Slept in my contacts last night (No worries, lock me)

joshofalltrades

Okay, yeah I know this is dumb. I didn't do it on purpose. I've just gotten so used to them being in there and I was so exhausted last night that I just climbed into bed and started snoozing. When I woke up this morning I had a headache and my eyes were throbbing a little bit. Took the lenses out pretty much as soon as I realized they were still in there and I'm going to wear glasses all day today instead.

I've never done this before, and I was kind of nervous so I went online and instantly met with horror stories like, "40% chance of infection, chances of going blind in your lifetime +20%". I kind of saw something like this coming, I mean you're blocking oxygen to your eyeballs if you do this.

I looked on my particular brand, the Acuvue Oasys to see if there was any information and it said:

Contact lens wearers can now occasionally nap or sleep in ACUVUE OASYS and still get the same excellent health and comfort benefits they receive when it's worn as a daily lens. We strongly advise all contact lens wearers to follow their doctor's instructions for lens wearing schedule, replacement frequency and care regimen, and to discuss the benefits and risks of extended wear lenses with their eye care professional before changing their wearing schedule.

So H/A, do I need to make an immediate trip to the eye doctor, just in case? Or should I be aware of symptoms of eye infection and make a trip if that happens?

Chanus

How do you feel now?

You can take heart in the fact you're not the first person to do this and live. If your eyes don't hurt and there's no swelling and you don't notice any new problems with your vision, I wouldn't worry too much.

joshofalltrades

joshofalltrades wrote: »

When I woke up this morning I had a headache and my eyes were throbbing a little bit.

Yeah, they still hurt a little bit. I just woke up about half an hour ago, so maybe I should give it a little time?

Chanus

Yeah, they'll probably hurt at least a little for a couple hours... but if there's nothing other than a bit of discomfort, you should be fine.

KalTorak

I've done it a few times. Depends on your eyes (if they're especially sensitive, maybe don't rule out checking with your eye doctor), but for me I'm fine with just wearing glasses for the day, back to contacts the next day. Hasn't resulted in any lasting effects.

Brainiac 8

I wore contacts for years, and slept in them (cause I forgot to take them out) many many times. I never had a problem with them.

joshofalltrades

Thanks guys. Just wanted to make sure this wasn't a "go to your doctor ASAP" situation.

Conroy Bumpas

its best to go to your optician and let them see if you have caused any damage. and if you have any they will want to see you again in a few days to a week to check that its healing up ok.


defantly best to wear your glasses for the next few days

adytum

Maybe use re-wetting drops if you have eye discomfort.

Murphy

I...sleep in mine all the time. I just don't have time in the morning to deal with getting my contacts in. I've been doing it for well on 16 years, and while my doctor isn't a fan, he's never been like "No more contacts for you, Murphy!" I am not blind yet.

I wouldn't recommend doing it regularly, but it's not the end of the world by any means. Especially with the brand you have (that's the one I use too). Don't panic, guy.

Rook

Why don't you just buy the ones you can sleep in? Seems like a better choice than hoping for the best.

Murphy

Personally it's because my doctor has never prescribed them. Even when I tell him that I sleep in them regularly.

adytum

If you regularly sleep in non-permeable contacts, or even wear them for too long, your eyes will start growing veins across the surface to supply oxygen.

You uh.. you don't want that.

joshofalltrades

Thanks again for the reassurance. I wasn't panicked or anything, I was just wondering if I should make a trip to the optometrist posthaste to check for infection or something. Seems like one night is nothing to make a trip to the doctor over. This can be locked.

Quetzatcoatl

I wore the same pair of contacts for over a year without taking them off. Certainly I wouldn't recommend it and I did eventually get an eye infection because of it, but one night isn't a huge deal.

VeritasVR

adytum wrote: »

If you regularly sleep in non-permeable contacts, or even wear them for too long, your eyes will start growing veins across the surface to supply oxygen.

You uh.. you don't want that.

Source for this medical tidbit?

I honestly would like to know.

adytum

It was something I discussed with my optometrist and he showed me photographs.

Here's what I can find from googling:

http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/prevent-oxygen-starvation-contact-lens-care/ wrote:

Oxygen starvation occurs when your eyes do not receive enough oxygen.

Only a trained professional can tell you with absolute certainty that you have oxygen starvation. However, if the white portions of your eyes have permanent small spidery like red veins running throughout them then you may very well have oxygen starvation. As for pain, your eyes will probably not hurt if you have oxygen starvation; they will feel just fine.

Ignoring oxygen starvation can lead to serious consequences. Eventually, the red veins that are in the whites of your eyes will grow directly into your pupil. This can interfere with your ability to see clearly. Also, the whites around your pupil may become swollen and open up in spots. This gives bacteria easier access to your eye, which means you have an increased likelihood of getting an eye infection.

http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/contact-lenses.htm wrote:

If your eyes get starved of oxygen, tiny blood vessels in the eye start to shoot off and new ones develop. The most disturbing thing about blood vessels growing on the eye is that there are usually no symptoms and the eye could feel perfectly normal. An optician will be on the look out for signs of this happening, and so it is a good idea to have your eyes examined by an optician regularly.

It also affects your ability to have corrective (LASIK, etc.) eye surgery. It's why I stopped wearing contacts for everything except sports a few years ago.

Murphy

Yeah, my optometrist and I have discussed it. It's definitely a real issue. I mean, I don't sleep in them all the time, but most of the time, and have been doing so for years. I'm still ok. Still, maybe the next time I visit I should really push for the sleep in 'em variety.