Disposable Contact Lens Wearers - What do you think?

So, I wear two-week disposable contact lenses, Acuvue Advance to be specific.  Is it really that bad if you wear them longer than two weeks?  I've been doing so for a long time.  Generally, I wear each pair for one month which doubles the life and halves the cost.  I do take them off at night and clean them extra well.  My vision hasn't changed in several years.

Does anyone else do this?  Will this cause damage to my eyes?

I've been doing it for years with no bad results. The key is keeping them clean and not sleeping in them.

When I worked in a dirty environment, I could only get about 3 weeks worth of wear. When I work in an office setting I get about 2 months worth out of each pair.

 

I wear the same contacts, and I also try to wear them for 3-4 weeks. My eye doctor says this is fine, because the only thing that happens is that as you go past the 2 weeks, your vision may not be quite as sharp as when they were brand new. I have not noticed a difference. Mine start to be uncomfortable after 3-4 weeks, so I know it's time to toss them. She said it depends on how much you wear them on a daily basis. The less you wear them, obviously the longer you can wear them. I wear mine about 7 hours a day on average, some days more and some days I wear glasses all day, especially on my recovery days. She said not to wear them for more than 10 hours a day, though.

Hope this helps!

I've been wearing mine 2-3 times the recommended length as long as I can remember.  I wear them for about 16 hours/day.  Never had a problem.  I think the key is to not wear them during sleep. 

i do the same thing with the same kind of contacts!  another bad habit i have is right before the year is up for my prescription, i go stock up on them so sometimes i make it another entire year before i have to go back for another eye exam, since i wear each pair for about a month.

I wear 24 an hour a day 30 day lenses.

You do have to be careful, wearing lenses longer than they are supposed to be kept can break down the film, dry your eyes out which can result in the veins growing over the lenses to get more oxygen to the eye, and numerous other things then your optician should be able to advise on, particularly if you work in a dry environment (air con / heater etc).

Also - if you immediately notice a difference in your sight when you switch lenses then you are keeping the old ones too long.  I'd say as long as you are having regular check ups and keep your lenses clean then just make sure your optician is aware.

 

you should be ok if you keep them clean.  however, i did this and ended up with an ulcer on my cornea. it was horrible and i havent gone back to contacts yet.  so be careful. 

Hushnow hits on the head. Keep them clean and DO NOT sleep with them in. I had a coworker who did this for weeks at a time and she gave herself a corneal ulcer. It's been 2 months now and it's STILL not healed. I would encourage EVERYONE to google image search corneal ulcer to see what it looks like. It's something that is COMPLETELY avoidable if you just keep your contacts clean and take them out each night...

Just don't sleep in them and keep them clean. You'll be fine. I've been doing this for years with no problems. If I go past 1 month on my two-week disposables then they start irritating my eyes.

Yep, i agree with all teh above posts.  I wear acuvue 2 (tried oasys and hated them) and wear each pair for a month or even two months at a stretch (dont do 2 months very often though).  My eyes are totally healthy.

The one important thing i would add though is no matter HOW old your lenses are, even if they are only a couple of days old, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS open a new pair if they develop a notch out of the side, or a tiny tear at the edge.  This CAN seriously damage your eye! Usually mine only develop the tiny notches at the edge if i take them out roughly, or when they are very dry. 

I also wear my contacts 2-3 times past their recommended use.  I've been wearing O2 Optics for almost 3yrs now and have had no issues and horror-of-horrors have a bad habit of sleeping with them and still have no issues and a steady prescriptions.

I wear Acuvue Oasis for 1-2 months per pair. My eye doctor told me that he is fine with his patients wearing 2 week lenses for a month instead. I also sleep with them in because Oasis lenses are approved for up to 6 day continuous wear and he had no problem with that either.

Jenningermany:

Sounds like you got your answer.    I use the same contacts and do the same thing; I wear them sometimes for over a month and have never had a problem.  I don't sleep in them and when I'm home I wear my glasses as much as possible to give my eyes a break.

I think you'll be fine!

 

If you use your disposable contact for longer than the recommended time, you're at a higher risk for infections. Throughout the two week period, protein builds up on the lens and can cause irritation. Some people aren't big "depositers" so they might be able to get away with wearing a lens for longer than two weeks but it's not recommended.

Wow.  I've worn a pair of 2-week disposables for about 11 months, and my Las Vegas eye didn't didn't seem to mind...  I might nap in them, but I take them out before I go to bed at night.  I put them in a sterile multi-purpose solution that removes protein daily.

I had used acuvue oasys for a few years and other brands before that.  Unfortunately I've had to wear glasses for the last year because when I went to the optometrist he told me I was having blood vessels growing into my cornea.  I was told I had been wearing them for too long and sleeping in them too much (I fall asleep in class ALL the time).  I normally replaced them every 2-3 weeks, but sometimes longer and I did take pretty good care of them.  I think the key is to not wear them for extended periods and not to sleep in them.  I slept in them periodically for years and it finally caught up to me. 

On the plus side, if given time, the blood vessels will recede, which mine have and my eyes are now healthy enough for lasik next week!

Yes, I do wear them for a month, but keeping very clean and not wearing longer than 18 hours (never sleep in them). No problems.  Just had my yearly eye exam and all is well.

I wear a contact in my left eye only.  My right needs no vision correction (and is very dominant because of it, hehe).  I wear my contact for a month.  I can sleep with it in, but have to take it out one night a week. 

At my last eye exam, I mentioned because of living in two different places back and forth for a while I sometimes don't replace my contact on time, just when it starts getting protein on it that really doesn't come off.  My optometrist said that the contact should definitely be replaced before then, because a dirty contact can scratch the eyeball.  So, note to self.