Consequences of Not Removing Your Contacts Before Bed

The most common bad habit of contact lens wearers is not removing their contacts before going to bed. If you’ve ever been guilty of this, you probably know how hard it is to remove dried out lenses from your eyes.

Find out what happens when you go to bed with your contacts in from a local optometrist.

Sleeping With Contacts

Ambient oxygen exposure is essential in keeping your eyes healthy. Your eyes don’t get as much oxygen when you sleep. Contact lenses form a barrier between the oxygen and the cornea, further limiting oxygen from reaching your eyes. You can experience hypoxia (oxygen deprivation in a body part) when oxygen fails to reach the eyes.

If you accidentally slept with your contacts in for one night, you’ll likely be just fine aside from some mild discomfort. However, making a habit out of it can increase your risk of eye infections. Bacteria can get onto the back of your eye and harm the cornea. Common signs of infection include reduced vision, watering, redness and discharge. You need to contact your eye doctor if removing the lenses doesn’t alleviate the irritation.

Practice Proper Contact Lens Hygiene

Don’t forget to wash your hands with soap and water before touching your contacts. Only use contact lens solution and never water for cleaning and rinsing lenses. Rub the lenses gently with the solution to get rid of bacteria and debris. Replace your contact lens case every three months and get new lenses as recommended by your eye doctor.

You can rely on Vienna Eyecare Center for dependable eye care services. We provide contacts, eyeglasses and treatment for eye diseases and conditions. Give us a call at (703) 938-7633 or fill out our contact form to make an appointment. We assist patients in Vienna, Reston and Mclean, VA.

Dr. Richard Snively