Sleeping in Contacts?

audiobliss

Ok, so now that I've got your attention, I'm not really asking about sleeping at night in contacts. However, I just got contacts last week (and like them pretty good so far), but I've been thinking about naps. Several times now I've wanted to lie down and take a nap but didn't want all the hassle of taking out my contacts and putting them back in. The only reason not to sleep in your contacts at night is so that your eyes can get oxygen, right? So taking a nap in them when you would ordinarily be wearing them anyways is no problem, right?

Anybody wear contacts and can help me out on this one?

Thanks!

mantis

My wife had no problems. She took naps, even all night and never took them out. Only to put new ones in. She got Laser eye surgery and don't wear them anymore. but your suppose to take them out at night. Don't worry about the naps.

seeclear

What kind of contacts? (soft, RGP (or hard)) Do you have any idea what the brand and type of contact is? That will make a huge difference on your safety level with "closed eyelid" wear.

Don't listen to Mantis, he doesn't have a clue.

Disclaimer--I am an eye doctor, but I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I'm going home now, but I will log in later and see what you can tell me.

bigaudiofanatic

I sleep in mine for at least a full week before taking them out no problems. Been doing it for over a year now.

bobman1235

We apparently have an optometrist here so my testimony won't mean much, BUT I asked my eye doctor about this last time I was in, he said naps aren't a big deal with normal soft contacts aside from some risk of them getting stuck way up in your eye socket (since your eyes kinda roll back when you sleep, your contact can get stuck out there, and it's not pleasant fishing it out).

He said try not to sleep with them, but told me it wasn't a huge deal with me since I wear the one-day disposables and those "breathe" best, so if it's absolutely necessary it's not gonna kill me.

So... there ya go.

bigaudiofanatic

Not an optometrist but i just know after a year what i can and cant do with them in or out. But a couple times a week i will take them out.

audiobliss

seeclear wrote: »

What kind of contacts? (soft, RGP (or hard)) Do you have any idea what the brand and type of contact is? That will make a huge difference on your safety level with "closed eyelid" wear.

Don't listen to Mantis, he doesn't have a clue.

Disclaimer--I am an eye doctor, but I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

I'm going home now, but I will log in later and see what you can tell me.

Wow, an honest to goodness eye doctor; how convenient!

I actually have the prescription in front of me. They are soft AcuVue Advanced Toric lenses. I have quite an astigmatism in my left eye.

I actually had an appointment with my eye doctor today, but of course I think of all my questions NOW, after the appointment. Isn't that how it always goes? :rolleyes:

So, I'm going to bombard you with questions.

I got Opti-Free Replenish with my contacts, but is that the best thing to use? What about ReNu? Can I use either one as I drops if my eyes get dry or blurry? I was told at the office NOT to use tap water to clean out my lens case...and then was told at the office to use tap water to clean out my lens case. So, now I'm confused on that. Also, after my contacts have soaked all night in their case, do I have to 'clean' them by rubbing them before I put them in?

I think that's all the questions I have.

Thanks!!

BaggedLancer

Yes, rinse them and rub them...always.

billbillw

Been wearing contacts for about 25 years.
These days, I use Walmart's Equate brand Multi-purpose solution exclusively. Buy it in a twin-pack. Its less than 1/4 the price of that other stuff. Been using it for many years with no problem. I wear 2-month disposables and have no problem getting full life out of them. If you are using 1-week or 1-month disposables, then I wouldn't worry too much. Just use the solution liberally to rinse them. They say its no rub, but I always give them a quick rub to be sure. Always wash your hands good before handling the lenses. Don't reuse solution from night to night.

Naps OK, but plan on rinsing your eyes out with solution afterwards. Sleep over-night? Never.

MacLeod

I take naps all the time in my contacts and have no problems. I have also slept in them (usually after lots of drinking and forgetting to take them out) and the only real drawback is that my eyes are dry as a bone the next morning. I dont recommend sleeping in them but taking naps is fine.

