Sleeping in 1 Day Acuvue Contact Lens

Eagleye · #1 (**permalink**) 02-28-2008, 01:44 PM

1 Day Acuvue contacts are not to be slept in, right? I've heard that before, but I've never really gotten an explanation why. Does it have something to do with oxygen?

bubble · #2 (**permalink**) 07-01-2008, 03:11 PM

Yes. As you sleep, the eye cannot clean itself properly becasue the lens is in the way. This causes the lens to dry up and effectively stick to your eye. Not a nice thing to experience at all...trust me on that one!

elvenrunelord · #3 (**permalink**) 07-04-2008, 01:06 AM

Your eye needs to have time to clean and repair itself from the damage of the day and with the lens in the way it can't do so.

psimonk · #4 (**permalink**) 01-04-2009, 03:43 PM

Yeah, it isn't pretty falling asleep with any lens in your eye, especially the disposeable ones, I have heard some really horrible stories.

Eagleye · #5 (**permalink**) 08-31-2009, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubble

Yes. As you sleep, the eye cannot clean itself properly because the lens is in the way.

So . . . it's about dirt and not oxygen?

Eagleye · #6 (**permalink**) 08-31-2009, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elvenrunelord

Your eye needs to have time to clean and repair itself from the damage of the day and with the lens in the way it can't do so.

You said your eyes need to have "time to clean and repair" themselves. From what? Isn't that why we blink all day long? I suppose you're not blinking when you're sleeping, but you're not letting contaminants in either.

I still think it's more about your eyes breathing, not about them bathing.

Anyone else want to give it a try?

alyssa · #7 (**permalink**) 09-03-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagleye

1 Day Acuvue contacts are not to be slept in, right? I've heard that before, but I've never really gotten an explanation why. Does it have something to do with oxygen?

actually never slept on it..its scary i guess since i heard a story of one or two of our local celebrities whose using contact lenses who suffered an infection due to not taking it off while sleeping.. and it nearly damaged their eyes..if not been attended to..

Eagleye · #8 (**permalink**) 09-04-2009, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alyssa

actually never slept on it..its scary i guess since i heard a story of one or two of our local celebrities whose using contact lenses who suffered an infection due to not taking it off while sleeping.. and it nearly damaged their eyes..if not been attended to..

A year or two there was a boxer who innocently cleaned one of his contact lenses in his mouth and nearly lost his sight in that eye due to an infection. His story is here on Lens 101, I just can't remember his name.

Make sure to follow your eye care professional's advice.

alyssa · #9 (**permalink**) 09-15-2009, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagleye

A year or two there was a boxer who innocently cleaned one of his contact lenses in his mouth and nearly lost his sight in that eye due to an infection. His story is here on Lens 101, I just can't remember his name.

Make sure to follow your eye care professional's advice.

at least you posted it here for everybody to read and be aware of the consequences..

alyssa · #10 (**permalink**) 09-15-2009, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubble

Yes. As you sleep, the eye cannot clean itself properly becasue the lens is in the way. This causes the lens to dry up and effectively stick to your eye. Not a nice thing to experience at all...trust me on that one!

i agree with you on this one..its really scary...

Eagleye · #11 (**permalink**) 09-15-2009, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alyssa

at least you posted it here for everybody to read and be aware of the consequences..

That's why Lens 101 is here. So we can all learn from each other. It's a pretty good deal.

savvyeyty · #12 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubble

Yes. As you sleep, the eye cannot clean itself properly becasue the lens is in the way. This causes the lens to dry up and effectively stick to your eye. Not a nice thing to experience at all...trust me on that one!

Gee. Does it hurt when you remove the lens at that situation?

savvyeyty · #13 (**permalink**) 09-21-2009, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagleye

A year or two there was a boxer who innocently cleaned one of his contact lenses in his mouth and nearly lost his sight in that eye due to an infection. His story is here on Lens 101, I just can't remember his name.

Make sure to follow your eye care professional's advice.

For real? Thanks for sharing that here. Besides that I gained additional information about contact lenses, I just really like hearing those kinds of stories.

I'm gonna look for it if its here.

PeriBrown · #14 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savvyeyty

For real? Thanks for sharing that here. Besides that I gained additional information about contact lenses, I just really like hearing those kinds of stories.

I'm gonna look for it if its here.

The boxer's name is Anthony Mundine. Do a search for his name and you'll find his story here on Lens 101. It's not a very happy one, I'm afraid.

PeriBrown · #15 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elvenrunelord

Your eye needs to have time to clean and repair itself from the damage of the day and with the lens in the way it can't do so.

If that was true than you would not be able to wear any contact lenses overnight, would you? There are plenty of contact lenses out there that are perfectly safe to sleep in all night for several nights.

