Miss England 2019/2020, Bhasha Mukherjee, has opened up about her 15 year struggle to lead a modern life while wearing contact lenses and glasses, and spoken of her joy after having her vision transformed in just 15 minutes by laser eye surgery with Optical Express.

Bhasha Mukherjee, an NHS doctor who returned to work in a Lincolnshire hospital at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has revealed that wearing contact lenses and glasses since the age of ten has hampered her career as a model and doctor.

Having been crowned Miss England in 2019 – becoming the first South Asian woman to win the title – Bhasha went on to contest the prestigious Miss World competition. However, she was struck by an eye infection, caused by extensive wearing of contact lenses, which forced her to wear glasses for the Miss World final – making her the only contestant to do so.

After years of struggling with contact lenses and glasses, culminating with the eye infection at the Miss World competition final, Bhasha chose to have laser eye surgery with leading provider Optical Express.

Bhasha said, “Whether I was competing in a beauty contest or doing a shift as a Doctor, I always felt uncomfortable and self-conscious wearing glasses. They’re just so cumbersome!

“Hating glasses definitely made me over-reliant on contact lenses, wearing them for longer than recommended and at times when I shouldn’t have. Exposure to bright lights exacerbates the dry-eye symptoms contact lenses are known for, so it could be painful wearing contacts under studio lights when I was modelling. The same problem is caused when we spend hours looking at our phone or computer screens every day, which is something we are all guilty of!

“Contact lenses are particularly dangerous for people who work in environments with lots of germs, such as hospitals, or for people like me who can’t help touching their face. I am already finding I touch my face less than what I did prior to my laser eye surgery procedure.”

“Having laser eye surgery with Optical Express has completely transformed my life. On the hospital wards I feel so much freer without the burden of glasses on my face, getting in the way of my PPE and other equipment. I feel so much safer too, knowing that not wearing contact lenses means there’s less chance I am spreading or catching infections.”

“At a time of such public health strain, it also makes me proud to know I’m helping to protect the NHS by reducing the risk of eye infections. We see so many patients in hospital wards with infections after wearing contact lenses – many of which could have been avoided with modern eye treatments like laser eye surgery.”

“I truly thank Optical Express, the experts in Laser Eye Surgery, for the exceptional patient care they have shown me.”