As for solution - Opti-Free by Alcon is the best stuff Ive found. Ive tried everything and the Equate was the worst. I get up at 5:30 AM and by 2 PM my eyes were totally dry and bugging the crap out of me. Other name brands got me til about 5 PM before they dried out. With the Opti-Free I can make it til midnight or later before they start bugging me. It costs more but as with most things, you get what you pay for.

phuz

Naps, no big deal. Sleeping, not if you can help it. I wore extended wear lenses for a long long time and slept with them in for probably 12+ years. These were the lenses you are supposed to be able to wear for 30 days at a time.

When I went to get Lasik, I had blood vessels growing over my cornea because my eyes weren't getting any oxygen while sleeping.

Airplay355

i agree with mac...stay away from equate solution, it made my eyes hurt like crazy. I also like opti free though bausch and laumb stuff isnt bad either.

I take naps in mine but I don't like to sleep with them. I sleep with a fan every night so I will either wake up with extreme eye pain from the contact turning into a potato chip. It's not fun at all. I used to wear the once daily contacts and I didn't mind sleeping in those. When they were dried out in the morning I'd just replace them with new ones and it felt fine.

I have found that if I sleep in my lenses I'm more prone to eye irritation and infections. Generally not fun and most likely from the buildup of **** on the lenses being contained under my eyelid all night.

AdamRagland

I've been wearing contacts for years now also but i had to take a break from them because of my stupidity i never took them out and left them in for MONTHS. After i had weeks of eye pain i went to the eye doctor and he when he looked into my ees he made me not wear contacts for a whole year because i left them in so long i deprived my eyes of oxygen. Well your eyes will go into survival mode and start making more blood vessels to try and grab more oxygen Which sounds cool and all except for the fact that when you grow enough blood vessels you will go blind. Absolutely stupid but i thought it was still kind of cool how your body wil do that.

candyliquor35m

I use ciba vision dailies (1 day disposables) to avoid exposure to the overnight cleaning solutions. They are just as cheap as the regular ones only I buy 2 or 3 boxes at a time that have 90 lenses in it.

I wear them for 3 days instead of one and take them out at night and soak them in saline solution overnight.

It still pisses me off that they put boric acid in the saline solution. Don't they use boric acid to kill roaches. It doesn't take a genius to figure out they shouldn't be putting it in saline solution.

I might add that I only have to wear one contact to see far with that eye and thus I can see near with the other eye. It's called monovision and it works great.

TroyD

Saline solution has the same pH as human tears you dunce.....

A lot of things are acidic, like orange juice. Just because it's an acid doesn't mean it's harmful.

Christ, can you be any more stupid?

BDT

seeclear

audiobliss wrote: »

Wow, an honest to goodness eye doctor; how convenient!

I actually have the prescription in front of me. They are soft AcuVue Advanced Toric lenses. I have quite an astigmatism in my left eye.

I actually had an appointment with my eye doctor today, but of course I think of all my questions NOW, after the appointment. Isn't that how it always goes? :rolleyes:

So, I'm going to bombard you with questions.

I got Opti-Free Replenish with my contacts, but is that the best thing to use? What about ReNu? Can I use either one as I drops if my eyes get dry or blurry? I was told at the office NOT to use tap water to clean out my lens case...and then was told at the office to use tap water to clean out my lens case. So, now I'm confused on that. Also, after my contacts have soaked all night in their case, do I have to 'clean' them by rubbing them before I put them in?

I think that's all the questions I have.

Thanks!!

Acuvue Advance should be OK for sleeping in some; if I had someone who wanted to sleep in them consistently, there are other lenses I would try, but that is also here in Colorado (high and dry). If you are in a lower, more humid environment, you should be fine. If you sleep in them consistently, first of all make sure your doc knows that and is OK with it, secondly they should be changed weekly, whereas with daily wear (not overnight), they should be changed every two weeks.

