Effects of Sleeping With Contacts On

You can wear specialty contact lenses overnight, but standard contacts should never remain on while sleeping. Leaving these lenses on while sleeping can have severe consequences and significantly impact your eye and vision health. Our team at Sites Vision Clinic in Clarksville, TN, explains the potential effects of wearing your contacts overnight. 

Your Eyes and Oxygen

Your eyes need oxygen to stay healthy. Your eyes typically obtain oxygen through blood vessels, but your cornea requires oxygen from the air since it does not have blood vessels. Your contact lenses sit directly on your cornea, limiting the amount of oxygen it gets.

The amount of oxygen your cornea gets can become severely limited if you sleep with your contacts on. Doing this can lead to injuries and open space for bacteria to thrive, putting you at risk of developing eye infections, such as fungal and bacterial keratitis.

Fungal keratitis is a fungal infection that causes corneal inflammation and can lead to partial or complete vision loss. Bacterial keratitis involves bacteria invading your eye and causing vision loss.

Eye ulcers can also develop if you wear your contacts overnight. Eye ulcers are open sores on the cornea caused by eye infections. You should contact your eye doctor immediately if you notice these symptoms.

What Should I Do if I Fell Asleep With Contacts On?

The first step is to take your contacts out when you wake up and give your eyes a break. Use eye drops to loosen your contacts if you have trouble removing them. Visit your optometrist if you still have trouble removing your contact lenses.

Watch out for symptoms like eye discharge, excessive tearing, sensitivity to light, swelling, eye pain, and changes to your vision. These symptoms can lead to significant eye and vision damage if left untreated. Contact your eye doctor immediately if you notice these symptoms.

Visit Your Optometrist Near You to Protect Your Eye and Vision Health Today

You can suffer significant eye and vision problems if you sleep with contact lenses on, so contact Sites Vision Clinic in Clarksville, TN, to see an optometrist and protect your eye and vision health today. We can determine if you developed an eye infection and treat it immediately. Call us and schedule an appointment today at (931) 647-5237.