| Contact Lens Safety: How Wearing Contacts Too Long Can Cause Invisible Damage |
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Q. My ophthalmologist said I could wear my brand of disposable contacts for two weeks. What happens if I wear them longer? Also, why can you sleep in some disposables and not in others? A. Putting a piece of plastic on your eyeballs requires a certain amount of tender loving care. But these days, not all contacts are made of the same kind of plastic. What they are made of determines the kind of care you have to give.
Two main factors that contribute to how long you can wear your lenses, both daily and over the long term, are how well they breathe and how much they like to collect stuff. Your eyes need oxygen to stay healthy. Contact lenses are made of different kinds of materials that allow differing amounts of oxygen to get through. This makes certain types of lenses acceptable for sleeping. You may wonder why it matters how much oxygen your eyes get if they’re closed anyway. Actually, the outermost portion of the cornea (the clear dome covering the colored part and pupil) gets much of its oxygen in dissolved form from the tears! Contact lenses can block this process.
Various products are available to clean and disinfect lenses; however, if you don’t use them properly, or if you wear the lenses longer than the prescribed amount of time, you put yourself at risk for complications such as corneal ulcers and inflammation. Get expert-written articles like this every month in our free health newsletter.
People who overwear their contacts are often not aware of changes that may be occurring on their eyes because you can’t see them without a microscope. They may only finally visit their eye-care professional after a problem has advanced to the point of causing severe pain or vision loss. It’s important to have your lenses evaluated routinely to be sure the wearing schedule is working well for your eyes and that your corneas remain healthy. At these visits, your provider can also offer new materials or solutions as they’re developed.
 Comments (22)
  written by Daphne , March 05, 2012 Dear Linda, Yeah, I'll take that advise of yours and ask my optician. Wouldn't want to take the risk of losing my sight. Thanks again. report abuse
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 written by Linda Mansfield , March 05, 2012 Daphne, you dont say what type of lens you wear. I would have thought if you soak your lens in your new solution it shold be ok but Im not an expert so best to ask your optician. Dont take any risks with your eyes. Sight is so precious. report abuse
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written by Daphne , March 05, 2012 Hi. Today was my second time of wearing contact lense. I didn't realized the solution that my sister gave me last night was expired. This morning as I was putting on the right lense it was an immediate excruciating pain on my eyes that i quickly took it out and washed my eye with water. Took almost half a day for my eye to return to normal. I have a new saline and has changed the lenses with the new saline. Only thing is that I don't dare to put it back inside my eyes - not sure if it is safe or has it been contaminated with the expired saline. Question is should I re-use the lense or just dispose it and get a new one instead? Please advise. Thank you. report abuse
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 written by James Hubbard, M.D. , October 20, 2011 I agree with Linda. A cataract involves the lens within the eye. See an optometrist or ophthalmologist, like the one who prescribed your contacts. It could just be the glare around the rim of the contact, but don't take chances. James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H. Publisher MyFamilyDoctorMag.com report abuse
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written by Linda Mansfield , October 18, 2011 nek - I think you need to consult a professional about your problem. You dont say how old you are but if you are young I wouldnt think it was cataracts. Please see someone though as sight is so precious. report abuse
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 written by nek , October 18, 2011 i am wearing contact lenses from nearly a month . i started experiencing some problems like at night there are dark coloured circles on seeing vehicles headlight. i am afraid that it might be a cataract. so please give me some suggestions. my contact lens power is -7. report abuse
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 written by Ray Crowe , September 14, 2011 After leaving my daily wear lenses in for days at a time and sleeping in them, I developed enlarged red blood vessels on my cornea and developed an eye infection. I'm now much more fastidious about properly removing, cleaning and storing them! report abuse
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 written by Ana Maria , July 06, 2011 Penelope, I have to say depending on the contacts he will need to take them out by all means we are advised by our doctors to remove them daily. I wore gas perms (hard lenses) for 15 years and i am going through a process to have lasik done and they put me in soft lenses and i over used them (mind you i have only been in these soft contacts for 4 months) and now im blind in my left eye at the age of 29. Anyone else that never believes in it please do because i was one of you! Your cornea doesn't get enough oxygen through soft lenses its very important to remove them. I'm preaching to the choir i know this but i didn't listen and its not a good feeling. Please do your research if you don't believe me. report abuse
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 written by Mo , June 23, 2011 Awww... I was wondering what kept making my stomach so upset almost to the point of wanting to throw up but not fully to the point of actually throwing up. I knew I had worn my contacts for too long after they should have been disposed of but didn't know that maybe that's what was causing my stomach to feel upset. My prescription was totally expired and so I went to my eye doctor, had my yearly eye exam, doc gave me some temporary contacts until mine comes in. Anyways, after wearing my temporary contact tonight I'm starting to feel much better, back to normal and not much of any upset stomach. Whewwwwww!!!! I definitely won’t do that again!!! Guess I'll see how I feel in the morning but I'm guessing I'll feel like a new man... Lesson to all contact wearers don't wear your contacts for too long after they should be disposed of.... They not only could potentially give you an eye infection, but can definitely make you not feel that great and could make you sick. report abuse
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written by Linda Mansfield , April 17, 2011 Just because youve never had a contact lens problem it doesnt mean you never will, be warned. I wore the extended wear ones for about a year and was really careful about cleaning. Then one morning I woke up with an excrutiating pain in my right eye. It was really light sensitive red and weepy and felt as if someone was sticking a knife in my eye. I went to the optician who told me to go to the nearest hospital as I had a corneal ulcer. They are potentially blinding if you dont get them treated. After drops and treatment it started to improve although I was off work for a week and couldnt drive. The eye consultant seemed quite annoyed with me even though I told him I used to take them out every 3 or 4 days and clean them. He said he saw loads of people with problems from wearing them. I now wear dailies and would never wear them more than once as I'm too afraid the same thing will happen. Im not new to contact lenses. Ive worn them for 10 years but that experience taught me something. The pain was terrible and I could have lost my sight. report abuse
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by Louise A. Sclafani, O.D., F.A.A.O.
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