The young Gazan Yasmine Abu Mari continues to suffer from the effects of severe infections in her right eye cornea, after she put on cosmetic contact lenses, which she bought for $ 10 from "Accessories" at the Nusseirat market in central Gaza Strip in early September. After hours of wearing the lenses, Yasmine was injured by an inflammation that forced her to visit the State Eye Hospital in Gaza City. There, she was informed by hospital physician Sabri Hajjaj that the reason for her illness was due to the use of lenses that were not in accordance with the specifications. .
Jasmine is one of 85 patients who have been treated at the Gaza State Eye Hospital for the past six months after suffering from corneal infections and bacterial infections in the eye due to poor contact lenses used in the Gaza Strip. Hamdiya, who explained that the hospital's external clinic receives 25 cases a month with eye infections or red eyes, because of contact lenses, while the European hospital in the southern Gaza Strip receives five cases per month for girls suffering from symptoms, He will be cured, Iyad Abu Ubaid.
Analysis of lens componentsThe probe was subjected to a sample of a contact lens for a product that was widely sold, called fish look, and was purchased from the Sheikh Radwan market in Gaza City for examination at the Ministry of Agriculture laboratories. The test proved that the fluid surrounding the silicone lens consisted of Hydroxyl, Methylene and Carbonyl chemical groups, The lens loses the degree of flexibility required, according to the chemical specialists at the Faculty of Science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, Hassan Tammous and Omar Milad.
The visual optician Saeed Khurshid and Eyad Al-Akluk examined the lens through the electronic microscope and explained that the silicone material is 16 mm in size, which is contrary to the medical standards of the human cornea, because the size of the cornea is between 11 and 12 millimeters, while the amount of water The eye moisturizer in the lens is 55%, in the sample to 48%, which is seen by the Director of the State Eye Hospital, Abdul Salam Sabah, as not conforming to the medical specifications assumed in the cosmetic lenses. "If the lens is wider than the cornea, Flowing into the eye, causing In the incidence of infections and corneal wounds. "
Analysis of solutions for sterilization of lensesThe researcher examined four random samples of lens sterilization solutions from the producers of Fresh Look, Solrex Alpha, which were obtained from accessories stores from the cities of Gaza, Naserat and northern Gaza Strip, Jabalia, in the Department of Public Health Laboratories of the Ministry of Health.
The results revealed contamination of specimen No. 2/34 and its source in the Shujaiya market, by 100 thousand cells / bacterial in milliliters, the most serious is Pseudomonas SPP, which causes eye infections of corneal infections, and 15 thousand cells / fungus and yeast in milliliters of the same sample, although the solution is to sterilize the lenses of Parasites, fungi and bacteria.
The four samples failed during the process of sterilization in killing bacteria and fungi, especially Pseudomonas Aeruoginosa bacteria, according to the results of the tests, and confirm the analysis of Dr. Hashim Arafa, director of microbiological analysis, in the Department of laboratories of the Ministry of Health.
The survey was conducted by a non-standard survey of 51 girls wearing cosmetic lenses sold in shops. Thirty-one girls were found to have minor infections. 13 girls were infected with corneal infections and treated immediately. Eight girls were not injured. For government agencies that allow sellers to promote those lenses in shops without supervision.
Risks of lenses
A study by researchers at the Langon Medical Center, New York University, in July 2015, published by Scientific American, found that contact lens wearers tend to harbor different bacteria from people who do not wear them, making their eyes contain bacteria Usually live in the eye.
The results of the study showed that there were more than 5,000 unique species of bacteria found on contact lenses wearing lenses. The study identified four types of bacteria that were more common three times in contact lenses: Methylobacterium, Bacteria "friendly", Acientobacter, Pseudomonas, showing that Pseudomonas is a major cause of eye infections and can cause corneal ulcers, Which is the same bacteria that appeared in the results of tests conducted by the "New Arab", which amounted to 100 thousand cells per milliliter, which is seen by Dr. Abdul Salam Sabah risk "threatens the safety of eyes wearing lenses poor, who may lose sight of the occurrence of complications "He said.
How to insert lenses into a strip
Ghazi Saad al-Wadiiyah imports Solrex Alpha solution and Fish look lenses from China. He says he enters lenses through the crossings and sometimes buys some smugglers from the tunnels. Which is seen by Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Economy, Dr. Ayman Abed, as an indication of the lack of supervision and follow-up of those products, which are treated as ordinary goods, and there are no restrictions on them.
The director of the Department of notices and issues at the Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Ayesh, that cosmetic lenses were entering through tunnels between the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian territory in large quantities amid other goods of small size, and are entered without examinations by the competent authorities.
Legal Commentary
95 thousand cosmetic lenses were introduced into the Gaza Strip during 2016, and 47,000 cosmetic lenses were introduced in 2017 through September through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, unlike smuggling, according to the director of the Department of Studies and Planning at the Ministry of Economy, Osama Nofal .
The Consumer Protection Act No. 21 of 2005 establishes legal liability for the promotion of counterfeit goods. Article 27 states in Chapter 6 that: "Whoever presents or sells a product that involves his use is dangerous, without mentioning or enclosing a warning Indicating the point of risk and the best way to use or use, and how to remedy in the event of damage resulting from the use, or contrary to the provisions of articles (11-19).
Of this Law, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine of not more than five hundred Jordanian Dinars or the equivalent in the legally circulated currency or both. "Despite this provision, Prosecutors and sellers who trade in these fake lenses will not be prosecuted for the high costs of filing a lawsuit. "We warn our friends and relatives and we hope to recover from God," he said.
