What are the dangers of wearing contact lenses for longer than the prescribed period?

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Ignoring the contact lens replacement schedule can lead to serious problems and be dangerous to eye health. Therefore, it is important to know the service life and change them in a timely manner.

Most contact lenses used today are soft. The most popular are:

• daily. They are thin and light. They also eliminate the need for special cases and solutions;
• used for 1-2 weeks – they need to be removed at night and placed in solution;
• monthly wear – also stored in solution at night. Experts from the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland Clinic, USA) advise making it a rule to change lenses on the first day of each month – this will make it easier to remember the date of their replacement. Or use a specific, easy-to-remember date;
• nightwear – worn at night. They have different replacement periods, usually from one week to 30 days.

Every time you wear contact lenses longer than the prescribed period or sleep in lenses that are not intended for this, you put your eyes at risk, warns optometrist Wes Immler. As a result, discomfort in the eyes or their redness may occur. More serious problems, such as corneal hypoxia, are also possible. This condition can lead to infection and other serious vision problems, including possible blindness.

Even if you don't wear your contact lenses every day, you still need to stick to a replacement schedule. As soon as you take your lenses out of their sterile packaging, they start to deteriorate—no matter how many times you've worn them, the expert warns.