wearing contacts to sleep

Sam

So I like my contacts, and I've found myself sleeping with them on the last couple of days as theyve become more comfortable to wear over long periods. These are supposed to be contacts you can sleep with, but does anyone have experience with that sort of thing?

How much should I do it, if at all?

DiscGrace

Sam wrote:

So I like my contacts, and I've found myself sleeping with them on the last couple of days as theyve become more comfortable to wear over long periods. These are supposed to be contacts you can sleep with, but does anyone have experience with that sort of thing?

How much should I do it, if at all?

NONE.

All three opthamologists/optometrists that I have seen says that even the ones that you are supposed to be able to sleep in aren't that good for your eyes. And if the ones you have aren't even that kind, this is even worse for you. What will happen if you have them in too long, and keep preventing your eyes from getting enough air exposure, is that you'll develop papillary conjunctivitis in your eyes, and at some point you'll begin to be able to feel the contact lens as a foreign object in your eye. After that contact lens wearing of any kind is a no-no.

Corvus

Just don't. My sister in law permanently damaged her retina because of falling asleep with her contacts in.

Also:
[quote=Health Canada]
# Bear in mind that overnight wear of contact lenses, including extended-wear contacts, is associated with an increased risk of serious eye infection.[/quote]

Its just not good for your eyes to leave contacts in that long, even if they're designed for it. Plus, I mean, you're asleep, why do you need perfect version?

Sam

Well I wear 'em to bed because it saves time the next day.
I'm taking them out now though, I think you guys have convinced me :shock:

Marathon

It's probably better to take the 15 seconds the next morning and just take them out over night. I rarely ever sleep with my contacts in, if I do I wake up the next day and feel like peeling my eyes out.

Kewop Decam

i use to sleep with mine in for weeks... not anymore thanks to you guys.

ShimSham

My brother once wore a pair, without taking them out, for about a month and a half before he developed an eye infection that the eye doctor said could have blinded him had he not seen a doctor when he did.

So yeah, just take the time and put them in during the morning. It takes seconds to do that.

DiscGrace

To take care of them (and, thus, your eyes) even better:

1.) Get a good overnight cleaning system, such as Clear Case; don't just throw them in some Renu or Opti-Free in the holding case overnight.
2.) Before you put it in your eyes in the morning, put the contact on the palm of one hand, squirt your Opti-Free into it, and rub it with one of the fingers on the other hand. Then you can put it in. This dislodges protein buildup and helps prevent that icky conjunctivitis business!

SilverWind

I have the kind that you wear specifically at night. Hard lens. Sorta like braces for the eyes; I've heard it was dangerous for people who don't take care of their lenses, or who aren't taken care by their optometrist; mine knows what he's doing, and I check up with him regularly.

I've gotten so used to it that I have difficulty sleeping at night without it.

I've never gotten an eye infection, ever. Though, if your contacts aren't specifically for night wear, I wouldn't recommend it.

lordswing

SilverWind wrote:

I have the kind that you wear specifically at night. Hard lens. Sorta like braces for the eyes; I've heard it was dangerous for people who don't take care of their lenses, or who aren't taken care by their optometrist; mine knows what he's doing, and I check up with him regularly.

I've gotten so used to it that I have difficulty sleeping at night without it.

I've never gotten an eye infection, ever. Though, if your contacts aren't specifically for night wear, I wouldn't recommend it.

i have the same, wore them at night for 2+years now.

Zernhelt

I used to wear contacts that you could wear at night (they were called Day and Night, or something like that). They allot more oxygen to get through than most contacts, making it so you cal wear them for longer periods of time. But I was always told that while you coudl wear them at night, you should take them out every once in awhile (I imagines every few days). I never did sleep in them. In fact they were very uncomfortable because they dried out my eyes, so I went with a different brand with a lower water content, and my eyes feel a lot better.

nexuscrawler

Hard lenses are uncommon these days. I still wouldn't sleep with em in but cuz they're hard they don't get the same kinds of buildup soft lenses do. Soft ones literally abosrb any moisture around them. Soif you let crap soak into them for too long you'll never get it out of the lenses.

This is why I wear monthly disposables.

Taximes

What about napping?

I don't sleep overnight with mine in, but sometimes I like to snag a quick nap in a place where I don't have my case and solution handy.

The lenses always feel somewhat sticky and sluggish in my eyes when I wake up, but they're fine after a little while. Is this detrimental to my eyes?

NightDragon

Taximes wrote:

What about napping?

I don't sleep overnight with mine in, but sometimes I like to snag a quick nap in a place where I don't have my case and solution handy.

The lenses always feel somewhat sticky and sluggish in my eyes when I wake up, but they're fine after a little while. Is this detrimental to my eyes?

mine too. I think it's just due to a lack of moisture in the eye when you wake up.

I've heard that if your contacts are hard to take out, or if they're sticking to your eye (lack of moisture, again), then by all means you should NOT try to take them out until you've wetted them sufficiently and they are easier to remove. Taking them out when they're "sticky" like that can seriously damage your eye. One of my friend's mothers (delaminated? or scratched) her (cornea?) by doing that, and had to stay off contacts for a straight 3 months to wait for her eyes to heal.

reddog

NightDragon wrote:

I've heard that if your contacts are hard to take out, or if they're sticking to your eye (lack of moisture, again), then by all means you should NOT try to take them out until you've wetted them sufficiently and they are easier to remove. Taking them out when they're "sticky" like that can seriously damage your eye. One of my friend's mothers (delaminated? or scratched) her (cornea?) by doing that, and had to stay off contacts for a straight 3 months to wait for her eyes to heal.

I never knew that!! Holy crap. I've been "peeling" them off my eyes when they're dry for some time now. Thank you so much for the info.

Side note, does anyone get really itchy eyes after taking your contacts out? Why is that? Is it just cause that your eyes are finally breathing air?

The Lurker

I've had night and day contacts for a few years now. I've been told by my doctor to take them off at least once a week and clean them, and to also sleep without them in so the eye can clean itself of the dead cells and junk.

I'm so used to having them in my eyes I hardly even notice them in anymore.

Marravica

I wore soft "sleep safe" contact lenses too long and developed a cyst on the right eyeball. The optometrist told me I was very lucky it was not over the cornea, as it would've definitely caused PERMANENT partial vision loss.

NEVER wear contacts overnight. If having perfect vision all the time is important to you, get the corrective surgery.

EggyToast

Yeah, I've got a coworker who claims her eyes are allergic to the saline solution you use for soft contacts. Uhh... Anyway, she puts contacts in and leaves them in for 2 weeks, then replaces them.

I would not recommend doing what she does. She's generally against doing anything "right" if it doesn't fit with her [current] lifestyle, but she does serve as an interesting anecdote.

From what I've heard through my wife, the thing with "sleep safe" contacts basically means that if you're in a situation where you can't take them out, or if you "forget" to take them out, you're OK -- they're not going to roll up under your eyelid and it's unlikely they'll suction to your cornea. However, if you're at home or away and have your contact gear there, just take them out. Far easier to develop a healthy habit than develop eye problems, even if your contacts are "more safe."

Rook

I've used those contacts you can sleep on and off for a couple of years. Generally speaking yes, they're fine, do what they say on the tin.

If you ever go swimming or wear lots of eye makeup or anything that'll generally irritate the eye, take them out and don't sleep in them. Honestly, it's not worth the hassle when something goes wrong. Currently I'm wearing them like a normal pair just because I find it easier to leave them in my eyes for longer but I still take them out every night.