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Urging contact lens wearers to take a lesson from a recent incident where a man lost his sight after sleeping with his lens on, experts have warned how dangerous it can be.

By Daphne Clarance: Michael Krumholz, a 21-year-old man from Florida, US, lost vision in one eye after he took a nap with his contact lens on. Although Michael would often sleep with his contact lens on and, in the past, developed an eye infection or 'pink eye', this was the first time in seven years, the eye infection became serious. He was eventually diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis (a very rare flesh-eating parasite) in the right eye.

He shared the incident on GoFundMe page to raise about a $10,000 goal to fight the debilitating parasite and spread awareness to lens wearers to always remove their contacts before sleeping.

Even though many contact lenses are approved by the FDA for overnight wear, sleeping with lenses on increases the risk of infection, experts have advised since the incident came to light.

Urging contact wearers to take a lesson from the incident, Dr Sameer Kaushal, Head of Department of Ophthalmology & Organ Transplant, Artemis Hospital, Gurugram, told indiatoday.in that sleeping while keeping your lens on significantly increases the chances of developing an infection, which could be very dangerous, compromising a person's vision.

"The main effect of the contact lens is on the cornea, which is a transparent layer in the front of the eye. Because it's a transparent film, it does not have any blood vessels and it tends to get its oxygen from the air. Whenever you close the eyelid your cornea doesn't get its oxygen properly. But wearing contact lenses already decreases the supply of oxygen to the cornea," said Dr Sameer Kaushal.

The same phenomenon is applied when you get a blurry vision in the morning as soon as you wake up and it takes two seconds for your vision to become clear. Wearing contact lenses when you sleep can increase the chance of developing an ulcer.

"It's a sight problem and must be avoided at all costs. This is why we ask people not to wear contact lenses when they sleep, wash their lens whenever possible and put it in solution properly to avoid or prevent corneal infection. These infections can be disastrous," said Dr Kaushal.

According to Dr Vijayalakshmi Prabhu, Consultant, Ophthalmologist, Aster RV Hospital, contact lens act as a barrier between the tear film and the cornea lens a result of which supply of oxygen and nutrients to the cornea is compromised. This makes it harder for the cornea to fight against the microorganisms or remove them from beneath the contact lens.

"When one sleeps with contact lenses, the cornea receives even less tear fluid since there is no blinking. As a result, there is less of an opportunity for tears to get underneath the lenses. This leads to the accumulation of pathogens/debris/toxins in the cornea," underscored Dr Vijayalakshmi Prabhu.

People wearing contact lenses during sleep are at a five times higher risk of acquiring infections compared to those who don't wear the lenses. Research suggests that it is not even advisable to wear lenses that are approved for overnight or extended wear.

Commenting on Krumholz's diagnosis, Dr Kaushal said that parasites like acanthamoeba, which is a microorganism, are typically seen when the eye is contaminated with sources like tap water. "These parasites are rare but it happens only when you sleep with contact lens," added Dr Kaushal.

The experts underlined that even if contact lenses have been approved to last longer than a day, sleeping with them puts the cornea at a higher risk of infections, which gets dangerous.

Meanwhile, Michael Krumholz warned contact lens wearers, "Please do not sleep in them, do not swim in them and what I was never warned about, DO NOT SHOWER in them."