With so many contact lenses on the market, it is hard to know what is right for you. Your eye doctor should discuss the options about what might be best for your lifestyle.
Keep in mind if you want to sleep in your lenses, make sure they are FDA approved for sleeping in.
There are several options for contact lenses, some you can sleep in for 30 days, others you can sleep in for 6 days, and some you can’t sleep in at all.
With so many options of lenses that can be worn for an extended period (up to 30 days of overnight wear time), there is no point in sleeping in a contact lens that does not have FDA approval for sleeping in; unless you want to damage your eyes.
So please follow the recommended guidelines on contact lens wear and if you want to sleep in your contact lenses for 30 days talk to your doctor about your options.
Never assume that you can sleep in your contact lenses. It is not worth losing sight.
This chart can be used as a guideline for cost comparison and proper lens wear time.
Contact Lens Wear Time
What’s the deal with contact lens wear time? Why is it necessary to throw them away after a certain time?
Every contact lens has an expiration date and a specified recommended wear time. But, why?
The guidelines for contact lens replacement is for the benefits of your eyes.
Just yesterday I saw a 70-year-old patient who has been wearing contact lenses for several years. He informed me that his last eye exam was 10 years ago. When I asked how he was getting new contact lenses he just laughed and said that he wears his monthly contact lenses for a prolonged amount of time. I was curious as to why someone would do this. Cost? Laziness? Ignorance? Possibly all of those things can contribute.
Contact lenses can be a great tool to improve vision without glasses, but it is extremely important to wear them properly. As soon as a contact lens is exposed to air it begins to break down. In the vacuum-sealed package, a contact lens can last for a couple of years.
The expiration date on the package is only the date on which it should last be opened.
Think of your contact lens like the sponge in your kitchen. A contact lens breaks down over time and builds up debris from our tear-film as well as the environment. This can make us susceptible to bacterial infections as well as corneal hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the eye).
The front surface of our eye, the cornea is a clear avascular structure (meaning it has no blood vessels) allowing us to see clearly, like the windshield of our car.
As with all organs of our body, our cornea requires oxygen to function. Most organs receive oxygen via the blood supply. Since the cornea does not contain blood vessels it must get oxygen through the air and our tear-film.
Wearing a contact lens can block some of the oxygen to our cornea. Rigorous studies have been conducted to determine when a contact lens should be disposed of and how long it should be worn to prevent corneal hypoxia (oxygen deprivation).
When the cornea becomes oxygen-deprived then a process called neovascularization occurs, in which new blood vessels grow into the area that is requiring oxygen. When this happens in the cornea it can lead to contact lens intolerance, redness, visual distortions, decreased visual acuity, or vision loss.
Photo credits: Etung1 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Daily Contact Lenses
There are many benefits to using a daily contact lens.
- Convenience: you don’t need to clean the lenses after wearing, you just remove them and throw them away. Usually, they come in a 30 or 90 pack.
- Cleanliness: There is no cleaner lens than a lens fresh out of the packaging. With a daily contact lens, you get to use a brand new fresh lens every day.
- Comfort: Daily lenses are by far the most comfortable in my opinion.
- Save on Contact lens solution: since you do not need to clean or store the contact lens, the need for contact lens solution is minimal. I rarely use contact lens solution anymore. I put the lens onto my eye straight out of the packaging. It is still good to have a bottle of contact lens solution on hand in case you need to rinse your contact lens.
The downside to daily contact lenses is the cost of the lenses.
Proper lens cleaning:
Always wash your hands when handling your contact lenses.
There are many contact lens solutions on the market. It is important to use a contact lens solution when cleaning and storing your contact lenses. Using saline is not the same as a contact lens solution and will not kill bacteria that can attract to the surface of contact lenses.
Always put fresh contact lens solution in your case. Do not re-use the contact lens solution that the contacts were stored in. Using the same contact lens solution over and over is like taking a bath in the same water day after day–Gross! Make sure to clean the case that the contact lenses are stored in. It is best to let the case air dry after every use. You can boil the cases to disinfect them, but it is best practice to throw out old cases every time you get a new bottle of solution.
The Bottom Line:
Contact lenses have come a long way. And with new contact lens designs and superior comfort, it is no wonder that patients feel like they can wear the lenses longer than approved. But doing this comes with a price and sometimes a serious one at that.
Most contact lens-related bacterial infections can be treated if caught early, however, there can be serious permanent damage to the eye if chronic overuse of contact lenses persists. Corneal neovascularization and corneal bacterial ulcers can cause permanent decreased vision.
According to a 20-month long study of 300 patients with bacterial keratitis (a bacterial infection of the cornea) in the British Journal of Ophthalmology titled “Bacterial keratitis: predisposing factors, clinical and microbiological review of 300 cases,” 50.3% of cases were related to contact lens wear.
Even contact lenses that are FDA approved for extended wear-time (sleeping in the contact lens) can increase the risk of ocular infection by 6 to 8 times according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Blindness from serious eye infection associated with contact lenses has been shown to affect 1 in 500 contact lens wearers each year.
In order to prevent serious eye infection, it is important to wear your contact lenses as directed and to clean and dispose of them properly.
Buying contact lenses illegally can also pose a health risk to your eyes. A contact lens needs to fit your eye properly in order to get proper tear exchange under the lens. If a contact lens does not fit properly, it can increase your risk of ocular infection and corneal neovascularization.
Do not take your eyes for granted. Wearing a contact lens can be a great option for those of us who need vision correction. Wearing them properly and having yearly eye exams can ensure that your eyes stay healthy and that your vision stays clear.