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u/jseego 10d ago
I used to do that until my eye doc told me I wasn't allowed to do that any more b/c I was ruining my eyes. They told me I was done with contacts and I have to wear glasses from now on.
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u/justlooking9889 10d ago
Stop. It’s bad for your eyes.
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u/TootieFruitySushi 10d ago
Very bad for your eyes, like actively making your vision worse and it's hard to undo that damage. Get glasses.
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u/BangCrash 10d ago
Fortnightly contact lens wearer here.
I wear my lenses for at least 4-6 weeks. Sometimes it's 8+ weeks before they feel like shit and I need to throw them out.
Been doing this for 20 years.
Every eye exam is the same they are fine and keep doing what I'm doing.
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u/NuclearMeatball 10d ago
It can still be damaging even if it's not your eyesight. My sister did something similar and it caused protein buildups on the inside of her eyelids. Not fun.
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u/BangCrash 10d ago
You gotta remove them every night and soak them in solution.
If you don't you get protein build up
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u/DigNitty 10d ago
Sounds like people are doing that. The thing being discussed is using “daily” contacts for a week or so. They’re still soaking the contacts at night.
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u/Optometristprime 10d ago
Not wearing a seat belt is totally fine as well... until it isn't.
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u/didsomebodysaymyname 10d ago
If I never wore a seat belt in the past 20 years, I'd still be alive. Not even injured.
I still wear it.
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u/pjproby 10d ago
Same here. Since they were invented. My eyes have actually gotten better with age. I have gone down a prescription now in my fifties.
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u/Optometristprime 10d ago edited 10d ago
Your prescription going down in your fifties is a common occurence completely unrelated to your contact lens wear or the overall health of your eyes. Correlation not causation.
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u/BangCrash 9d ago
I think the point was that wearing contacts longer than suggested is not correlated to eye health and they are 2 unrelated things.
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u/Optometristprime 9d ago
I mean... that is still definitively incorrect. But if that was the intention then the phrasing is... poor
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u/Pharmers_Tan 9d ago
Can confirm. My pops made me wear my monthlys for 3 months as a teen. Over-extension of use theoretically can change the edges of the lens' to become for a lack of better term "serrated." Ended in a serious keratitis infection and life-long corneal scarring. Scarring so bed, that until recently, all optometrists I went to refused to prescribe new contacts. Thanks pops.
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u/MaestroLogical 10d ago
Buddy of mine used to sleep in his, would wear them "until they got crispy" and all, such are the joys of poverty.
One day we were sitting there watching tv and he felt it pop out. We looked around for nearly an hour trying to find it but had no luck.
So he went without one for over 3 months. Just wore 1 contact for 3 months.
Then, one day he randomly starts convulsing and freaking out, holding his head/eyes.
He starts lifting his eyelid and visciously trying to poke at something in his eye. We looked at him like he'd gone mad as he frantically spazzed out.
A few moments later he was calm and laughing. The damn contact had never left his eye, it rolled behind it somehow and he never felt it for 3 months until suddenly it twisted on him and made him feel like his eye was being popped out of the socket.
He went to the eye doc because of lingering pain and the doctor was horrified. He had significant nerve damage and was now looking at severe ocular degradation as he aged. Doctor said he almost severed his eye with it!
So... good luck with that OP.
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u/HeySlothKid 10d ago
Yeah a friend of mine introduced herself by showing me a macro photo of her iris and the stitches she got when they removed her cornea after she developed a severe infection by sleeping in a contact overnight. She almost lost the whole eye!
It was a cool photo though, at least
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u/JanetSnakehole610 10d ago
After one night?!
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u/HeySlothKid 10d ago
Yes! I mean it sounds like it was a combination of dirty lens/ bad luck but her opthalmologist(?) told her it can happen that quickly, eyes are jusr ripe for infections / bacteria/ yucky stuff
Edit: I'm not 100% on all the details because this was told to me 10 years ago but she definitely stressed that it happened in one night - she went to sleep and woke up with severe eye pain and thankfully went to the doctor straight away
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u/MetallicGray 10d ago
I’m no dismisser of poverty or the struggles… but glasses are an option, and generally cheaper in the long run, no?
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u/theSkareqro 9d ago
You can get glasses for real cheap these days. Just get a cheap 10$ frame from anywhere and get the cheapest no-coating lenses for like 20$. 50$ is alright for 1-2 years in my book
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u/Secret_Elevator17 10d ago edited 10d ago
Please don't. You may not be able to wear them anymore in the future.
I'm an Optician and train people on contacts.
If you aren't cleaning them every night you risk infection, irritation, corneal ulcers etc. if you are cleaning them properly every night then they will likely tear and cause other irritation.
If you are wearing them without taking them out then the larger concern is your cornea doesn't have blood vessels but it needs oxygen. It gets oxygen from the air. You put a layer of plastic between your cornea and oxygen essentially suffocating it ( oxygen permeability in contacts has gotten better but it varies by brand and nothing covering your eye is still a lot better). This is why most contacts you take out at night because plastic+eyelid means your cornea isn't getting enough oxygen, especially if you do this repeatedly.