Replenish is fine to use, as is ReNu. Either can be put into your eye directly to moisten, but the tip of the regular bottle is not designed to make a very easy dropper for direct application to the eye. IOW, it is usually a mess to try to drop it into your eye.

You should empty your lens case every day when you apply your lenses, then rinse with HOT tap water and leave it empty to air dry. DO NOT leave the old solution in the case and "top off" each day. You significantly increase your risk of infection by doing that. They probably meant to tell you not to use tap water in your case for soaking your lenses, but it is fine to clean the case itself with tap, then allow it to air dry. You should rub your lenses when you remove them in the evening before soaking overnight, then it is fine to apply them to your eye directly without further rubbing.

Disclaimer--all of this advice is regarding contact lens wear in general, and could change depending on the exact condition of your eyes, and I obviously have never seen your eyes. If you have any doubts or other questions, it would be best to consult your local doc. Hope this helps!!

candyliquor35m

TroyD wrote: »

Saline

Have a nice day. I know I am

seeclear

bigaudiofanatic wrote: »

Not an optometrist but i just know after a year what i can and cant do with them in or out.

Sorry, but, no you don't. You could be doing damage to your eye without any symptoms at all. It is best to follow your doc's advice one way or another.:cool:

seeclear

billbillw wrote: »

Been wearing contacts for about 25 years.
These days, I use Walmart's Equate brand Multi-purpose solution exclusively. Buy it in a twin-pack. Its less than 1/4 the price of that other stuff. Been using it for many years with no problem. I wear 2-month disposables and have no problem getting full life out of them. If you are using 1-week or 1-month disposables, then I wouldn't worry too much. Just use the solution liberally to rinse them. They say its no rub, but I always give them a quick rub to be sure. Always wash your hands good before handling the lenses. Don't reuse solution from night to night.

Naps OK, but plan on rinsing your eyes out with solution afterwards. Sleep over-night? Never.

There have been a couple of widespread incidents in the last 2-3 years of infections related to contact lens wear, one was a fungal outbreak and the other was bacterial. In both those situations, one of the highest correlations between the patients affected was the use of generic solutions. The reason they are so cheap is that they are solution systems which have been passed by by newer and better solution systems. After use for years, many patients may have developed sensitivities (allergies) to these older solutions and get irritation from them. Also, even if you have bought the same "brand" for years, you may be getting totally different formulations, as the large retailers bid out the contract for those solutions every six months or so, therefore you (or your doc) never really know what you are using.

You are right about rubbing the lenses, I always tell patients to rub them gently every time they remove them. If you read the instructions on the "no-rub" systems, they say to spray each side of the lens with a steady stream of solution for 5 seconds:eek::eek::eek:, which is intended to remove protein, lipids, and other deposits, as well as naturally-occurring bacteria from the lens before it goes in the soak for overnight. I feel a rub is more effective in achieving that end without using SO MUCH solution.

You are also right about washing hands and not reusing solution.;)

seeclear

MacLeod wrote: »

I take naps all the time in my contacts and have no problems. I have also slept in them (usually after lots of drinking and forgetting to take them out) and the only real drawback is that my eyes are dry as a bone the next morning. I dont recommend sleeping in them but taking naps is fine.

As for solution - Opti-Free by Alcon is the best stuff Ive found. Ive tried everything and the Equate was the worst. I get up at 5:30 AM and by 2 PM my eyes were totally dry and bugging the crap out of me. Other name brands got me til about 5 PM before they dried out. With the Opti-Free I can make it til midnight or later before they start bugging me. It costs more but as with most things, you get what you pay for.

You should really follow your doc's recommendation regarding whether you should sleep, nap, or whatever in your lenses. That dry feeling the next morning is not necessarily dryness, it can be a symptom of significant hypoxia (lack of sufficient oxygen) in the cornea. If you want or need to use that type of a wearing schedule, just tell your doc that is what you want/need to do; there are lots of options these days that would allow you to do that much more safely.

