Does your bedtime routine include removing your contact lenses?
Sometimes we just get lazy and decide that it won’t hurt this “one time” just to leave them in. Then this “one time” turns into another night, and so on and so forth.
You know that clear part of the eye that covers over the pupil and iris? That’s your cornea, and your cornea needs oxygen to stay healthy.
Contact lenses sit directly on your cornea. By leaving your contacts in while you sleep, you are essentially opening the potential of hurting your eyes over time, because you are depriving them of the oxygen they need to survive.
How to properly remove your contact lenses:
- Wash your hands with soap and water, and dry with a clean towel.
- Pull down your lower eyelid and touch the lower part of the contact with your middle, or index, finger.
- Slide the contact lens downward.
- Using your index finger and thumb, squeeze the lens gently together and remove.
- Place into the proper side of the lens container, filled with contact lens solution.
Did you know:
Your eyelids provide oxygen for your cornea. They help the cornea cleanse and refresh from a long day of dirt, environmental factors, and contact lens use. By keeping those lenses in overnight, your eyelid can’t touch the cornea, and your cornea can’t receive oxygen.
Now, do you ever wonder why your eyes look bloodshot? If you continue to leave your lenses in, your corneas will find new ways to get oxygen by growing new blood vessels. These vessels are cloudy and could end up affecting your peripheral vision. Also, since these new blood vessels are red, you end up with red, swollen, bloodshot eyes.
So, before your pretty little head hits the pillow tonight, remember to remove your contacts: Every. Single. Night. Your beautiful eyes will thank you!
You may wake up with an STD. I’m talking about a Self Transmitted Disease here, of course! A cornea that is starved of oxygen is weak and puts the entire system up for infection auction. We are talking a painful, red eye. Styes. Bacterial Conjunctivitis. The layers of the cornea may even start to erode away. And you did it to yourself.
And what could be more inconvenient than having to miss work – just to spend an hour with your optometrist and pharmacist for a problem that could have been avoided? By, yes. By simply taking your contact lens out the night before. And like a traditional STD, it only takes one time.