Many people who wear contact lenses do not want to take them off at night. This is inconvenient and takes up time before going to bed and in the morning, when such a corrective optics needs to be put on. Some manufacturers promise that sleep in them is absolutely safe. But is it possible to sleep in lenses, or is it just an advertising move?
Can I sleep in hard lenses?
Contact lenses are hard and soft. Hard are made of polymethylmethacrylate. If you ask an ophthalmologist whether you can sleep in such lenses day or night, his answer will be negative. They are allowed to wear no more than 12 hours a day.
Sleep in them is not allowed, because they can cause oxygen starvation of the cornea and even adhere to its surface. But what if you have a rigid gas-permeable lens? Can I sleep in these lenses for at least one night? No! They, like all other rigid products for vision correction, can be safe only during the day.
Can I sleep in soft lenses?
Soft silicone-hydrogel lenses are designed for long-term continuous wearing. They possess 100% permeability, which prevents oxygen starvation of the cornea. Their manufacturers confidently declare that sleep in such lenses is harmless. But, despite this, ophthalmologists are advised to take them off at night. If you ask them, can you sleep in soft contact lenses during the day, then, most likely, the answer will be positive. Short-term sleep in them will not cause harm to health.
Soft hydrogel lenses pass oxygen only by 30 units, so they are not suitable for use during sleep. Corrective optics, which is designed for use during the day, has a lot of advantages compared to other types of contact lenses. But is it possible to sleep in one-day lenses ? This is strictly prohibited and is one of their shortcomings. Such application can cause:
- corneal edema;
- infectious diseases;
- dry eye syndrome ;
- erosion of the cornea.
Those who are looking for an answer to the question of whether it is possible to sleep in disposable lenses, except for the recommendations of the ophthalmologist and the instructions of the lens manufacturer, should be guided by individual characteristics. If the eyes are easily irritated, very sensitive or often exposed to inflammatory processes, then it is strictly forbidden to sleep in lenses, even if the doctor or the instruction to the corrective optics points out the opposite.