Horrible things that can happen if you keep your contact lenses on for a long time

Did you hear about the British woman who had a lens lodged inside her eye for 28 years? We can assure you that after reading this, you are never ever going to forget to remove your lenses.

Recently, when a 42-year-old British woman complained of pain and swelling in her left eye, her doctors thought that it was just a cyst. During the operation, the doctors found an intact glass permeable lens that had been lodged there for the past 28 years! The woman's mother recalled a 28-year-old incident when the woman, then 14, was struck by a shuttlecock on her left eye while playing badminton. She had worn lenses then. The lens was never found and it was believed that it had fallen away. The woman never wore lenses after the incident. About 6 months ago, the woman discovered a lump that gradually increased in size and became swollen and painful. That was when she decided to go to the doctors. According to CNN, the lens appeared to have been perfectly encapsulated by tissue and the lens cracked when they doctors tried removing it.

For those who wear lenses, removing them at night, changing them regularly and making sure they don't get lost in their eyelids is a constant struggle. But, under no circumstance, should you use lenses for a prolonged period of time. This is why:

1) Keratitis or inflammation of the cornea can occur. You could experience redness in the eyes, pain, blurring of vision, watering, irritation and white discharge from the eye.

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2) You could get Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis (GPC). In this, there is swelling inside the eyelid. It also leads to bumps on the skin that cause irritation. Light sensitivity, blurred vision, white discharge, white discharge, redness are some of the symptoms.

3) Those who wear contact lenses throughout the night could get Contact Lens Associated Red Eye (CLARE). In this, there is sudden pain and redness in the eye. This is usually because the lenses fit tightly or poorly making the oxygen supply low in the area (hypoxia).

The treatment for these usually includes restricting the use of contact lens for a few days as recommended by a doctor and use of eye drops and lubricants.