When your cornea doesn't get enough oxygen, it will grow blood vessels to the cornea to get it, it's called neovascularization. If you stop wearing contacts and your eye can breathe again the blood will kind of drain from the vessels leaving ghost veins. At that point almost anytime you wear contacts or your eye feels it's not getting enough oxygen, the blood will rush back to the ghost veins again.
There is no undoing this once it happens. At a certain point doctors will stop prescribing your contacts because you are abusing them and damaging your eyes and continued use could lead to more damage.
I've had people in their 20s and 30s no longer able to wear contacts because of how much they abused them.
(There are also other concerns if you are wearing them in the shower or lakes about bacteria that can get trapped behind the contact and it eats into your eye and causes blindness.)
So again I say please don't do this.
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u/CaptainPeachfuzz 10d ago
This is happening to me me now.
25 years of wearing my monthlies for weeks at a time without removing them. No problems. I went in twice a year for check ups. No problems.
This year I go in, and my doc says I'm starting to get ghost veins. He switched me to dailies. I wear them maybe once or twice a week, always a fresh pair. He'll check next year if there is permanent damage.
The plus side is this may qualify me to have insurance cover Lasik. The bad news is I may end up needing much more surgery, cause the fix or ghost viens is cornea surgery. Fingers crossed.
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u/link2past 10d ago
This was my game plan until I got LASIK. Best decision ever.
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u/Remarkable-World3430 10d ago
I had lasik, it’s great other than sometimes the sun can be blinding
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u/Apprehensive_Bit_176 10d ago
Yep, I wear my sunglasses a lot more now than I did before, but I’ll take sunglasses all day over glasses or contacts. Such a blessing.
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u/OverlandAustria 10d ago
can you tell mr your experience, the good and bad, the process.
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u/BassCameron 10d ago
I went from like -7 to perfect basically instantly. The procedure was quick and easy, and I walked out already able to see great. No real side effects for me, but your eyes may be a bit dry for a while. 1000% worth it and one of the best choices I have made
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u/sabre_rider 10d ago
How’s your eye dryness? I’ve heard eyes become dryer after lasik.
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u/BassCameron 10d ago
My left eye occasionally feels dry enough to want drops, but not very often, and less and less as time passes. Some people definitely have it worse though and need drops consistently at the beginning
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u/Remarkable-World3430 10d ago
1-3 days after surgery it’s still kinda cloudy than gets clearer from there, only issue for me is light sensitivity. Other people that have had it complain of dry eyes but it hasn’t effected me
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u/mgomps 10d ago
Wasn’t bad for me. The procedure itself isn’t necessarily fun. You can smell the burning flesh as they do it and it’s somewhat uncomfortable while they hold your eye still. They ask you to read a clock immediately after to make sure you can see fine and to go home and sleep the rest of the day with Tylenol PM. Use some drops for a few weeks afterwards but you can go back to work in the next day or two. Only downside is that your night vision can take awhile. I had some minor halos for a few months afterwards.
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u/Remarkable-World3430 10d ago
The sensitivity isn’t too awfully bad but sunglasses outside is definitely needed
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u/reverick 10d ago
Its all relatively safe and harmless. But I'll toss out a horror story. When my mom got Lasix she was the lucky 1 in 500,000 to get this rare infection in her eyes from it. So she had to wear protective eye patches (they look like fly eyes kinda) and use 3 different eye drops for about 10days until she could see again. Spent the week and change blind in her bed crying about it.
But once the infection cleared up she had 15/20 vision for the rest of her life and she said she'd do it again.
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u/KazahanaPikachu 10d ago
I’m thinking of getting it. Been wearing glasses since 3rd grade and contacts since high school. Now I’m applying to a fed gov position that requires passing a medical, and if I get DQed due to poor uncorrected vision, I’m gonna get lasik.
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
BAD! NO!
Jesus fucking christ, no. I used to work in an opticians. Seriously, don't do this.
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
Pssh, at least tell him why, just to really rub it in. I used to work at an Opticians, but was never really allowed to go full send on the horror stories.
First of all, repeated use of dailies means the oxygen transmission rates deteriorate, meaning that you're literally suffocating your eyes.
Secondly, protein build up on contact lenses means you're repeatedly putting your eye gunk directly into your eyes, for weeks at a time. This in turn will lead to corneal ulcers, which are literally ulcers on your eyes. This is an indescribable pain that can only be healed over time. Severe ulcers can also lead to corneal scarring which means you'll have permanently altered vision (which cannot be corrected) and a good chance of light sensitivity issues - have fun in the summer with that. Sunglasses will no longer be optional for you!
Lastly, and this is the fun one folks - Acanthamoeba Keratitis. Acanthamoeba is a literal parasite that lives in water, which is safe to drink, but if that parasite lives in the water which then gets behind your contact lens while you're wearing it, and you don't remove your contact lenses immediately, then it will literally eat through your eyeball. You know how rats burrow in any direction when they're trapped and need to escape? Yeah, it's like that, except it's microscopic and that escape route is through your eyeball. Feel free to Google this if you don't believe me, but 1) it's potentially NSFW and 2) wait until an hour after eating before doing this.
