The cornea of the eye does not have blood and lymphatic vessels and receives oxygen mainly from the environment and the tear film.Contact lenses under closed eyelids block the access of air and lacrimal fluid. This is fraught with hypoxia and corneal edema.
On sale you can find round-the-clock contact lenses that pass oxygen well and moisturize the eyes. They will not cause hypoxia, but ophthalmologists do not recommend leaving even such products overnight.
The fact is that sleeping in any lenses increases the risk of eye infection by 6-8 times. Moreover, it is not necessary to systematically break the rules in order to earn serious vision problems – just a couple of nights is enough .
So, in one scientific work, a case was described when a 59-year-old man did not remove contact lenses for two days and received damage to the cornea, which then developed into a large perforated ulcer. As a result, everything ended with an operation with a long recovery period.
Thus, falling asleep in any contact lenses, at best, you risk waking up with dry, reddened eyes, and at worst, damaging the cornea.
What to do if you still fell asleep in the lenses
If you forgot to remove your lenses and only discovered it in the morning, take your time to remove them. Because of the dryness, this will be difficult to do, and you can damage the cornea.
First, use moisturizing eye drops, wait a few minutes, and only then remove the lenses.
Watch the state. If your vision deteriorates, redness and tearing occur, you may have caught an infection. Make an appointment with an ophthalmologist to check your eyes and prescribe treatment.
And do not try to put on the same lenses again after the symptoms disappear. Flushing with the solution will not help remove the pathogens and you will become infected again.
