Contacts have been replacing glasses as the preferred eyewear for those with blurry vision for year. The CDC is now estimating that over 30 million people worldwide utilize the little things. Some people even wear them for the cosmetic effects they can bring to the table, such as cat’s eyes, or the full black one most commonly seen around Halloween.
What both
groups have in common, the cosmetic group and the group that needs them for
their vision, is that not all of them will remove the lenses before heading to
sleep, a mistake that could easily cost you dearly..
Due to the
nature of contact lenses, they are considered medical devices and receive FDA
regulation. To put them in you need to have clean hands, clean lenses and
sanitary conditions; any dust or other particles will easily get caught and
immediately transferred to your eyeball! So you can only imagine what happens
when you let that dirt and bacteria sit on your eye overnight. Chad Groeschen
knew the risks, and decided to buy ‘extended wear’ lenses that are supposedly
safe to leave in overnight, thinking that would be alright to have. He was
wrong.
He went about
his days normally, with his left eye watering and growing a little blurry,
assuming it was only allergies. One night he went to bed and left them in as
the product description claims is safe to do. When he woke up in the middle of
the night, he never expected it to have done this much damage. He awoke with
extremely cloudy vision, and a massive headache caused by the sinus pressure
that managed to build up.
He decided to
do the smart thing and went straight to the hospital, where it was discovered he
had Pseudomonas bacteria spreading under his left contact, and was at the point
where he would never see out of that eye again. Luckily they were able to treat
it before it spread farther and made things worse, even though I’m sure he was
pretty heartbroken at losing his eye. Today Chad is waiting for the rest of the
previous infection to heal so he can have a chance at a corneal transplant. If
successful, he’ll get some of the vision back, but not all. Even still, it’s
got to be better than this..
Remember
everyone, do yourself the favor and just remove your lenses before you head to
bed. It can be a pain in the ass, but your vision and health will thank you in
the long run!
Source:-- damn.com