If you are a contact wearer, you have most likely fallen asleep without taking your contacts off once or twice. And, while you may not have experienced any permanent side effects, you surely woke up with your eyes feeling dry. However, according to doctors, sleeping with your contacts is very dangerous and can lead to all sorts of complications. Let’s check a few of them out and see how they can be prevented.

Why Shouldn’t I Sleep with My Contacts In?

You Can Get an Eye Ulcer

Generally speaking, a corneal ulcer is a tiny open wound in your eye which is usually created by bacteria. According to research, corneal ulcers are one of the main causes of blindness in the world.

Unfortunately, people who sleep wearing their contacts have an increased risk of corneal ulcers. Why? Because contact lenses block oxygen from your eyes, which creates the perfect environment for bacteria to take over. As a result, the longer the contacts stay in, the more you increase the chances of causing lifelong vision damage.

You Increase the Risk of Pink Eye

Sleeping with your contacts can make your eyes more susceptible to tears, which allow bacteria to enter and get trapped in your eye. Therefore, you can experience conjunctivitis or other similar eye infections. And while pink eye isn’t always dangerous, it can lead to more severe infections of the cornea, which, in turn, can cause blindness.

You Could Experience CLARE

CLARE stands for Contact Lens Acute Red Eye and is a condition that you can experience when wearing your contacts during sleep. The main symptoms of CLARE are redness, light sensitivity, tearing, and vision problems. And while CLARE isn’t a permanent condition, it can damage your eyes and prevent you from wearing contacts ever again.

Your Contacts Might Not Fit Anymore

Wearing your contacts while sleeping will cause irritation which can allow bumps to form underneath your eyelids. The name of the condition is giant papillary conjunctivitis, and if left untreated, it can prevent your contacts from fitting properly. If you experience this condition, you’ll have to stop wearing your contacts for at least a week. In some cases, you might need professional treatment, as GPC can be quite hard to get rid of.

Conclusion

By now, it should be clear that wearing your contacts overnight can really damage your eyes and cause all sorts of conditions. Fortunately, you can avoid most of them by taking your contacts out before you sleep. However, if you experience problems with your contacts, it’s always better to request the advice of a professional like Dr. Schnipper. Here, we will be able to inspect your eyesight and come up with a treatment scheme that will help against eye ulcers, pink eye, and more.

So why struggle with any of the aforementioned conditions when you can rely on Dr. Schnipper?

What Are the Complications of Wearing Contacts When Sleeping?