wearers use soft contact lenses ².

• People can use many different methods to improve their vision, and no single method is the best solution for everyone. Contact lenses are one of several effective options.
• Contact lenses can help people see better without affecting their appearance or interfering with many sports and activities.
• Some children and teens report feeling dramatically better about their appearance when wearing contact lenses ^{7, 8}.
• Compared to wearing glasses, children switching to contact lenses reported significant improvements in the areas of perceived appearance, participation in activities, and satisfaction with vision correction ⁸.
• Specially designed contact lenses can improve the ability to focus and temporarily reduce poor distance vision (near-sightedness) in certain contact lens wearers ^{4, 9}.

• Serious eye infections that can lead to blindness affect up to 1 out of every 500 contact lens users per year ¹⁰.
• Not following proper contact lens care instructions has been linked to outbreaks of serious eye infections ¹¹.
• Between 40%-90% of contact lens wearers do not properly follow the care instructions for their contact lenses ¹².
• Improper cleaning and irregular replacement of contact lenses and contact lens cases—as well as other behaviors relating to contact lens hygiene and care—have been linked to a higher risk of complications ^12-14.
• Keratitis—a painful eye infection often linked to improper contact lens use—leads to 1 million doctor and hospital visits annually, at a cost of $175 million to the US healthcare system ¹⁵.

Keep your eyes healthy while wearing contact lenses by following these tips, and always be sure to carry a pair of glasses with you—just in case you have to take out your contact lenses.