Sleeping With Contacts

If you wear contacts lenses, you’ve probably done this at least once in your life. You’re at a party or staying over a friend’s place and whether you get home super late and pass out before you get ready for bed, or you forgot to pack your contact lens solution and carrying case – chances are you’ve probably slept in your contacts. “So what?” you think. “It can’t be that bad, right? One time won’t kill me.” 

Well, in reality, it is indeed very bad for your eyes.

Sleeping with contacts can be equated to sleeping with a plastic bag over your head. When you are awake, your eyes can get oxygen from the air and from your tears. When you are sleeping, your eyes are closed and you are not blinking, which limits the amount of oxygen that is transmitted to your eyes. Wearing contacts while sleeping is essentially like putting a plastic shield in between your eyes and your eyelids, where limited oxygen flow is already happening.

Still not convinced? Here are a few more reasons you should take them out before you go to sleep.

Did you know that when you don’t take your contacts out for a prolonged period of time, your eyes can develop what is called “corneal neovascularization?” Due to a lack of oxygen to your eyes, your blood vessels begin to swell and grow too much. If this is the case, your eye doctor might decide to stop prescribing and fitting you for contacts. They may also decide to fit you with gas permeable-only, hard contact lenses. One additional condition that can arise from a lack of oxygen to your eyes is known as corneal microcysts or “hypoxia.”

If you wear your contacts to sleep, chances are you might also wear your contacts longer than prescribed. This is another no-no. If you do this, you can cause one of two things to happen. The first is developing micro tears in your cornea from misshapen and old contacts. The second is the harboring of a pathogen or germ between your contact and your cornea.

This can even result in one of the most serious complications, which is known as a corneal ulcer (this one is gross). A corneal ulcer is an eruption on the cornea that is caused by an infection. This can lead to blindness. Symptoms of corneal ulcers include vision changes, eye discomfort or pain, eye redness and excessive tearing. If an aggressive microbe causes your corneal ulcer, you could lose your vision permanently, with the resulting scar requiring a corneal transplant.

Is it really worth your vision to sleep in your contacts?

There are however, certain contact lenses that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for limited nighttime wear. Check with your eye doctor to see if you can be fitted for these contacts that you actually can sleep in. Although it may be safe to sleep with this type of contact lens, you should still be aware of the risks that can result from not taking your lenses out when you go to sleep at night. You are resting your body when you sleep; why not give your eyes a rest too?

If you have any questions about which contacts will best suit your lifestyle and sleeping habits, or are suffering from the symptoms of sleeping with contacts, come down to your local Site for Sore Eyes. We’d be delighted to help you solve your eye-related issues and give you tips on how to keep your eyes safe while wearing contacts. 

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley: Music, Mutts, and Marriage for March

Good afternoon to the good citizens of Berkeley. We hope that you got through the “Ides of March” and that you enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day. Moving forward, it is that time when your friends at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley have a roundup of some things for you to do over the weekend.

Weekends are, as everyone knows, a time to kick back, relax, and have some fun. Can one have TOO much fun? Not according to “Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun,” the concert that’s going on tonight at the Freight & Salvage Coffee House, located at 2020 Addison Street. Blending (no, jamming is the better word) the sounds of country, Texas swing, rock and roll and honky-tonk, legendary musician Bill Kirchen goes to town with riffs, strums, vamps and any and every form of guitar playing imaginable. Your eyes as well as your ears will never experience anything like this again, so remember to wear your contacts or eyeglasses to see Mr. K in action. Hey, if eyeglasses are good for Bill Kirchen…they’re good enough for you. Showtime is 8:00 tonight. Call (510) 644-2020 for reservations, or you can order tickets here.

Has anybody seen the movie, “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” yet? That question leads to another: are there any dog lovers out there who are thinking of adopting a four-legged friend? If so, you may very well want to check out the Dog Foster Orientation at OAS (which stands for Oakland Animal Services) at 12:00 tomorrow afternoon. OAS has joined forces with Hopalong & Second Chance Animal Rescue in an effort to recruit people who want to shelter and take in puppies and dogs, even if it is for a temporary time frame. And if you decide to keep a homeless pup, so much the better, and everybody wins! This gathering will be held at City of Berkeley: Animal Care Services at One Bolivar Drive. For more information, you can call (510) 981-6600.

The next happening is a one-of-a-kind event that each and every bride-to-be in the Berkeley area will want to know about. “Wedding Wow!” will take place on Sunday beginning at 12:00 in the afternoon. Ladies, for an admission price of only $20.00, you will have the opportunity to meet a host of wedding experts, planners and the alike as you sip champagne and browse through an array of fashions, décor, and floral arrangements to choose from for your big day. The setting for this almost-too-good-to-be-true happening is at the Claremont Hotel and Resort, at 41 Tunnel Road. You may call 510-549-8591 or email claremontcatering@claremont-hotel.com for anything else you’d like to know. (While you’re on the phone, or at the hotel, remember to ask about the “Claremont 4 Star Package.”)

There friends, you have this month’s “Events Edition.” We hope that no one minds that we targeted this blog to specific interest groups, but these DID read as noteworthy events. (Heck, some of us who either do or don’t own dogs, and who are or are not married were impressed.) For more choices of things to do this weekend, feel free to click here to learn more.

Thanks for reading…enjoy the weekend…and keep your sites on healthy vision.

