Laziness with contact lenses

I have monthly contacts, but dont wear them every day. Is it safe to leave them in the solution for 2 days or so without changing the solution?

I am also a bit lazy with cleaning. I dont clean every day. If I am really tired, I will give it a miss and just put the contacts in the container with fresh solution without rubbing or anything.

Am I heading towards an eye infection, or is this OK? Any stories to scare me into being more careful?

Thanks.

ps. I am very hygenic with contacts, thoroughly wash hands and dry with a fresh towel every time etc.

Reply 1

Ollie87

1

I do exactly the same as you - I only wear mine two or three times per week, in fact. I leave them in the same solution for days at a time. I've been wearing them for over a year now and haven't had an infection yet.

Reply 2

niamhster

10

If you do this long term, in the long run you can end up damaging your eyes and may end up no longer being able to wear contacts.

Best to be careful, why dont you get the fresh pair dailies where there is no cleaning involved, after you take them out at night, you just throw them away and put in a fresh pair in the morning! :smile:

Reply 3

jasperstory

9

I should have an infection.

I have had one contact lens (lost the other) for 9 months now. And its only a monthly one.

No problems here!

(I am not proud of my despicable behaviour. I will get my eyes seen soon.)

Reply 4

niamhster

10

jasperstory

(I am not proud of my despicable behaviour. I will get my eyes seen soon.)

Good boy!!! :biggrin:

Reply 5

oxygenbubbles

2

thatguy

I have monthly contacts, but dont wear them every day. Is it safe to leave them in the solution for 2 days or so without changing the solution?

I am also a bit lazy with cleaning. I dont clean every day. If I am really tired, I will give it a miss and just put the contacts in the container with fresh solution without rubbing or anything.

I really wouldn't advise doing so. I used to be 'lazy' about my contact lense care, by taking the same approach with you and ended up with an ulcer on my right cornea. It's not the nicest thing in the world. On top of the considerable amount of pain, it means going to casualty, staying away from contacts (and yes, this means wearing glasses for up to a month :eek:

)

Reply 6

Profesh

20

I'm the worst. Really.

In fact were I to go into any further detail, you'd probably swoon from the raw shock.

Reply 7

Leisure17

8

jasperstory

I should have an infection.

I have had one contact lens (lost the other) for 9 months now. And its only a monthly one.

No problems here!

(I am not proud of my despicable behaviour. I will get my eyes seen soon.)

Not good.
I guess everyone here knows that there are different kind of contaclenses and some are designed to last up to two years. That kind is constructed to last that long and also to guarantee that the amount of oxgen they let through is enough. Others "clog up" and let less oxygen through. It is a bit like pores. Now the oxygen is VERY important, because the cornea does not get it's oxygen throuhg blood (i.e. there normally aren't any vessels there) but "takes" oxygen out of the air touching it. With the contacts on the amount of oxygen that reaches the cornea is reduced (like a shield) and that can cause serious damage such as ulcers. They can alter your sight altogether. A longterm problem is the "sprouting" of new vessels in the cornea in an attempt to feed oxygen to it via the blood. Not good at all!
Either get the longterm lenses or only use the others as they were intended.

Reply 8

*Sub

1

yeah i had problems after a while with the monthly ones... abrasions on top of my eye... painful :s-smilie:

Reply 9

liuqnh

Same thing happend to me. Using the monthyly ones, after a week, it's just not fit anymore...sometimes my eye hurts in the middle of the day when i'm out...not feeling well at all....I'll start taking care of it now...hope it's not too late.

Reply 10

Juno

20

I used to do that, but now I've changed to dailies as I decided it wasn't worth risking anything.

Reply 11

dogtanian

16

My contact lenses can be left in the same solution for a few days without changing, as long as I rinse and clean them properly when I do wear them.

actually, I think it might be as much as a week.

Reply 12

never_ending

12

ok i'm seriously worried now. For the past 2 years or so i have been wearing monthly contact lenses, leaving them in for 2 months continuously without ever taking them out or cleaning them. I've never had a problem, but am i risking ulcers on my cornea? ****.

Reply 13

dogtanian

16

never_ending

ok i'm seriously worried now. For the past 2 years or so i have been wearing monthly contact lenses, leaving them in for 2 months continuously without ever taking them out or cleaning them. I've never had a problem, but am i risking ulcers on my cornea? ****.

What, you mean 24/7 type thing?

Have you booked an appointment to get your eyes checked recently?

Reply 14

john !!

14

what!? thats the stupidest thing ever..

you wore monthly contact lenses, for two months solid? without taking them out!??

Id be seriously worried right now...

Reply 15

Leisure17

8

never_ending

ok i'm seriously worried now. For the past 2 years or so i have been wearing monthly contact lenses, leaving them in for 2 months continuously without ever taking them out or cleaning them. I've never had a problem, but am i risking ulcers on my cornea? ****.

Yep! Not only that, but infections, that can result in scarring of the cornea
(-> alter your sight, ie. make it worse), sprouting of new vessels which you really don't want.
Allways take the lenses out at night or at least for a minimum of 5h in 24h (actually should be 12h) because of that oxygen issue.
And even though they might be a bit more expensive the lenses made to last for 1-2 years are by far better. An alternative are "hard" contact lenses, they do not occlude the eye as much but are not suited to all types of sight disorder and not everybody can take them.
Just remember you do not want to damage your cornea, because it is one of the most important parts of your eye.

Reply 16

dancingqueen

11

I'm a contacts wearer, and whilst I'm not too bad with them, sometimes I skip the rubbing part and put them straight in the solution. But I was really scared the other day- I watched 'City Hospital' on BBC1, and it featured a woman who had an infection from soft monthly contact lenses (which I wear). The doctor said if she'd come into hospital any later she could have risked losing an eye! That really freaked me out- does anyone know how common this is?

Reply 17

Rooftopcowboy

12

I hardly ever rub my to clean them, just sling them straight in solution to be honest..and Ive never had any problems.

Reply 18

oxygenbubbles

2

Leisure17

Not good.
I guess everyone here knows that there are different kind of contaclenses and some are designed to last up to two years. That kind is constructed to last that long and also to guarantee that the amount of oxgen they let through is enough. Others "clog up" and let less oxygen through. It is a bit like pores. Now the oxygen is VERY important, because the cornea does not get it's oxygen throuhg blood (i.e. there normally aren't any vessels there) but "takes" oxygen out of the air touching it. With the contacts on the amount of oxygen that reaches the cornea is reduced (like a shield) and that can cause serious damage such as ulcers. They can alter your sight altogether. A longterm problem is the "sprouting" of new vessels in the cornea in an attempt to feed oxygen to it via the blood. Not good at all!
Either get the longterm lenses or only use the others as they were intended.

How many times can you say the word oxygen in one go?! :p:

Reply 19

oxygenbubbles

2

never_ending

ok i'm seriously worried now. For the past 2 years or so i have been wearing monthly contact lenses, leaving them in for 2 months continuously without ever taking them out or cleaning them. I've never had a problem, but am i risking ulcers on my cornea? ****.

You're lucky you haven't gone blind! You should probably go and get your eyes checked out, you might have developed some sort of infection, dead cells surrounding the eyes, areas of dryness. All of which mean you can't wear contacts until the problem is solved. Didn't the MONTHLY part of monthly contacts indicate you could only wear them for one month?

Laziness with contact lenses

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