PSA: Never…EVER…shower, sleep, swim in contact lenses.
See the Mom influencer that went blind after showering in her contact lenses. The dangers of showering (sleeping, swimming) in contact lenses.
Showering in contact lenses can lead to blinding consequences. Click HERE to read more.
This young lady on instagram (@rachelprochnow) shared her tragic story publicly about the blinding consequences of showering in contact lenses. She developed acanthamoeba keratitis and lost vision in her right eye from showering in her contact lenses (on top of that - she was 34 weeks pregnant - so sad!).
This is THE MOST common bad habit I see on a daily basis as an optometrist. Why is showering (and sleeping, swimming) in contact lenses dangerous?
Risk of infection: When you wear a contact lens, it is sitting on a structure of the eye called the cornea. The cornea is a curved, clear structure that sits in front of our iris. Anytime you wear a contact lens, there is friction between the cornea and the contact lens. And this friction creates micro fissures. Micro fissures literally mean, small cracks. As a result, small cracks develop within the cornea and microbes can get into these cracks and invade the cornea. Acanthamoeba is a microbe that exits in tap water. If you regularly shower in your contact lenses, acanthamoeba can get into these cracks and can grow and multiply…quickly. The ocular surface is a perfect place for any microbe to multiple because it is warm and moist - a perfect environment. I recommend my patients to never shower or swim in contact lenses to reduce their risk of getting this horrible and blinding infection.
Can this happen when I sleep in contact lenses? YES!
The skin microbiome around our eyes and face is made up of many different bacteria, including Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas. As a result, these microbes can leak onto the ocular surface during daytime hours. Like I said above, wearing contact lenses creates small cracks within your cornea. And if you forget to remove your contact lenses when you sleep, those bacteria can grow and multiply as you sleep - and eventually making their way into those cracks in large numbers. And patients can significantly increase their risk of a bacterial infection when they wake up. For this reason, I also recommend to never sleep in contact lenses.
As a reminder - NEVER SHOWER, SLEEP OR SWIM in contact lenses!