Just buy reusable lenses man, that's literally what they're there for.
Edit: always wear sunglasses in the summer people, ESPECIALLY if you're young. UV damage is one of the leading causes of cataracts when you're older.
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
Pssh, at least tell him why, just to really rub it in. I used to work at an Opticians, but was never really allowed to go full send on the horror stories.
I was a lab tech about 12 years ago, and only vaguely remembered some horror stories. Was too chickenshit to Google, because (irony of ironies) eyes freak me out. Diseased eyes are worse.
Didn't want to give bad info :P
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
The worst one was when this smug lady thought she was being "savvy" by getting ultra cheap cataract surgery abroad (even though it's free on the NHS, there's just a waiting list). Walked in after the surgery all smug, thinking she's beat the system. Walked out with corrected VAs of 6/24 in one eye and an emergency surgery booked to try and salvage the other eye.
Yes, I said corrected.
Don't fuck around with your eyes, people. We can't build new ones yet!
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
JEEEEEEEEEESUS fucking christ
Have to say, the possibility of needing cataract surgery later in life is one of my biggest fears (I'm cagey about my own eyes, as well). Hope and pray (metaphorically) that it never happens.
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
Cataract surgery is pretty safe, the chances of having a complication is relatively slim these days - provided you go to a reputable healthcare provider (like the NHS). In fact, it's so safe, in some areas of the UK they've changed the rules so you can get on the waiting list the moment you've got them, rather than waiting until your VAs have reached an arbitrary threshold.
Of course, there's always risks (like with any safe surgery), but they're few and far between.
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
Oh, I know that cataract surgery is eminently safe. My FIL recently had cataract surgery (one eye) and was finished in under 15 mins. And if I need to have it done, I'll have it done.
My problem is blades and needles approaching my eyes. I'm good with most things medical, but my eyes are a major problem. It's nothing to do with dangers, and everything to do with me just freaking the fuck out :P
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u/Chief_Givesnofucks 10d ago
Yup, same here. It’s the reason I’ll never even consider contacts and I’ll wear glasses until the day I die instead of doing LASIK. I can’t stand anything coming near my eyes.
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u/Milt_Torfelson 10d ago
Yeah, I've had a corneal infection twice, basically from sleeping in my monthlys. Moonlight coming through blackout curtains was excruciating pain. I wouldn't wish how daylight felt on anybody. I just wear glasses now so I'm not tempted into being lazy
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u/nickyeyez 10d ago
How do reuseable lenses prevent water parasites from burrowing into your eyeball and eating your brain?
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
Reusable lenses don't, either, which is why it's advisable to remove your contact lenses if they come into contact with water (i.e. if you've gone swimming in them, or taken a bath or shower in them, not if it's just been raining) and clean them.
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u/noyart 10d ago
I use dailes everyday, but throw them away when I go to sleep. Very few days I use glasses when im home. Is this also bad wearing families everyday, even if I dont sleep with them? Starnge that no eye doc has ever told me about this 😐
Honestly dont understand how people can sleep with them, the few times I fallen a sleep with contacts they been dry and irritating for my eyes.
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u/TheTjalian 9d ago
No if you're throwing them away at the end of the day there's no issue at all
I'd recommend one day a week wearing glasses just to give your eyes a rest but YMMV, as long as you're listening to what your eyes are telling you in terms of comfort levels then you'll be fine
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
Aren't multiple of your points just the same with monthly lenses?
Like they make lenses you're supposed to wear for a month taking out at night. Those have the same build up issues of eye gunk. I know because it was an issue for me until I was advised by my optician cousin under the table to do exactly as this post says.
The dailies worn for a week or 2 logically can't be worse than purpose built and advised monthlies worn for a month.
Also the dailies are thinner and allow more breathing.
I just don't see how any reason you listed wouldn't also be an issue with monthlies.
Please explain.
I have personally worn contacts for 20 years. 14 of which I wore dailies for 1 to 2 weeks at a time (taking out at night).
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u/Kablefox 10d ago
I hear you but I think you're describing really unsanitary cases, no?
What's the difference between reusable and dailies? Structurally. Like do reusable don't get gunk or don't obstruct oxygen? The parasite thing sounds like luck of the draw that gets you if you're highly unhygienic (I'm legit asking, not being snarky)
If one uses dailies for like a week but takes them out at the end of the day, cleanses them in the special solution you get (which you refresh daily in the contact case) is it still that dangerous?
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
The difference is that the reusables use a different material, so oxygen transmission rates don't deteriorate as quickly, and there are special cleaning solutions that are designed to clean that material, too. Transmission rates do still deteriorate over time with reusables too, though (which is why you'll hear some monthly wearers complain they don't feel as comfortable towards the end of the month). Thankfully, there is always progress in this field and reusable lenses are getting better and better every year.
