Sleeping with contact lenses on can lead to a variety of health problems including corneal infection, microbial keratitis, itchy, dry eyes and blurred vision. Here are some serious eye problems that can also become permanent.
When we wear contact lenses, we place them on the cornea, the outermost layer of the eye that is invisible to the naked eye and covers the iris.
One of the main characteristics of the cornea is that it is completely transparent and avascular, and also requires oxygenation and humidification.
Under normal conditions, the corneas get oxygen from the environment when the eyes are open and from blood vessels when they are closed.
The moment we put our contact lenses on, we are depriving our eyes of some of the oxygen they absorb from the air. Therefore, we must ensure that the lens is supplied with enough oxygen to perform its physiological function.
Many times exhaustion, a night of debauchery, and lying in bed make us forget to take them off. So, before succumbing to the temptation to fall asleep completely, we have to take off our contact lenses.