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Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

theguardian.com

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Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#11

Post by gilgoomesh »

bhaney wrote: post #3

So is there a health concern with having PFAS in contact with your eyes, or is this an environmental issue because they don't degrade? It sounds like there's something here meant to get upset about, but I don't know what it's supposed to be.

The research is ongoing and unclear. The primary reason people are concerned is that the half-life of PFAS in the human body is between 2 and 9 years – so if you're exposed, you're really exposed.

There's been a range of studies that have shown possible links with a number of different diseases which is concerning only because the effects of PFAS had been largely unstudied until the last 15 years. But that this point, there are few clear problems from PFAS.

https://www.pfas.gov.au/about-pfas/affects

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#12

Post by [deleted] »

codersfocus wrote: post #7

If I want to sell lemonade, tea or coffee by the road, I need to apply for 5 different documents of some kind or another in my city. If I want to manufacture (or moreso, import ) things with all kinds of unknown, untested chemicals, I am free to do as I wish with no supervision.

[deleted]

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#13

Post by spitfire »

How large are PFAS particles? Because the Bowman's layer found just under the epithelium should stop most particles from reaching the stroma. The Bowman's layer is particularly frustrating for medicinal delivery - it stops most particles from reaching stroma/endothelium. This makes corneal burn recovery quite difficult.

So if PFAS has some mechanism to pass through the Bowman's layer, it could be useful for medicine delivery and healing corneal wounds.

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#14

Post by voz_ »

PFAS is to my generation as leaded gasoline is to the prior generation(s), and asbestos to the ones before them, and so forth from when the first chimneys were put up to spew toxic sludge into our air and rivers at the start of the industrial revolution. There is something so sad, so unworkable, and so deeply troubling about how this kind of thing keeps happening.

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#15

Post by repeekad »

bhaney wrote: post #3

So is there a health concern with having PFAS in contact with your eyes, or is this an environmental issue because they don't degrade? It sounds like there's something here meant to get upset about, but I don't know what it's supposed to be.

I don’t think anyone is trying to make anyone upset, it’s just research on how prevalent PFAS are. At a minimum, the hundreds of contact lenses I’ve thrown away in my life will almost never break down fully in a landfill, but I’m sure they’re far from the worst things we’ve put in there…

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#16

Post by KMnO4 »

gilgoomesh wrote: post #11
bhaney wrote: post #3

So is there a health concern with having PFAS in contact with your eyes, or is this an environmental issue because they don't degrade? It sounds like there's something here meant to get upset about, but I don't know what it's supposed to be.

The research is ongoing and unclear. The primary reason people are concerned is that the half-life of PFAS in the human body is between 2 and 9 years – so if you're exposed, you're really exposed. There's been a range of studies that have shown possible links with a number of different diseases which is concerning only because the effects of PFAS had been largely unstudied until the last 15 years. But that this point…

Best to avoid 94% of biodegradable straws as well.

https://cen.acs.org/environment/persistent-pollutants/Biodeg...

I hope some research is done on PFAs before it’s too late.

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#17

Post by ademup »

m463 wrote: post #9
pensatoio wrote: post #2

Well then. LASIK it is.

The best vision you can get is your real eyes plus contact lenses. Vision surgery will correct the central portion of your eyes, and it won't last your lifetime. After vision surgery, your prescription can continue to change, however it is difficult to correct the vision with contact lenses at that point because your eye has a "plateau" shape, which contacts aren't really designed for. Also, if there is astigmatism,…

I had low diopter astigmatism and got lazik 6 years ago at 39. I consider it the best decision I've ever made that was just for me. I still have perfect vision, and if it degrades again I will happily get it done again. Just my experience, but I have yet to meet anyone who has regretted it.

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#18

Post by fsckboy »

voz_ wrote: post #14

PFAS is to my generation as leaded gasoline is to the prior generation(s), and asbestos to the ones before them, and so forth from when the first chimneys were put up to spew toxic sludge into our air and rivers at the start of the industrial revolution. There is something so sad, so unworkable, and so deeply troubling about how this kind of thing keeps happening.

we used to live malnourished, with stunted growth, women dying in childbirth to bring 8 kids into the world half of whom would die in childhood, with large numbers of men dying before they couldn't afford reading glasses they would need. (my gf was 1 of 5 surviving from 10 born, with horsedrawn transportation and starvation)

all that industrialization brought us to much healthier longer lives filled with amenities undreamed of 100 years ago, including corrective vision.

now as a society we uncover problems, we fix them. We're doing pretty well.

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#19

Post by contravariant »

voz_ wrote: post #14

PFAS is to my generation as leaded gasoline is to the prior generation(s), and asbestos to the ones before them, and so forth from when the first chimneys were put up to spew toxic sludge into our air and rivers at the start of the industrial revolution. There is something so sad, so unworkable, and so deeply troubling about how this kind of thing keeps happening.

I think you can go back quite a bit further. Heck most of humanities progress was spent trying to figure out how to stay in a single place without turning it incapable of supporting human life within a few months.

Re: Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests

#20

Post by nmstoker »

gilgoomesh wrote: post #11
bhaney wrote: post #3

So is there a health concern with having PFAS in contact with your eyes, or is this an environmental issue because they don't degrade? It sounds like there's something here meant to get upset about, but I don't know what it's supposed to be.

The research is ongoing and unclear. The primary reason people are concerned is that the half-life of PFAS in the human body is between 2 and 9 years – so if you're exposed, you're really exposed. There's been a range of studies that have shown possible links with a number of different diseases which is concerning only because the effects of PFAS had been largely unstudied until the last 15 years. But that this point…

Although one might hope that with a fairly clear cut divide between contact wearers and non-wearers, it would be possible to tease some sorts of effect out fairly quickly now that this insight has been reported. Obviously non-wearers could be exposed to other sources but it seems like direct eye contact would be giving you a pretty high dose.
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