Is it bad if I slept with my contacts on?!

Is it bad if I slept with my contacts on?

I completely knocked out for the entire night, 11 hours, without noticing my contacts were on. Is it bad if I did that? Is it true that I can go blind? I didn't have any side-effects, only that my contacts were dry. I took them off and let them rest in their case with fresh solution. Is what I did bad?

If you only slept in your contacts once, don't worry....just try not to let it happen again. Repeated over wear of your contact lenses can in fact lead to blindness.

This is one example on how that can happen:
By over wearing contacts, a lot of bacteria can get trapped on your eye. This can lead to something called a bacterial corneal ulcer. An ulcer is basically a little pit caused by rotting tissue. If this occurs on your cornea (the clear part of your eye), it can turn into a hole that goes all the way through your cornea. This is an ocular emergency! Not only will it result in corneal scarring, in some cases it can lead to the loss of the entire eye. If you do get a scar on your cornea, that can cause blindness. Think about a corneal scar as looking through fogged glass. You will still have light perception, but you will not be able to read, recognize faces, etc.

Just be sure to follow your Optometrists directions for cleaning your contacts and wear time. Best of Luck!

p.s.- contact lens over wear can also cause many other problems, be careful!