TroyD

candyliquor35m wrote: »

Have a nice day. I know I am

Stick it, Carl.

seeclear

phuz wrote: »

Naps, no big deal. Sleeping, not if you can help it. I wore extended wear lenses for a long long time and slept with them in for probably 12+ years. These were the lenses you are supposed to be able to wear for 30 days at a time.

When I went to get Lasik, I had blood vessels growing over my cornea because my eyes weren't getting any oxygen while sleeping.

If you had "30 day" lenses for that long, I can guarantee you that there are better options for overnight wear now. The measurement of oxygen permeability of a contact lens is Dk; suffice it to say that a higher Dk is more oxygen permeable and therefore healthier for your eye. Up until about 4-5 years ago, even the lenses that were approved for up to 30 days continuous wear had a max Dk of no more than 30 or 40. Now, with silicone hydrogel materials, I give patients lenses with Dk's of 100 to 140. We see LOTS of neovascularization (those blood vessels you referenced above), not to mention greatly increased risk of infection and inflammation with overnight wear of the lower Dk lenses, but overnight wear is exponentially safer with the materials we have now.

One way of measuring whether the cornea is getting enough oxygen behind a closed eyelid is to measure how much swelling has occurred overnight; normal is 1 or 2 % with no contact lens on. Low Dk lenses could produce 9-10% or more, and under those conditions those blood vessels are growin' like mad. With the silicone hydrogel, high Dk materials, you can see 1% or sometimes EVEN LESS swelling overnight, meaning that the material is somehow acting like an oxygen pump to the cornea. So don't give up on overnight wear, if someone really wants that option; it is much safer now than it was when you did it before your lasik.

seeclear

Two more things before I sign off for tonight--

1- Sorry it took awhile for me to respond, when I got home my internet connection was down, so after troubleshooting for an hour or more, I finally reverted back to my dialup. Whoohoo.

2- This applies to EVERYONE and EVERY TYPE OF CONTACT LENS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION!!!!--->

DO NOT DO ANY TYPE OF IN-WATER ACTIVITY (swimming, whether in pools (treated water) or not, hot tubbing, snorkeling, scuba, etc) WITH YOUR CONTACTS IN. ACANTHAMOEBA KERATITIS IS A BEYOTCH YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH. IT IS NOT WORTH IT.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=ACANTHAMOEBA+KERATITIS&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

It is very difficult to treat, as the amoeba that causes it is not as primitive an organism as a bacterium or virus, therefore to target it and kill it without damaging your own tissues is difficult if not impossible. Sometimes the only treatment is to remove the diseased tissue and do a corneal transplant. Do yourselves a favor and take your contacts out before you get in the water. (showering is OK as long as you don't let water in your eyes, within reason)

I'm out. Any other ?'s I will have to get to tomorrow.

F1nut

Sleeping in Contacts?

I prefer sleeping in a bed.

danger boy

I have been sleeping, napping etc in my soft disposable contacts for years... not the same pair of course. I love it.

My eye doc has me using Johnson & Johnson - Acuvue Oasys with Hydraclear Plus. They are like the most comfy contacts I have ever worn. I swear most days I can't tell I even have them in.

Have been wearing contacts since 1980 without any problems. None at all. I'm sure my eyes could use more oxygen, but this is what works for me.

Gadabout

I forget the Dk rating of my lenese but it is above 100, they are 2 month disposables.

I wear them for a week, take them out for one night. Put them in for another week. Usually throw them away after 2 months.

That was the directions from the doc that prescribed them. Guess I have been wearing contacts of various types for close to 30 years now.

Scott

audiobliss

Thanks so much for all the information, seeclear! I really appreciate it!

Fireman32

Seeclear great info. I stopped wearing contact's. My eyes are sensitive and I was putting way to much eye drops in every day so I switched to glasses. I think I already need a stronger perscripton. Man getting old sucks.