«Sleeping with contact lenses: what consequences for my child’s vision?»

“My son has been wearing contact lenses for myopia for a couple of years. He often happens to fall asleep without taking them off and he wakes up in the morning with his eyes “glued” and red. Can sleeping in contact lenses be harmful to your eyesight?”

He answers Andrew Lemboophthalmologist, San Giuseppe – Multimedica Hospital, Milan (GO TO THE FORUM)

The usage of contact lenses to alternate with glasses it is now widespread, especially among adolescents. In some selected cases, it can be brought forward to second childhood, subject to the opinion of the ophthalmologist and the support of a good contact lens optician who accompanies the family in the correct use of the device.

This is plausible today thanks to the advent of increasingly comfortable materialsas well as the healthy habit of practicing sport, when the contact lens can have advantages in the quality of vision (especially for high refractive defects). In some situations contact lenses are considered of real prostheses suitable for the development of correct vision (just think of the children operated on for congenital cataracts).

Obviously, as in many paramedical devices, there are dark sides that should not be underestimated. It is indeed breaks the habit of abusing contact lensesall the more so during sleep. In these moments, the right level of alertness is lost and the lachrymation is less able to tolerate a “silicone plug” on the corneal surface.

The risk of developing bacterial keratoconjunctivitisthat is to say infections of the cornea and conjunctivais not negligible, and this may result in direct effects on vision, making opaque what must always remain transparent. Bacteria love the heat and the dark, and survive better under these circumstances. The cornea has no blood vessels of its own, so it needs direct access to oxygen to preserve its epithelial cells. The eyeIn the end, in order to work well it requires that all its dioptric means (starting from the cornea, the most exposed to external insults) remain transparent.

In the specific case of your son, a careful and conscientious surveillance is a must. My advise is that of Not do wear lenses for more than 8-10 hours a day (subject to exceptions to be discussed with your ophthalmologist), and of avoid using it during rest or when the eye hurtswhen it launches signs of impatience, such as poor or excessive tearing, in case of redness or blurred vision, as well as strong discomfort in the light.

Listening to your body is the first rule, nature always tries to protect us. This speech it does not apply to FDA-approved sleep lenses or for orthokeratological, i.e. night wear lenseswhich have a therapeutic rationale known in the literature, with critical issues to be analyzed always with the treating ophthalmologist.