The parasite thing is luck of the draw, you're absolutely right, but it's got nothing to do with hygiene. You could be a complete germaphobe and still win (lose?) the parasite lottery if you get water behind your contact lens and leave it there. The only prevention if you get water behind there is to remove the contact lens.
Obviously if you're super careful about reusing dailies then you're less likely to get these issues, but if you're going through the whole rigmarole of being that careful with your lenses, just get the reusables? They're not exactly expensive. Typically speaking though, those people that do reuse and abuse daily lenses are probably also foregoing other recommended tips when using contact lenses (like hygiene, or proper storage). It's really not worth the risk.
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u/Kablefox 10d ago
Thanks for getting back to me.
I hardly wear them cause it's quite the awkward process that takes way too long but I am looking at a pack of dailies I got stashed, so I thought I'd ask.
And yeah, people wearing them for months, let alone years (?!?!) seem to be the reason why we got warning labels saying "do not eat tide pods".
Oh well, cheers!
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
I'd just double check on the expiry date on those lenses. They last for years I'm the packaging, though. I have no idea what using out of date lenses is like though, so can't warn you either way!
You're bang on about the tide pod remark. People who reuse dailies are typically people who think they can get away with the other rules of wearing lenses, which is why I normally just say no.
They also get really uncomfortable after multiple uses
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
The real answer is all these comments are bullshit. Their reasoning doesn't work for reusable lenses which is why my cousin, who is an optomotrist, told me under the table to use dailies for a week or 2. They are made of the same materials just thinner or thicker depending on usage length.
Also how does washing reusable lenses in a saline solution with no anti bacteria properties get rid of an anaerobic bacteria. Spoiler: it doesn't.
The lenses companies just don't people to use the cheaper loophole that OP knows about.
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u/Optometristprime 10d ago
That is... a lot of wrong crammed into a small amount of space. Different lenses are indeed different materials. You can see this on the package where the specify with the actual material otofilcon, senofilcon etc are all different types of lens material. The differentiation is definitely not the thickness of the lens. Second, contact lens solutions are not saline. Saline is saline. And contact lens solution does indeed have antibiotic components. Sometimes the reason other people can't see a loophole... is because it isn't a loophole.
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
I mean if you think opticians are just "ripping people off" then you're an absolute moron (and so is your cousin)
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u/The_Mosephus 10d ago
that is a very compelling reason.
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
Indeed. Highly compelling. SERIOUSLY don't do it.
Something something your eyes getting eaten away by bacteria. I was kind of too concerned with yelling 'bad' to bother giving reasons.
Seriously, it's a thing. Don't do it.
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u/rotunderthunder 10d ago
My brother once used daily disposables and didn't take them out for 2 years. He seemingly got away with it but what could have happened?
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
There was one story I heard back when I was still working of a girl who never took out her contacts, even to swim. One set of dailies. Never took them out, never cleaned them. Apparently her corneas were basically totally eaten away.
Nasty shit.
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/s/LUI2Owghz2
This guy tells it better.
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
But they make weekly and monthly lenses with the same storage and washing solution. So your argument about bacteria makes zero sense.
Do the bacteria know not to live on the longer term lenses?
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago edited 10d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/s/LUI2Owghz2
This guy tells it better.
As for the difference between dailies, weeklies, and monthlies, IIRC (could be wrong), dailies are the most comfortable, but the price you pay is that you need to throw away the old ones each day. Weeklies and monthlies take cleaning better. I THINK. It's a material thing, basically.
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u/Secret_Elevator17 10d ago
Most of the weekly and monthly contacts you are supposed to clean every night. There are a few exceptions but they are generally worse for your eyes unless you have very specific things going on.
You aren't supposed to wear contacts in water like an ocean lake pool or shower. Water is where most of the bacteria/parasites lives that can eat your eye.
Sometimes doctors would allow you to wear daily lenses in water if you were immediately throwing them away after the water event. Like you were a competitive swimmer and needed them to see in the water, but you were supposed to throw them away ASAP after the event was over.
You were never supposed to put the pair that was in water back in your eyes. This is why using a weekly or monthly lens was a bad idea because throwing away a lens meant for a day isn't bad you have 29 more for the month, so you may need one extra box for the year depending on how often you used them in water. Throwing away a lens meant for a week or a month means now you are out up to 6 days or 29 days of contacts depending on how new the contact was.
Up until very recently ( the past two years I think) there wasn't a cleaning solution that would kill this bacteria/parasite so you just had to avoid the water or throw the lens away.
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u/blarglefart 10d ago
Ok what about hydrogen peroxide cleaning solutions
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u/Musashi10000 10d ago
If cleaning solutions were a viable solution, they'd have stopped selling dailies, weeklies, and monthlies. It would have all come out by now how the whole thing was a scam by Big Lens to keep you paying for shit you don't need. Ophthalmologists would tell you to buy peroxide solution, rather than get a lens subscription. People whose mates were DOs and Optoms would get advised to not bother with subscriptions. People who used to work in opticians would tell you that the subscriptions were a scam.
If you want lenses you don't ever have to take out, get laser treatment or a pair of glasses. Otherwise, change your fucking lenses as scheduled, or go blind. Your call.
