Brinton Vision | LASIK St Louis
If you rinse your daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly contacts down the drain or flush them down the toilet, you’re not alone. About 1 in 5 Americans do the same thing, but there’s something you should know.
A recent study conducted at Arizona State University suggests that about 19 percent of the millions of people in the U.S. who wear disposable contacts throw them out through their water system. The problem is that contacts are not biodegradable, and they actually contribute to the microplastics problem plaguing our oceans and waterways.
While larger plastics, such as containers and wrappers, are certainly an issue, the biggest problem with them is that they break down in to smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. These pieces can emit harmful chemicals, and they also get consumed by smaller fish, lobsters, clams, and other sea life—often ending up in our own food system.
Contact lenses are already small to begin, and by their very nature, not only do they fragment to become microplastics much sooner, but they also retain many of the harmful chemicals from wastewater treatment plants and transport them into the environment through treated municipal sludge and sewer overflows.
If you throw your contacts away, dispose of them in the trash. Better yet, eliminate the potential pollutants by opting for clear, natural vision! At Brinton Vision, our goal is to correct your vision so that you don’t need glasses or contacts. We offer LASIK plus all six safe, proven LASIK alternatives in St. Louis.
The first step to find out if you are a candidate for one of our life-changing procedures is to schedule a comprehensive Brinton Vision Ocular Analysis. It’s the most comprehensive eye exam you’ll likely ever have, and it will provide all the information you need to make your own choices about how you want to see the world for the rest of your life.
Give us a call at 314.375.2020, or click here to schedule online.