Extended Wear Contact Lenses

Is it OK to sleep in extended wear contacts?

The convenience extended wear lenses provide is amazing. Imagine your contacts being put in on Monday morning and you get to forget all about them for a whole week, maybe even a month. You can leave your lens care paraphernalia at home and go on a weekend trip, party, or overnight jaunt without worrying about storage, replacement or cleaning.

Standard contact lenses should only be worn until you fall asleep. When worn with your eyes mostly open they provide enough air for the cornea to stay healthy and comfortable. If however, you close your eyes when you go back to bed (and most of us do), it reduces the amount of oxygen available, which can affect the quality of your contact lens' breathability. The condition of corneal hypoxia is a serious problem that can be caused by sleeping with standard contacts in your eyes - so don't do that!

So as you can see, there are safety concerns when wearing contact lenses while sleeping. If you're considering switching to 24/7 lenses, talk with your optometrist. It is absolutely necessary that you have a consultation first before buying as the lens must be appropriate for the patient's needs. This is not a decision you should make on your own.

Contact lenses for extended wear are made to give your eyes as much oxygen as possible. Most can be worn continuously for 7-14 days and nights, some for as long as 30 days and nights with no risk to your eyes health. Contact lens manufacturers have invented new, ultra-breathable materials that are extremely permeable to oxygen and have come up with innovative designs to reduce the thickness of lenses while improving or maintaining their visual performance. Extended wear contact lenses, which aren't removed for many days also use special technologies to prevent deposits from building up on their surface. They are comfortable and offer excellent vision during the entire duration of their life span.

One of the most important characteristics of contact lenses is oxygen permeability, this is shown as Dk/t and is also used to denote the lens thickness. Oxygen permeability refers to how much oxygen can pass through a lens into the cornea. This is crucial, especially at night. The cornea receives only 30% more oxygen when the eyelids remain closed. This is why oxygen permeability is the most critical factor in determining whether a product should be used during sleep. Different contact lens manufacturers offer different levels as safe for sleep. You might be surprised at how many products have been approved to be used during sleep. When choosing lenses for continuous wear, it is important to follow the advice of your eye doctor. When making your decision, it is worthwhile to start with the most breathable first.

Do i need to look after my extended wear contact lenses?

Remember that your lenses will last for only a limited amount of time. You need to replace them in line with the manufacturer's recommendations or, more importantly, your eye specialist. Continuous wear lenses require this because they are often worn for long periods of time without cleaning. If the lens is not cleaned or disinfected frequently, then protein deposits will eventually form. This can result in complications and infection. While the lenses' materials are highly resistant to the buildup of deposits, this is still a very individual matter. It is best to follow the replacement schedule recommended for you. A quality lens care solution can help keep your contacts in great shape.

We only feature trusted brands, which are proven safe and have been recommended by optometrists worldwide for many years. Air Optix Night & Day Aqua is currently the most breathable lens on the marketplace. Its Dk/t rate is 175 for a power -3.00. Although oxygen permeability varies depending on the lens' spherical power, Dk/t was used for comparison. Acuvue Oasys can have 147 Dk/t and Biofinity lenses can boast oxygen permeability as high as 160 Dk/t. PureVision 2 & PureVision 2 for Presbyopia have a 130 Dk/t. The values of the parameter may vary between the lenses. For example, Biofinity Toric and PureVision 2 for Presbyopia vary significantly. These lenses are still oxygen-permeable enough to be worn while you sleep.

As we have noted, if you are looking for lenses for continuous wear, make sure to consult a specialist. Also, never use lenses that have not been designed for this purpose. It is possible to have complications when you sleep in lenses that have low oxygen permeability or inadequate hydration and these are best avoided for your health and comfort.

Optyk Rozmus offers a wide range of brands and types of continuous use lenses. This gives our customers plenty of choices. We tend to recommend Air Optix contact lenses which is why they make up the majority of this collection. They come in two main types: Air Optix Night & Day Aqua, for people who are short-sighted or long-sighted, and Air Optix Aqua + HydraGlyde to people who have astigmatism or presbyopia.

Acuvue Oasys has been approved for continuous 7-day and 6-night wear, Purevision can be worn up to 30 consecutive days, and Biofinity Lenses are available in Multifocal and Toric options.

It's worth Considering extended wear contact lenses and there's a good chance you won't go back to regular contacts if you make the switch.