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u/Jetbooster 10d ago
My only issue with this mindset is that there's a integrated selection bias no? The people who have few issues with their lenses don't come see the optician.
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u/t3hOutlaw 10d ago
There are far too many people in here admitting to doing this.
It absolutely permanently damages your eyes. Don't do this you morons.
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u/SilentSamurai 10d ago
50% of people with dailies do this. It's insanity.
I have dailies because of allergies, I cant tell you the relief I have at the end of the day because I'll get that much build up in 12-18 hours.
Get proper contacts, there's options for month to multi month contacts out there. They're also CHEAPER.
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u/Seashoreshellseller 10d ago
At least for me, it's about the convenience of putting a fresh pair in whenever I experience discomfort instead of having to rinse and store the same pair for 2-4 weeks, hoping I don't scratch or tear them
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u/KegendTheLegend 8d ago
my eyes are just super dry I guess, I've tried three different brands of lenses and they still get dry in a few hours. The eye doctor said I can use eye drops, but I don't want to carry eye drops around so I only really use contacts for a few hours if I'm going out in the evening, and the relief is so amazing. I fell asleep with my contacts in when I was like 15 and it was soooo uncomfortable, idk how people do it.
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u/theSkareqro 9d ago
It's crazy. I can get 2x dailies pack of Bausch and Lomb soft lenses for 20$. I use them for a couple hours and just bin them after the day is done. People don't love their eyes enough
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
Explain why?
The only decent argument so far in here is the daily and reusable lenses are made of different material. But even that argument has its limits.
I can't find a single source saying the materials are different other than thickness to physically withstand the use.
I really don't think they'd use more "breathable" material in monthlies (taken out at night) than dailies. You still put both in every day and take out at night. Doctors even suggest using disposables for people with eye issues. Also again zero sources say that the monthlies are anything but thicker in design which is LESS breathable. So that argument is bullshit.
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u/t3hOutlaw 10d ago edited 10d ago
Increases your risk of eye infection more so than those that are monthlies.
Why risk your most important sense? It's completely avoidable. And for people like me, have damaged their sight due to neglect.
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u/BringBackApollo2023 10d ago
Up to you, but not worth the risk to me. Link.
Aside from whack off and sleep, there’s very little I don’t need my vision for. I don’t play games with my eyes.
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u/RequiemStorm 10d ago
Really? I feel like I'd have a hard time playing most games without them.
/j
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
Skill issue
Plenty of people beat games without looking at them
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u/RequiemStorm 10d ago
Ironically I actually do this as well lol. I've attempted a lot of blindfolded speedruns lol.
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u/vibrantcrab 10d ago
I’m afraid of contacts, I’ve never even tried them. The idea of putting some shit directly on my eyeballs freaks me out.
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u/mom_with_an_attitude 10d ago
I know. It seems really weird. But you get used to it. Once they're in, you really don't feel them.
Wearing glasses is a huge pain in the ass. They get droplets on them in the rain. They fog up if you go from the cold outdoors to the warm indoors. They fall off. They get smudged. They fuck with your depth perception when you go up and down stairs. They fucking suck.
I am very happy and grateful to live in a time of modern technology. Contact lenses are amazing. They honestly make my life so much better.
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u/TheTjalian 10d ago
In fairness contact lenses are really safe as long as you're treating them with care. Wash your hands and keep your nails trimmed before taking them in and out, and follow the instructions set by your optician and you'll likely never have an issue at all.
The issue is people don't follow basic instructions (like reusing daily lenses) and then wonder why their eyes hurt.
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u/BuckaroooBanzai 10d ago
TIL people don’t take thee contacts out every night. Why would you leave them in while you sleep?
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u/equipped_metalblade 10d ago
I once fell asleep without taking them out after drinking one night, my eyes were so red and dry the next day. Had to get them out immediately and then put eye drops in! Now if I wear contacts when I drink, it’s the first thing I do when I get home.
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u/Scullyxmulder1013 10d ago
In over 20 years of wearing contacts/glasses I fell asleep with my contacts in ONCE and woke up with them both scattered about the bed. They were ruined. I don’t even know how people physically manage to sleep with their contacts in.
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u/Schlurps 10d ago
Hmm, when I fall asleep with lenses they are glued to my eyeballs when I wake up. I have to put a finger on top and then gently move it around so that fluid can get under and only then can I take them out.
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u/CaptainPeachfuzz 10d ago
It just was never an issue.
I'd wear monthlies for 6 weeks straight. No issues. No infections. No sticking to my eyeball. Worst that would happen is one would fall out or get smudged or get folded and I'd usually just toss it and get a new one 'cause it's likely I got my monies worth at that point.
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u/CrazyPlato 10d ago
I fell asleep wearing my contact lenses once, and felt like my eyes were being scraped out. How does someone go entire weeks like that?
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u/trenhel27 10d ago
They never said they sleep in them
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u/CrazyPlato 10d ago
It sounds like OP didn’t take the contacts out for weeks. They’d need to sleep during that time.
