Contact Lens Care
 

Contact lens wearers have an increased risk for serious eye infections and injury to the cornea. Symptoms of possible problems with contacts include redness, pain or burning in the eye, drainage, blurred vision, or extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia). If you are having problems, remove your lenses and disinfect them. If symptoms persist longer than 2 to 3 hours after removing and cleaning your contacts, call your eye doctor.

Daily-Wear Lenses
Daily-wear soft lenses are removed and cleaned at night and reinserted in the morning. They take less time to get used to than hard lenses, but they are less durable.

Extended-Wear Lenses
Extended-wear lenses can be worn for up to a week at a time, day and night. They are then removed, cleaned, and reinserted. However, some people cannot tolerate the extended wear; their eyes become irritated if the contacts are not regularly removed and cleaned. Extended use may be uncomfortable and increases the risk of damaging the eye.

The recommended wearing time for extended-wear lenses has been shortened from 30 days to 7 days because of the increased risk of eye infections. Ideally, one should never sleep in contact lenses.

Rigid Gas-Permeable (RGP) Lenses
Gas-permeable lenses cost more than conventional hard lenses and are somewhat less durable, but they are more comfortable than conventional hard lenses. Some gas-permeable lenses are designed for extended wear (overnight, up to 7 days), although many eye specialists advise against wearing them for the extended period.