The Effects That Drinking Alcohol Has On Your Eyes

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, which to most of us means wearing the color green, chowing down on corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread and beer –lots of beer. What you may not have considered, however, are the temporary (as well as long-term) effects that drinking can have not only on your vision but also on your eyes.

While you are drinking, alcohol can have many very noticeable effects on your vision. You may experience decreased visual performance through blurred or double vision, which is the result of weakened eye muscle coordination. Your pupils may also develop slowed reactions, which will make it harder to adjust to bright lights (like oncoming headlights). Many people also experience a decrease in their peripheral vision, which can make you feel like you have tunnel vision. These are very important reasons to never drive after having consumed alcohol.

If you are someone who tends to indulge in the special stuff a little too often, you had better start paying attention now. Aside from permanent liver and brain damage from prolonged and excessive drinking, alcohol can also have long lasting effects on your eyes.

The first of these negative effects is decreased contrast sensitivity. This means it is harder to discern between contrasting colors, thus making it a nightmare to drive in the rain, fog or snow. Excessive drinking can also lead to a swelling of the blood vessels in your eyes, making them expand, become more prominent, and also cause eye redness.

If that isn’t enough, drinking too much alcohol can lead to frequent debilitating migraines that are brought on by a visual aura at the onset of the headache. Avid drinkers may also suffer from what is called optic neuropathy. Optic neuropathy is characterized by a painless loss of vision. Decreased peripheral vision or reduced color vision are also symptoms of optic neuropathy. Optic neuropathy can be caused by either excessive alcohol or tobacco consumption, which is why it’s also referred to as “tobacco-alcohol amblyopia.”

Now, the purpose of this article isn’t to convince you to kick the bottle all together, but to be conscious of how much you drink. You can still go out and enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day. Just keep in mind the long-term impacts of alcohol that may harm your vision. If you or someone you know has a problem with alcoholism and excessive drinking, please seek help. There are resources are everywhere!

If you have any other questions about how to protect your vision and eye health, don’t hesitate to stop by your local Site for Sore Eyes location. Their vision care specialists will be able to help answer your questions and give you tips on how to better care for your eyes. We from Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley wish you all a happy, safe and fun St. Patrick’s Day!

Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley: Workplace Eye Wellness Month

First, with respect to last week’s blog, we at Site for Sore Eyes Berkeley wish to congratulate Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto for their Oscar-winning performances (along with wearing shades in style) in “The Dallas Buyers Club.” The Academy has voted, the red carpet has been rolled up, and now…onto a new topic for a new month.

We all know how the goal of making New Year’s resolutions plays out: we are determined to make one or more changes that we swear we are going to keep – only to let them eventually fall by the wayside. But who says you have to wait until the beginning of a new year to make a change for the better? When you fully and truly realize that something is beneficial for you, it is easier to adapt to it – and stick to it, regardless of the time of year.

As this is the first edition for March, we ask all of you who are employed – part-time, full-time, and overtime – to begin this month by thinking about (and adapting to) something that we all at some point take for granted, which is eye wellness in the workplace.

From this point on, keep in mind that if it’s March…it must be “Workplace Eye Wellness Month.”

Eyestrain or eye injury when performing on the job is very serious and happens all too often, as this recent infographic from the American Academy of Ophthalmology explains in detail. One statistic that stands out (spoiler alert) is that 90% of work-related eye injuries are preventable. To prove this point, it is mandatory for those who work with machinery and are exposed to potentially vision-threatening objects such as flying or broken wood, glass, stone or chemicals, to wear goggles or some kind of protective eyewear. (If it were not mandatory, it would be second nature for anyone with a construction or manufacturing job to buy or request a pair.) A recent article on Saftey.BLR.com® offers a summary of the eye and face protection standards established by the Occupational Health & Safety Administration. These include having supervisors note any potential “injury patterns” that take place in a particular part of a factory or plant, having first-aid procedures at the ready and the setting up of eyewash stations, among other practices. Another rule (and one that has been mentioned in this blog countless times), is to have your eyes checked on a regular basis.

Now…we move from the factory to the office, where things are much safer, right? (Not so fast…)

We’re not conscious of it, but our vision gets overtaxed (and is at risk, we might add), in an office setting. With advancements in technology, more employees find themselves sitting in front of computer screens of some kind or other. They may not know it, but they are at risk of getting a condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome. Eyestrain among white collar employees is at an all-time high (and the numbers will only increase). With some sage suggestions from our friends at CooperVision®, to offset the possibility of Computer Vision Syndrome zeroing in on you, make it a point to practice the “20/20/20 Rule.” This is how it works: you are sitting at your computer screen. After 20 minutes ­– take a 20-second break – and look at something (other than the screen) 20-feet away. Also, get into the habit of blinking every so often to prevent your eyes from drying out, and try to take “mini breaks” by standing, stretching, and walking around for a (short) while. If you have the money, and are inclined to do so, you may want to look into buying specialized computer eyewear. Finally (we said it before, and we’ll say it again), schedule your eye exam. Follow the above suggestions, and the odds will be in your favor in avoiding (or at least minimizing) Computer Vision Syndrome.

Well, there you have a variety of precautions, safety tips, or whatever term you wish to apply to the importance of taking care of your eyes in the workplace, be it a factory or office. Thanks for reading. Keep your sites on healthy vision (it’s your latest resolution, isn’t it?).