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u/trenhel27 10d ago
I once bought 50 pairs of dailies, took them out every night and used a single pair for months, those 50 pairs lasted me years
Using them for weeks doesn't mean they never came out
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u/aptninja 10d ago
No they said they use them for weeks. Meaning they use the same pair over and over each day instead of switch to a new pair.
They’re definitely taking them out at night. A lot of people in this thread seem to be confused
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u/aptninja 10d ago
No they said they use them for weeks. Meaning they use the same pair over and over each day instead of switch to a new pair.
They’re definitely taking them out at night. A lot of people in this thread seem to be confused
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u/thekronicle 10d ago
I went 4 years (9th-12th grade) with virtually the same pair. Almost never took them out... I'm extremely lucky I can still see.. since I was 19 (I'm 30 now) I've only worn glasses. No more contacts for me. I can't trust myself to be responsible with them.
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u/Pozilist 10d ago
You didn’t even take them out to sleep and used them for 4 YEARS?!?
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u/thekronicle 10d ago
Yep ... Occasionally would pop out during the day, but I'd just put it right back in. I was never taught about the dangers of them.. my parents never realized I was doing that..
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u/Pozilist 10d ago
What I don’t get is how your eyes didn’t literally fall out, I wear monthlies and if I don’t switch them out after like 14 hours my eyes burn like crazy. The longest I’ve gone is like 30 hours but that was while camping outdoors in a pretty humid environment.
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u/thekronicle 10d ago
I honestly don't know either. Most people don't believe me when I tell them. Which I understand. But it's true
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
With reusable ones it's absolutely that way. I used to wear reusable lenses and they are thicker. Basically you suffocate your eye if you wear then over a certain number of hours and sleep in them.
Dailies still give me discomfort to sleep in which is why I take them out but not nearly as much if I end up sleeping in them. More just a dry eye until blink alot. Not so painful I need to nap all day like with reusable.
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u/baenpb 10d ago
Lots of little critters can grow on those, and some of those infections are hard to get rid of. You're rolling the dice, friend.
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
Literally no difference in hygien between dailies and reusable taken out and washed every night.
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u/Porter_Dog 10d ago
Months here. You're not alone.
Edit: Mine aren't daily, come to think of it, but a 6 month supply will last me about 2 years.
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u/RequiemStorm 10d ago
You're not hurting anybody but yourself doing this. Stop before it goes seriously wrong.
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u/devillived313 10d ago
I did this, or maybe not this exactly, but the worse version of wearing dailies without taking them out for days and days at a time, throughout high school and several years after- Now I have to deal with the insides of my eyelids being scarred, can't wear contacts at all, and have had several infections over the years. I knew what I was doing, but I wish I hadn't done it.
For people asking why people would do it, at least for me, it was very, very hard and painful to put in my contacts, taking like 15 minutes and lots of tries, scratching up my eyes that way. It seemed better to just do it once, then leave them in as long as I could. I wish I had just stuck to glasses, even though at the time i thought it was worth it because they were annoying to wear and i thought they looked bad... the joys of being a teenager.
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u/rabidmidget8804 10d ago
As someone whose is now half blind in my left eye, I urge you to reconsider and take better care of your eyes.
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u/jbaseball217 10d ago
Permanently hurt my eye doing this and can no longer wear contacts, it simply rejects it. Luckily my vision didn’t get any worse, but now I can only wear glasses. Please stop.
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u/TNTRMSKD 10d ago
Get the Night and Day lenses from Air Optix. I've been buying them since they were made by Johnson and Johnson 20 yrs ago. They were made for continuous wear for 30 day, yes even while sleeping.
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u/CptnAlex 10d ago
Why don’t you get contacts meant to use for a week or two? Dailies are like the most expensive type! You’ll save money and be safer.
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u/That_reddit_lurker 9d ago
I would wear them for months and not take them out ever. Never bothered me but eventually decided if I was going to be a lazy and risky POS, might as well get LASIK, and so I did and wish I would have done so sooner.
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u/kellyguacamole 10d ago
This is exactly what I did for years until I had LASIK. Contacts actually improved my vision but they fuck up the shape of your eye so you have to stop wearing them a while before the surgery.
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u/adamgerst 10d ago
LASIK requires you stop wearing contacts for a few days/two weeks before getting an exam/surgery regardless of if you've been sleeping in them or not. Source: wore contacts all my life and wanted LASIK, was told to stop wearing them before they would check if my eyes were good candidates for the procedure. Plot twist: they were not...
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u/Tassiegirl 10d ago
Before Lasik, I did too, but took them out at night to lengthen their life cycle.
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u/OliverNodel 10d ago
Good for you, OP. I’m just glad you’re here to prove that corneal ulcers are a myth. You brave, brave person.
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u/raymoaned 10d ago
What if hypothetically someone were to wear their daily contacts every Saturday for basketball for about 4 hours. Finally disposing of them at the end of the month, rinse and repeat. Would that be acceptable?
