What happens if you overwear contact lenses

The first telltale sign of Contact Lens Overwear Syndrome patients often notice is a redness and swelling of the eyes. What is actually happening here is a combination of corneal inflammation keratitis , corneal edema swelling of the cornea and the conjunctiva a transparent skin layer found on the whites of the eyes becoming red and swollen.

Eyelids may then swell and you may find yourself more sensitive to light. When the cornea becomes swollen, it also clouds up. This will have an effect on your vision and you may find your sight to be cloudy or blurred. If you are a chronic contact lens user more than 10 — 20 years , you may want to get your eyes checked for signs of contact lens overwear.

Upon diagnosing contact lens overwear syndrome, the first and most important step in the treatment would be to simply stop all usage of contact lens.

This will continue until all symptoms have subsided. Once contact lens wear has been suspended, the eyes or more specifically, the cornea starts to repair itself over the next few days or week. During this time, the eye specialist should recommend switching the type of contact lenses the patient is currently using.

Newer types of contact lenses can have close to no barrier to the flow of oxygen to the cornea. Most people who have prescription eye glasses prefer wearing contact lenses. Overuse of contact lenses can cause serious damages to your eye. If you are not following the 18 hour week rule, then you could be overusing your contact lenses. In other words you must take out your contact lenses for at least 18 hours a week. Here are some symptoms which are indications that you are using you have your lenses on longer than you should, and you need to consult your eye doctor immediately:.

When contact lenses are worn for an extended time they can significantly reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the eye. The amount of reduction is based on a combination of how much the lens can move, how thick it is, how oxygen permeable it is, and how they are worn. Some symptoms of lens overwear are ocular pain and redness, tearing, decreased vision, and photophobia light sensitivity.

Often people will find it difficult to realize that they have worn their contact lenses too long since the corneal abrasions are masked by the decreased sensitivity brought on by oxygen deprivation. Additionally, poor hygiene can cause lens overwear. Sleeping in daily wear only lenses or wearing lenses all night can lead to complications that are often ignored until there is an infection or signs of hypoxia decreased oxygen.