Look around Lens 101 and see if you can find a post that compares contact lenses to paper plates. That's a pretty good one.

Eagleye · #16 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeriBrown

The boxer's name is Anthony Mundine. Do a search for his name and you'll find his story here on Lens 101. It's not a very happy one, I'm afraid.

Yes, Anthony Mundine. That was his name. Thanks for your research Peri Brown.

nakchura · #17 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeriBrown

The boxer's name is Anthony Mundine. Do a search for his name and you'll find his story here on Lens 101. It's not a very happy one, I'm afraid.

Gosh! Poor guy. I did hear that our saliva is really dangerous since it has many harmful bacteria and some acids in it. Its just not harmful to ourselves since we have our own defense mechanisms for it. I just didn't think it would also hurt even our eye. Gee.

nakchura · #18 (**permalink**) 09-22-2009, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeriBrown

If that was true than you would not be able to wear any contact lenses overnight, would you? There are plenty of contact lenses out there that are perfectly safe to sleep in all night for several nights.

Look around Lens 101 and see if you can find a post that compares contact lenses to paper plates. That's a pretty good one.

But what if it is true after all and that it just takes a long time not to be able to function well if you wear your lenses night and day.

I have to ask this to my doctor.

Privateyez · #19 (**permalink**) 09-23-2009, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nakchura

But what if it is true after all and that it just takes a long time not to be able to function well if you wear your lenses night and day.

I have to ask this to my doctor.

That's a good idea, nakchura. As long as you follow your eye doctor's advice and he or she can watch your progress, you shouldn't have any major problems.

Eagleye · #20 (**permalink**) 10-14-2009, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nakchura

Gosh! Poor guy. I did hear that our saliva is really dangerous since it has many harmful bacteria and some acids in it. Its just not harmful to ourselves since we have our own defense mechanisms for it. I just didn't think it would also hurt even our eye. Gee.

Have you read the article about Mr. Mundine? It's a sad story alright. I hope he bounces back, but he may want to re-think this getting punched for a living thing.

As far as defense mechanisms against our own saliva, I think it's more along the lines of being immune to our own germs.

Not only that, but think about the eye itself. If you have soap on your hands, that's probably a good thing. You get that same soap in your eyes . . .

Privateyez · #21 (**permalink**) 12-07-2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagleye

Have you read the article about Mr. Mundine? It's a sad story alright. I hope he bounces back, but he may want to re-think this getting punched for a living thing.

As far as defense mechanisms against our own saliva, I think it's more along the lines of being immune to our own germs.

Not only that, but think about the eye itself. If you have soap on your hands, that's probably a good thing. You get that same soap in your eyes . . .

Exactly Eagleye. Saliva in your mouth is a good thing. In your eyes, it's not so great. Cleaning your contacts in your mouth is a very bad idea because--unless you're exceptionally talented--you will need to handle your contacts with you fingers to get them from your eye to your mouth and back, and if you don't wash your hands, there's a potential for infection there.
That's in addition to the other reasons discussed above.

Knotlob · #22 (**permalink**) 12-07-2009, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagleye

You said your eyes need to have "time to clean and repair" themselves. From what? Isn't that why we blink all day long? I suppose you're not blinking when you're sleeping, but you're not letting contaminants in either.

I still think it's more about your eyes breathing, not about them bathing.

Anyone else want to give it a try?

Yes, I'll give it a try!! I have to say that I agree with Eagleye. It's about the eye breathing (oxygen supply) more than any cleaning/repair of the eye in my opinion (since as already mentioned, silicone hydrogel lenses can sometimes be worn during sleep).

The 1 Day Acuvue lens is made of Etafilcon A, which has a Dk (i.e. oxygen permeability) value of 28. This is much lower than the better Silicone Hydrogel lenses (some of which can be worn sleeping), with a typical Dk value of 100+. e.g. Comfilcon A has a Dk of 128.

The cornea is living tissue, so needs oxygen, but it has no capillaries to bring it blood and oxygen, as these capillaries would interfere with clear vision. Oxygen is supplied via the tear film and the air around the lens (when the eye is open). The contact lens is a physical barrier, which will restrict the oxygen flow to the cornea somewhat. Therefore, wearing time must be limited to protect the cornea, otherwise the eye will develop capillary growth initially in the conjunctiva (white of the eye) and if the situation is not corrected, then capillaries will grow into the cornea (bad news!).

At night, the eye lids are closed so oxygen must come from the capillaries in the inside of the eyelids. Even without contact lenses, the oxygen supply to the cornea under these conditions is lower than it would be in daytime. It follows that if you sleep with conventional low oxygen permeability contact lenses in, your eyes will receive even less oxygen and this will accelerate the capillary growth into the cornea.

