Sleeping in contact lenses can severely damage your eyes, new study warns

Researchers warn sleeping with your contact lenses still on can result in blindness. It could also lead to serious eye infections like microbial keratitis.

"Sleeping in your contact lenses is risky and can lead to infections, or in some cases, permanent damage," Jon Femling, assistant professor at University of New Mexico (US), told a news portal. Adding, “Falling asleep, or even napping, without removing your contact lenses can significantly increase the likelihood of serious health problems."

A study report cited some examples of people who wore contact lenses while asleep and developed severe infections due to it. One man who wore the contact lenses for almost four nights a week when asleep and while swimming developed a blurry vision. The second case revealed a teenage girl purchased lenses from a drug store without a prescription and suffered corneal ulcer that caused scarring. Another man had to undergo a transplant to save his right eye after he was diagnosed with perforated cornea from wearing the lenses for two weeks.

Proper eye care is crucial to avoid such consequences. Scientists urge people using contact lenses to always remove it before you fall asleep."Sleeping in lenses is one of the riskiest and most commonly reported behaviours for adolescent and adult contact lens wearers. If you want to avoid infection and avoid a trip to the emergency department, proper eye care is a must," Fleming noted.