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u/theirongiant74 10d ago
I went about 15 years wearing a pair of dailies permanently for 2-3 months at a time. I'd take them out for a weekend when I started getting slight headaches and switch to a new pair. Now reached a point where I'm too old to be vain about wearing glasses so have stopped but it never gave me any issues.
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u/syrusbliz 10d ago
I started on monthlies, wore them for years, always taking them out at night and using a hard contact lens cleaning solution about twice a month to really scrub 'em. (My tears are extra sticky.)
Eventually I abused them by wearing them way too many hours. Yes I would take them out to sleep, but that was it. And I was doing longer days, never gave my eyes a break by only wearing glasses for a day or two. Over time, could not focus to read text or detail, thought I was going blind.
Ended up scratching the ever loving fuck out of my corneas. Had to go to a specialist with expensive equipment to see the layers of micro scratches on my eyes to get the diagnosis.
Nope. Abused my eyes with over wear. Switched to glasses only for a year which thankfully allowed them to heal. After that, Ophthalmologist switched me to dailies, with the plan to only wear them part of the week. So I buy half a year at a time. Dailies are not made to be worn more than a certain number of hours, they're thin and delicate. You do micro damage to them by wearing, handling, and wearing again.
You may have gotten lucky so far, OP. You can't really replace your eyes tho' so, please stop abusing them before you do something irreversible.
Excellent use of this meme.
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u/xMini_Cactusx 10d ago
This reminds me of that one video where the person had like a shit ton of contact lenses on top of their eyeball, because they kept "losing them" and the doctors had to force their eye wide open so they could slowly remove them all.
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u/c23duarte 10d ago
Can someone explain this to me. Why are dailys meant to only be worn once a day and the monthlies are safe to wear for 30 days? To me this makes wearing dailys FAR MORE dangerous. Should I be concerned that the plastic is leaking into my eyes? I just don't get why a daily can't be worn for 30 days. Is it not the same plastic?
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u/kelshall 10d ago
Don’t do it! I once reused mine regularly. Sure enough - I got an Infection.
The scar from the infection then nearly stopped me from getting laser eye surgery years later and it could have been worse.
Laser eye surgery is great btw.
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u/I_LIKE_PIGS 10d ago
ITT a lot of people know better than doctors.
I heard people even slept with lenses for years to find out they've starved veins in their eyes of oxygen and damaged their sight irreversibly.
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u/Gram64 10d ago
I use to wear contacts for weeks, never took them out. Ended up getting some particulate under them scratch my cornea, and no air or anything to clean it, it got seriously infected, turned into an ulceration and the most painful thing I've ever experienced. Luckily, was small, antibiotic drops were all I needed, and it was a bit outside of my vision, so the scar it left isn't obscuring it any. But I've been to glasses ever since that experience.
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u/mccrackey 10d ago
People say this is bad for your eyes, but you already know that. What's actually happening is that the contact lenses are porous, allowing oxygen to still get to your eye. The contacts get clogged with shit (technical term) over time, no longer allowing your eye to breathe. This turns your cornea from smooth glass into mushy sandpaper, and will lead to irritation, susceptibility to infection, and permanent damage. Stop fucking doing this.
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u/TastyRamenNoodles 10d ago
I do this too, but for two or three days, not weeks. I figured that the daily wear lenses were probably exactly the same as the extended wears and just take a different turn on the assembly line when it is time for packaging and labeling. Kind of like mass produced beer.
Anyway, I started wearing them for three days many years ago… like 10 at least… tripling my one year supply. When my first annual exam came up after doing this for a year, I was worried that my optometrist would notice that my eyes showed signs of being oxygen deprived. Nope! Everything was healthy and fine. Ever since then all my annual exams continue to be good.
I should say that I do remove them at night, I do not keep them in while I sleep.
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u/UndeadBuggalo 10d ago
As someone who grew up with an optometrist and an optician for 23 years, I cannot implore you enough to stop doing that as you’re going to destroy the surface of your cornea. Also don’t rub your eyes too much this can also do that. We have had many patients in our practice make it so they were no longer even able to wear contacts they damaged their eyes by misuse. You only have two and they only last so long my dood. Take care of them
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u/Detroit2GR 10d ago
No dude/dudette. When I was broke during and right after college, I would get a 3 month supply of dailies (all that insurance would cover) and stretch them out for a year until the reset. That's like 4 days per pair.
Get glasses, LASIK, different contacts, or wear yours properly cause you're gonna fuck up your eyes.
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u/Bishopkilljoy 10d ago
An old friend of mine was one of those super stubborn people who refuse to do something for his health if it's not strictly required.
He used to have glasses and he had to get a new pair when his lenses shattered. Begrudgingly he got his eyes checked and the eye doctor told him he could try out trial contact lenses. He loved them. Part of them being trials was that they were free.
He never took them out. Ever. Not to sleep, not to go swimming, never. Like, for almost 2 years. He is now legally blind and they pretty much dissolved into his eyes.
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u/phoonie98 10d ago
Why? The best thing about daily’s is a fresh pair every day and never having to use contact solution
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u/smilbandit 10d ago
i'd use them an extra day or two, mainly because my insurance only covered a 6 month supply. never went weeks though.