I don't know anyone who has had lenses stuck to their eyes, etc. but as it is reported here, then I guess that is a possibility also.

EDIT: I should just add that if your eyes/contact lenses become too dry (as in sleeping), that this will interfere with the oxygen flow to the cornea via the tear film.

Naturally, the latest generation silicone hydrogel lenses with high oxygen permeability reduce this oxygen deficiency problem and the eye doctor may allow the lenses to be worn 24/7 if your eyes are healthy enough.

knotlob

Englishteacher1 · #23 (**permalink**) 12-07-2009, 04:13 PM

Thank you knotlob for the clear explanation as to why wearing contacts at night decreases the oxygen that your corneas get.

Thanks also to Privateyez for posting the picture of that girl with the impressive tongue.

Privateyez · #24 (**permalink**) 12-30-2009, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knotlob

The cornea is living tissue, so needs oxygen, but it has no capillaries to bring it blood and oxygen, as these capillaries would interfere with clear vision. Oxygen is supplied via the tear film and the air around the lens (when the eye is open). The contact lens is a physical barrier, which will restrict the oxygen flow to the cornea somewhat. Therefore, wearing time must be limited to protect the cornea, otherwise the eye will develop capillary growth initially in the conjunctiva (white of the eye) and if the situation is not corrected, then capillaries will grow into the cornea (bad news!).

At night, the eye lids are closed so oxygen must come from the capillaries in the inside of the eyelids. Even without contact lenses, the oxygen supply to the cornea under these conditions is lower than it would be in daytime. It follows that if you sleep with conventional low oxygen permeability contact lenses in, your eyes will receive even less oxygen and this will accelerate the capillary growth into the cornea.

knotlob

Thanks for taking the time to explain why sleeping in contacts that were not designed for it is a bad idea. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. I think pretty much everyone can understand it.

zynp · #25 (**permalink**) 02-12-2010, 02:58 AM

one day disposable lenses are producted for using only one day. they may cause some problems if you not take off as sleeping. this kind of contact lenses are very fine and easily can be damaged. you should take them off at night. but there's nothing about to worry if you fall asleep in day time, for a short while. besides you souldn't sleep during night with your any kind of contact lenses. the eye couldn't be able to clean itself if lenses are in your eyes. so there will be lipid and dirt deposits on your lenses when you woke up -which is not healty and hygienic for your eyes. so be careful if you don't want to damage your eyes in long term.

Knotlob · #26 (**permalink**) 02-12-2010, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zynp

one day disposable lenses are producted for using only one day. they may cause some problems if you not take off as sleeping. this kind of contact lenses are very fine and easily can be damaged. you should take them off at night. but there's nothing about to worry if you fall asleep in day time, for a short while. besides you souldn't sleep during night with your any kind of contact lenses. the eye couldn't be able to clean itself if lenses are in your eyes. so there will be lipid and dirt deposits on your lenses when you woke up -which is not healty and hygienic for your eyes. so be careful if you don't want to damage your eyes in long term.

Hello zynp, Welcome to Lens101 and thanks for your post.

I wouldn't get too hung up about falling asleep during the day time for 20-30mins with lenses in. If I was flying and wanted to try and sleep for 4 hours of so then I would take them out. Aircraft cabin air is also rather dry usually, so it doesn't help contact lens comfort anyway.

You can sleep with some extended wear silicone hydrogel lenses, if your contact lens eye care practitioner agrees this is OK. You would need to take them out and clean them every 7 days. These lenses don't suit everybody of course and allergies and/or excess protein/lipid deposits may be a problem in some cases. Personally I would not wear lenses 24/7 unless I needed to do so, as the risk of eye infection is approximately 5 times higher than if you wear the lenses during awake hours only.

I think there is work under way by contact lens manufacturers to plasma coat their lenses with a selenium compound, which will act as a bactericide to improve eye health during contact lens wear. That is probably 2 years or so away, pending Regulatory Approval.

knotlob

Guinness · #27 (**permalink**) 02-12-2010, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zynp

one day disposable lenses are producted for using only one day. they may cause some problems if you not take off as sleeping. this kind of contact lenses are very fine and easily can be damaged. you should take them off at night. but there's nothing about to worry if you fall asleep in day time, for a short while. besides you souldn't sleep during night with your any kind of contact lenses. the eye couldn't be able to clean itself if lenses are in your eyes. so there will be lipid and dirt deposits on your lenses when you woke up -which is not healty and hygienic for your eyes. so be careful if you don't want to damage your eyes in long term.

As usual, I agree with Knotlob. There are extended wear contact lenses that are fine to sleep in. Taking short naps in daily disposable contact lenses is reasonably safe, but probably not as safe as spending the night with extended wear contacts under your eyelids.