Wearing contact lenses during sleep and poor lens hygiene can lead to vision-threatening eye infections. Recently one U.K. journalist developed microbial keratitis, an infection of the cornea, after overnight contact lens wear and occasionally rinsing her contacts with tap water.
The 24-year-old journalist first noticed something was wrong when she woke up with pain in her left eye. Her eye turned red and teary with a red rim around the iris, and she became sensitive to light.
The next morning she couldn’t open her eye and went to the hospital, where she was immediately treated for microbial keratitis. The doctor explained her vision was quickly deteriorating and there was a risk she could lose eyesight.
Microorganisms that cause contact lens-related eye infections include Pseudomonas bacteria and a single-cell organism called Acanthamoeba that is commonly found in tap water, swimming pools, hot tubs and other water sources. Cleaning and storing lenses properly using contact lens solutions recommended by your eye doctor is important to prevent microbial contamination of contact lenses and lens cases that increases the risk of infection.
Sleeping while wearing contacts also increases the chance for eye infections. One Dutch study found that people who wear their lenses overnight are about 20 times more likely to develop microbial keratitis.
The journalist now has her vision restored after treatment and a three-week break from contact lens wear, as reported in MailOnline.