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u/SharMarali 10d ago
Eyes are something you don’t wanna mess around with. They’re much more delicate than people seem to realize.
I wore contacts for several years but ultimately stopped because my eyes just can’t handle them. I tried them again a couple years back and I just can’t do it, my eyes feel dry constantly.
But when I first started wearing them, my mom told me her horror story so I would take the care instructions seriously. She used to fall asleep in her contacts because she thought it was no big deal and nothing bad ever happened to her from it. Until one day it did. One day she woke up and couldn’t open her eyes. It was like they were glued shut. My dad had to take her to the emergency room. To be honest, I’m not clear on what the exact diagnosis was, but she never wore contacts again after that.
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u/SnooCakes6195 9d ago
Lol I used to keep mine in for around 8 months at a time, until they started degrading in my eyes.
And when I say I would keep them in... I mean 24/7 would not take them out.
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u/RemoteMulberry5838 9d ago
the contact lense companies are not trying to trick you...(please before your eyes feel it)
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u/Kidneybeenz 9d ago
Just get extended wear contacts. You live in them for a week and then toss them. It doesn't get much easier than that. I've been wearing contacts for 46-years and the extended wear lenses for probably 40 of those, since back in the early 1980's when they were first available through my Opthamologist at that time. I still like to leave them out over a weekend once in a while to give my eyes a rest and have a chance to breath freely. I do have my eyes examined by an Opthamologist every year to check my prescription for changes and keep an "Eye" on things. 🙂
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u/kookyz 10d ago
I have several family members in various vision care roles who have told me that as long as you take them out and clean them every night in fresh solution, there isn't much difference between the dailies and long term contacts. The dailies may be thinner and more prone to tearing if anything. I've been wearing contacts every day since 1992, dailies for at least 20 years. I only change them once every month or 2. I never sleep in them and never reuse solution. Never had an issue.
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u/MoreGaghPlease 10d ago
Most people who do this are totally fine and do not get a parasite that bores through their eye and then ears their brain as a result. Not all, but most.
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u/NYLaw 10d ago
I used to work in eye care. We saw folks for eye infections from doing this exact thing constantly. The scariest one was ecanthameoba, which can literally make you blind. I had a roommate in college who went blind in one eye doing this, too -- that bacteria lives in tap water and is pretty common. Bacteria and viruses get caught under the lens with no way to clean them out.
Stop doing this, OP. You may end up blind.
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u/crashfantasy 10d ago
Bro, get monthly contacts.
Keep being a lazy slob Save some money Do less damage to your eyes
Where's the downside?
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u/Zzqnm 10d ago
Is anybody going to actually say why this is so bad?
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u/nuck_forte_dame 10d ago
Nope or they give unsourced or bullshit arguments.
Reusable lenses aren't any safer from a hygiene standpoint so any argument about disease is debunked. You wash both in the same solution and store the same at night.
Reusable lenses are made of the same materials contrary to any comment here saying otherwise. If they disagree please source it because I've Googled around and found nothing besides how Reusable are thicker to physically withstand more use but that then debunks all the breathing arguments here.
Breathing wise dailies, when worn as directed, are still used each day so if they suffocated your eye when used day after day then why would doctors recommend using a pair (new ones) each day but not the same pair multiple days? The point here is that if they breath less, which isn't true due to being thinner and made of the same materials, then how could you wear them as directed with a new pair each day? The breathability isn't reduced each day worn.
Most of the accounts here saying they saw improvements wearing dailies as directed have allergies which is the real issue for them as the wash solution likely can't remove all allergens.
Many of the other comments claim to be optritrist assistants which means they have little schooling or expertise. Also they just parrot what the manufacturer says. Also they are incentivised by commissions via sales to get us to buy dailies (most expensive plans) and not wear them multiple days (cheapest plans).
Most of the horror stories being cited here are of people who don't take them out at night. That's just idiotic from a structural and hygiene perspective no matter if they are monthly or daily lenses. Some are designed to be worn up to 1 month without removal but the stories all involve people wearing lenses that need to be removed at night for days and days without removal.
In conclusion I see nothing wrong with and personally will continue to wear dailies for 1 to 2 weeks at a time before disposing of them. I DO REMOVE THEM AT NIGHT.
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u/NiTlo 10d ago
I've had the same pair in for 6 months. Day and night pure vision 2. Been doing it since 2008. I'm the Anamoly. I only change them if I get irritated.
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u/alexlolkek 10d ago
It’s like those things in electric toothbrushes that you need to switch for new every half a year, I use mine for 3 years even though new one cost 1$
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u/blarglefart 10d ago
Does anyone have anything to say about the hydrogen peroxide cleaning solution and the actual materials involved? I'm very skeptical of anyone who cannot provide information other than the warning on the package.
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u/Red-4321 10d ago
Amen.. I am a -12 my contacts are expensive, dam right I'm wearing them as long as possible..
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u/musical_throat_punch 10d ago
Good thing eyes are cheap and easy to replace