PURPOSE: To analyze the ametropy, way of acquisition, the care and complications related to contact lens wear among medical students from Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu da Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP - Botucatu (SP). METHODS: Questionnaire applied to students from the 1st to the 6th year of the Medical school of the Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu da Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP - Botucatu (SP), forming an analytical cross-sectional survey. RESULTS: 27.4% of the students use contact lenses, and among them 94.8% use soft contact lenses and 98% have negative degree. 46.9% discard their contact lens monthly. 63.9% have an average daily use of 14 hours, 14.1% acquire the contact lenses from optician stores or at pharmacies and 46.5% of the students clean their contact lenses when they put them on and take them off. Regarding complications, 51.0% reported ocular redness; 44.5%, blurred vision; and 42.6%, foreign body sensation, whereas only 4 students reported "keratitis". CONCLUSION: We concluded that the inadequate adaptation that occurs even in users knowledgeable about this issue such as medical students, has increased the risk of complications. This fact indicates that more attention must be paid to contact lens care in order to prevent permanent visual deficit.
Contact lenses; Accommodation, ocular; Eye infections, bacterial; Keratitis; Students, medical
