Oh yes that was so silly. But I searched on google and it’s not just me. Many others do forget to remove their contact lenses before going to bed and there are several reasons why people fail to do so. One popular reason was coming from a party, drunk and tired, then collapsing on bed without taking off their contacts. That was not my reason though.
It does not happen to me often but I usually forget to remove my contact lenses when I am very tired from work. I usually get eye irritation when I wake up the next morning. I would not have any problems taking the lenses off, but my eyes would be red and sometimes some discharges will be there. But I would do wake up getting worried of becoming blind. I heard of so many horror stories of users getting blind because of this. But these does not refrain me for using contacts. I know that those stories were just isolated cases.
And so to stop worrying, I did some research about forgetting to remove contact lenses before retiring to bed. Let me share you what I’ve got:
The corneas’ response to this event varies between no discernable effect to extreme pain and blurred vision.(similar to ‘arc-eye’ – if you have heard of this).
This can vary between individuals, and with different lens types and can even vary with the same individual on different occasions.
It depends on the extent that the cornea swells in response to the lack of oxygen. It usually does no permanent harm to the eye, although if you get the painful response you will inevitably end up at the eye hospital convinced that you are going blind. Treatment is normally time, perhaps with some aspirin.
They normally come out without any problem, although sometimes they can dry out and stick to the eye.
It would then be best to irrigate the eye with sterile saline to re-hydrate them, so that they move again, before removal.
This case is also called contact lens overwear. The eyes are painful due to lack of oxygen and superficial punctate stainings are common with flurescein dye.
Management in clinic or hospital setting would be instilling a topical anaesthesia into the eyes to relieve the pain. The two eyes can be patched and analgesia can be prescribed. The pain usually resolves within 24 hours.
Contact lenses allow me to move freely without the hassles of wearing eye glasses. I also feel that my I look better without my glasses on.
I wear the disposable daily soft contacts-type. I wear a pair for a day and throw them away before going to bed. And so I do not have to worry about having them cleaned and storing my contact lenses in cases with eye solutions. A bit expensive, but healthier to the eyes.
Take care of your eyes!
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research credits: contact lenses.co.uk, eyecasualty.co.uk
image credits: singaporemoms.com, keratoconustexas.com, eden rivers.com
I had Radial Keratotomy done for near-sightedness almost 20 years ago. I still have nearly 20/20 vision and no problems, except now that I am in my 50s I require reading lenses.
I just couldn’t wear contacts anymore and my glasses lenses were so heavy that my glasses would always break, so I went and had the surgery done – before there was laser.
Hi CARTOON CHARACTER, Thanks for sharing your story. I am also planning to have surgery done for my eyes, but I am still weighing the pros and cons. So far, I have not have any problems with my contacts use, so I’ll probably stick to contacts for the meantime. Have a good day!
I used to wear contact lenses too and sometimes when my tiredness and laziness strikes, I just leave them until I fell asleep. But I remove them the following day kasi I noticed na namumula na yung eyes ko and it gets irritated after.
This used to happen many times with me. But now I have learned my lesson and I’m scared to lose my vision.
..I;m lucky kasi i dont have to use it..very clear and vivid pa ang mata ko..
..ay talaga? may disposable contact lenses pala..sosyal naman! papalit-palit..
Pero sabi mo nga healthier..kaya keri na lang..
enjoy your vacation!
Mahal nga yung disposable, so I settle for the six-month type. Mahirap kasi magsuot ng glasses kapag busy, laging nahuhulog or sagabal. Mommy SHengkay is so lucky to have clear vision, kami kasi it runs in the family sabi ng optha. It’s hereditary that we have bad vision. I have astigmatism on my left eye kaya kahit bumaba man grado ko, it would be hard for me to read from afar.
di ko pa na try ang contact lenses pero parang gusto kung mag try kasi sagabal ang eyeglasses…
naku its hereditary din sa amin and its just too bad na maagang nasira ang mga mata ko
hey i found your site today and I have read some good posts over here. I just wanna thanks you for sharing it so we all can learn about it!