Many of us wake up every morning and put in our contact lenses and we don’t give it much thought. We may even have ‘Night and Day’ contact lenses, which are even more convenient.
There is somebody who was dealing with those Night and Day contact lenses and felt that it was perfectly okay to sleep while wearing the lenses. When he woke up with severe pain in his eye, however, he realized that something was not right.
Chad Groeschen relied on those contact lenses so he could see but unfortunately, it is also what took away his sight. Now he is warning people about the dangers of sleeping in contact lenses while he is waiting for a cornea transplant.
It started when Chad Groeschen woke up after sleeping in 2015 with pain in his left eye. It was already cloudy and he couldn’t see.
At first, he thought he had allergies, saying: “Halfway through the day my eyes started itching, and I thought it was probably allergies, so I popped them out. The next morning the vision in my left eye started to turn cloudy.
“The kind of contacts I have are called Night and Day’ contacts, and it was my impression you could leave them in for 30 days straight. I figured the less I was messing with my eyes, the better.”
Although the lenses are marketed for ‘continuous wear’ for up to four weeks, there are also studies that show that wearing contacts overnight increases the possibility of an infection.
Groeschen, who was 39 years old at the time went to a specialist and found out he had a corneal ulcer infected with bacteria, likely associated with sleeping in those contact lenses. Essentially, the contact lens was working as a petri dish to hold the bacteria close to his eye.
Within a matter of days, he was unable to see out of his left eye and was told he would need a corneal transplant to restore his vision.
He isn’t alone in feeling this way about contact lenses, over 82% of those who wear contact lenses tend to wear them longer than recommended and 50% wear them while sleeping.
If you would like to prevent eye infection, consider the following tips from the CDC:
* Wash hands with soap and water and dry them well before touching contact lenses
* Take contacts out before sleeping, showering or swimming
* Rub and rinse contacts in disinfecting solution each time they remove them
* Rub and rinse the case with contact lens solution, dry with a clean tissue and store it upside down with the caps off after each use
* Replace contact lens cases at least once every three months
* Avoid “topping off” solution in lens case (adding fresh solution to old solution)
* Carry a backup pair of glasses in case contact lenses have to be taken out