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My question is related to my husband. He wears the 30-day Night & Day contact lenses. The only time his lenses get a little dry is when he is nearing the 30-day mark to change them out to new ones. However, I am concerned because he never takes these contacts out. He wears them 30 days straight and sleeps in them every night. The eye doctor told him it was ok to do this and they are marketed this way, but is it really healthy to wear contacts all the time?
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Cause of dry eyes: Meibomian Gland Dysfunction -
Dear green eyes,
Wearing lenses continuously, i.e extended wear, increases the risk of corneal infection. That risk has been extensively quantified, and is roughly 1/500 cases per year. Of those, 13% can suffer some vision loss. If you do the math, this comes out to be an annual risk of vision loss from sleeping in any contact lens of 0.026% per year. In my opinion, this is still a lower risk than having a vision complication from refractive surgery, which can be as high as 6% according to one study.
Risk is relative, and your husband can reduce his risk 10 fold by simply removing his lenses at night.
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