Sleeping in Contact Lenses Can Cause Serious Eye Infection

Summary: One simple habit can damage your eyes – non-removal of contact lenses before sleeping

Yes, it is true, a simple act of not removing your contact lenses before you sleep at night can cause damage to your eyes.

Picture this: You fell asleep but did not remove your contact lenses. The next morning, you wake up, your eyes are a bit dry and a wee sore. Blinking your eyes a few times, you go about your day as usual. Do you know that the infection is slowly building up?

When we are asleep, our eyelids are shut, the flow of tears slows down, the supply of oxygen drops, and bacteria begin to multiply. The contact lenses, on the cornea, act as a seal and trap the microbes that cause the most harm and damage to the eyes. The eyes are under stress as the cornea is not receiving oxygen through the blood vessels. The closed eyelids reduce the supply of oxygen, which weakens the corneal surface, causing breaks and cracks, through which bacteria and fungi enter.

The study

A study published in Clinical Infectious Disease found that sleeping with contact lenses on elevates the risk of microbial keratitis, which is a severe corneal infection that permanently scars the eyes and results in loss of vision, pending delayed treatment.

The symptoms

The symptoms not to be taken lightly are :

Feeling of redness after removal of contact lenses
Eye pain or sharp discomfort
Blurred or hazy vision
Sensitivity to light
Unusual discharge

Corneal scarring blocks the light from passing cleanly through the eye, leading to distorted vision that cannot be rectified by glasses. In severe cases, corneal transplants are required.

Precautions

The following are the precautions to be taken :

Remove contact lenses before sleeping
Use clean hands to remove the lenses
Store the lenses in their protective cases
Replace the lenses from time to time
Keep lenses away from water

Conclusion

Initially, you may not feel anything wrong in keeping the lenses on while sleeping, but this is far from true. Ignorance is not bliss, in this case! Be warned.

Our eyes are the windows to the world. It is just one simple habit that we need to follow: removal of contact lenses before we sleep. That’s all, and it hardly takes much time. One simple habit will save your eyes.

Source: Inputs from various media Sources