Contact Lens for Extended Wear

Overnight Contact Lens for Extended Wear

Most extended wear lenses are FDA-approved to be worn without removal for up to seven days. A new type of soft contact lens material, silicone hydrogel, is considered "super-permeable," and some lenses made from this material are approved for up to 30 days of wear without removal. One gas permeable lens brand is also approved for 30 days of wear. This 30-day type of extended wear is sometimes referred to as "continuous wear."

Today, overnight wear of contact lenses isn't completely taboo. So what changed?

• The introduction of disposability helped to address some of the health concerns about extended wear. Previously, extended wear lenses were removed weekly, but they were re-used week after week, for months. Although the lenses were cleaned with some type of lens care system, it was impossible to remove all the proteins, lipids, and other deposits that collected on the lens. These deposits formed a potential breeding ground for infection-causing organisms, and caused inflammation and discomfort.
  

• Today, extended wear lenses are typically disposable. If you sleep in your lenses, not only do you remove them at least once a week, but you throw them out each week and start with a fresh pair. This avoids long-term deposit buildup and promotes eye health.
   
• A new generation of contact lenses — silicone hydrogels — provide much more oxygen to the eye than conventional soft lenses. Not only do these materials make overnight wear a safer option than before, they deliver so much oxygen to the cornea that some brands of silicone hydrogel lenses are approved for 30 days of continuous wear.
   
• Many wearers have adopted "flexible wear." This calls for using extended wear contact lenses, but typically removing them each night. However, when you want to sleep in them — during a weekend camping trip, for example, or even for an afternoon nap — you can safely do so.

Extended Wear Risk

Despite these improvements, sleeping in contact lenses still carries a greater risk of complications than does nightly removal of lenses. If you wear extended wear lenses, you can reduce your risk of developing an infection by following your doctor's instructions for lens replacement and care. Studies show that many infections and other complications are related to improper cleaning and disinfecting. If you use disposable extended wear lenses, you can bypass most of the lens care. In that case, it's critical to discard and replace your lenses as instructed by your eye care professional. This usually means weekly — or, in the case of 30-day continuous wear — monthly replacement.
Exposure to smoke, swimming with lenses, and previous acute red-eye reactions also have been shown to be risk factors for extended wear contact lens complications. Young males also tend to experience more complications from sleeping in lenses.