“Can I wear contact lenses beyond the recommended use?”
I normally throw contact lenses away after 3 weeks. Can I wear them longer? I feel like I'm going through them so quickly, but I also don't want develop an infection from them.
10 Answers
No, wearing them longer than recommended greatly increases your risk of infection.
Sleeping in contacts is never a good idea. Taking them out at night and letting eyes get better oxygenation without contacts overnight is the safest method. Definitely do not wear beyond 3 weeks as serious corneal infections could occur.
No, you risk getting a host of contact lens complications: corneal ulcer (potentially blinding), contact lens overwear, gpc where the underside of the lid has an immune reaction to proteins on the lens and large bumps develop on the underside making you contact lens intolerant
It depends exactly on the composition of the lens, water content and oxygen permeability. You should check with your prescriber or the lens company as to their on label product recommendation. If you exceed this you are proceeding at your own discretion.
I don’t recommend overusing any brand of contact lenses.
The recommended schedule is okay for most people. Probably best to continue.
It’s not recommended to use contact lenses more than the manufacturer’s recommendation. You may develop infections. There may be deposits on contact lenses that can cause chronic irritation. It is not recommended to sleep in contact lenses as well.
I hope this helps,
Ravi Radhakrishnan, MD, FACS
I hope this helps,
Ravi Radhakrishnan, MD, FACS
You should NOT wear your contact lenses beyond the recommended wearing schedule. For example, if you are wearing 2 week daily contact lenses, then you should be discarding these contacts every 2 weeks. If you wear these contacts beyond the 2 weeks then you risk for developing possible protein deposits on your contacts that may affect your vision and comfortability even with continual cleaning of the contacts every day. With improper extended wear of your 2 week contacts, you may also be at an increased risk for eye infections. My recommendation is that if you find that you are extending your 2 week contacts to 3 weeks, then I would consider having your eye care professional evaluate and determine if a monthly daily contact lens would be a better option for you. If this is an option, then you would need to purchase fewer contact lenses and be able to wear them a longer period of time.
Your chance of infection or irritation increase the longer you wear and he lenses occasional over use is okay for emergencies. Chronic overuse can lead to inability to continue to war them for the full day with out irritation. Lastly, most lenses are either biweekly or monthly disposable. Not 3 weeks, so you are probably extending the two week lenses to three weeks as it is.
Dr. LMJ
Dr. LMJ
Use as recommended it's best.
