I’ve worn contacts now for a little over ten years, and for all that time, I’ve been pushing the limits of how long disposable contacts can last. I’m now reaping what I have sown. I have three eye problems, all of which are a result of wearing disposable contacts long past their prime:
1: I’ve got a lump growing in my eye. It’s diagnosed as a ‘dellen,’ is a bit smaller than a bb, and is right next to my tear duct. Yeah, it’s as uncomfortable as it sounds. Feels like a grain of sand in my eye every time I blink. Aesthetically, it’s pretty unnoticeable as it’s about the same color and consistency as normal eye mucas, only slighlty harder and very much anchored to my eye.
2: I have giant papillary conjunctivitis, or GPC. My inner eyelid is starting to resemble a fleshy rasp, as it’s swollen, red, and bumpy. The GPC aggravates the dellen, and vice versa.
3: Blood vessels are growing into my iris. As there are no blood vessels in a healthy iris, your eye aspirates instead via osmosis. Wearing contacts usually does not hamper this because the plastic is pourous enough to provide an air exchange; however, as the contact ages, its pores become clogged. Deprive your eye of the ability to get oxygen from the air, and it compensates by growing blood vessels into the oxygen-starved area. You know all those red blood vessels in the whites of your eyes? Imagine them growing right on in to the colored part, too. I’ve actually made it out worse than it is, as the capillaries are nowhere near my iris; they have, however grown inward a bit since my last visit and will continue to do so if my eyes don’t get the oxygen they need.
The good news here is that all this is pretty minor in the grand scheme of eye problems is farily easily treatable. No contacts at all for a couple of weeks, cold compresses (to reduce the swelling of the GPC) four times a day, and special eye drops. Once I’m back in contacts, I’m to limit the hours I wear them, and adhere to their prescriped lifespan.
So, while YMMV, here’s one person who will, from now on, take very seriously the suggested lifespan of contact lenses. Yeah, it’s expensive to stick to the disposal schedule, and a damn shame to throw out a contact that seems fine, but I figure I can probably afford more contacts; I just don’t have enough in the bank for a new pair of eyes. The most frustratring part of this is that I’m by no means a sickly person. I’m one of those guys who never seems to get sick, so I guess I just figured my eyes were indestructable (even if they were almost blind).
FWIW…