# Eye care for Healthcare Workers

> "Twelve hour shifts, constant hand sanitiser and lenses that dry out by hour six."

Long shifts, air conditioned wards and frequent mask wear all work against contact lens comfort and against glasses. Material choice, replacement schedule and Ortho-K are all worth considering.

Healthcare shifts are long, indoor and air conditioned, which is close to the worst combination for tear film stability. A lens comfortable at hour two is frequently unbearable by hour ten.

Mask wear adds the fogging problem, which is a persistent irritation for glasses wearers and a genuine safety issue during procedures.

Ortho-K resolves both at once by moving correction to sleep, which is also why it appeals to shift workers whose sleep pattern is irregular but whose working hours are long.

## What matters most

**Long shift lens comfort**

Material, water content and replacement schedule all matter. Dailies avoid the deposit build up that makes later weeks worse.

**Glasses fogging above a mask**

A persistent problem with no perfect glasses based solution, which is one reason healthcare workers move to lenses or Ortho-K.

**Irregular sleep**

Ortho-K needs around six hours of sleep to work properly. Shift patterns are worth discussing honestly at the assessment.

## Where to start

- [Ortho-K for adults](https://eyedoctorphoenixaz.com/ortho-k/ortho-k-for-adults): Nothing on the eye through a long shift
- [Lenses for dry eyes](https://eyedoctorphoenixaz.com/contact-lenses/contact-lenses-for-dry-eyes): Comfort through air conditioned shifts
- [Dry eye evaluation](https://eyedoctorphoenixaz.com/specialty-eye-care/dry-eye): The underlying cause of lens intolerance


## Questions and answers
**Does Ortho-K work with night shifts?**

It needs a consistent sleep period of around six hours, whenever that falls. Irregular patterns are worth discussing at the assessment rather than after fitting.

**Which lens for a twelve hour shift?**

Usually a high oxygen silicone hydrogel daily disposable, though the right answer depends on your tear film.

---## About this practice
Arizona's Vision Eye Care Center, 15215 S 48th St Ste 180, Phoenix, AZ 85044.
Phone (480) 706-3937. Monday to Thursday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Independent optometry practice, founded 1994. One location. Does not perform refractive or cataract surgery.
This site publishes no star rating and no review count, because the figures across the practice's own properties contradict one another and cannot be verified.
This page is general information, not medical advice.