Peril of Sleeping in Your Contact Lenses

Sleeping in your contact lenses and then rinsing them with tap water in the morning could be very harmful. This practise increases the risk of many eye ailments and could even result in blindness.

Dr Simon Kilvington,who is a microbiologist from the University of Leicester, has identified that the number of eye infections caused by bacteria pseudomonas and single celled acanthamoeba has been on the rise in Britain.  There are over 50 new cases being reported every year.

The cause of the infections, related to contact lenses, are  organisms that are commonly found in tap water and hard water. Dr Kilvington has warned contact lens wearers that they should not rinse their lenses in tap water but instead they should make sure that the contact lenses cleaning solution is sterile.   The easiest way is to use a sterile solution purchased from your optician.

Use Sterile Solution for Contact Lenses

The main organisms that cause damage are pseudomonas and acanthamoeba which occur naturally in the environment.  The problem is that these nasty bugs love our bathrooms, where they thrive. Rinsing or storing your contact lenses in tap water can put you in a lot of danger without you realising it.

Poor lens hygiene and discipline can result in a range of very unpleasant eye ailments.  These can include a cornea infection called microbial keratitis.This infection affects the clear frontal part of the eye where lenses sit.  If it is left untreated, it can eventually result in permanent visual damage – and, in extreme cases, blindness.

Here in Britain we are at more risk than Europeans because of the large number of domestic water-storage tanks.

Dr Kilvington said: ‘Pseudomonas and acanthamoeba occur naturally in the environment, but particularly in bathrooms.  Water storage tanks in the loft of many houses, are used for flushing the toilet and sometimes feeding the cold tap in the bathroom.  Unfotunately the tanks can be crawling with microscopic bugs. Rinsing or storing your contact lenses in tap water really can get you in a lot of trouble.

To be extra safe, have regular eye-checks, clean your contact lenses in sterile solution, and don’t keep them in your bathroom.