An ophthalmologist is warning anyone who goes to sleep wearing their contact lenses to stop immediately, as it could result in the wearer suffering a very painful ulcer and cause permanent damage to their eyes.

In order to hit home the point, Dr. Patrick Vollmer, of Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina has shared some very gruesome images capturing the extreme effects that going to bed with your contact lenses could have.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Vita Eye Clinic]]

The pus-filled eyes in the pictures belong to a female patient whose cornea had been eaten at by bacteria on her contact lenses. The bacteria formed as a result of the patient regularly going to bed with her contact lenses still in.

Check out what The Doctors have to say about the dangers of sleeping with your contact lenses still in:

The patient, whose name has not been released, was administered antibiotic drops and steroids in a bid to reduce scarring.

However, the condition - referred to as a 'cultured pseudomonas ulcer' - could potentially lead to some permanent loss of vision in the patient.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Vita Eye Clinic]]

"Pseudomonas (bacteria) is an important cause of ocular morbidity and its opportunistic characteristics quickly lead to permanent blindness," Dr. Vollmer explains.

"This will be the 4th case of cultured pseudomonas that I’ve treated in my clinic. The bacteria explosively eats away at the patient's cornea in a matter of days leaving a soupy, white necrosis (dead tissue) in its wake."

Vollmer adds that sleeping in any brand of soft contact lenses should be avoided at all costs.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Vita Eye Clinic]]

"The risks outweigh the benefits every time," he said. "It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in. People need to see these images and remind themselves/family/friends to also be aware of contact lens misuse."

An ophthalmologist is warning anyone who goes to sleep wearing their contact lenses to stop immediately, as it could result in the wearer suffering a very painful ulcer and cause permanent damage to their eyes.

In order to hit home the point, Dr. Patrick Vollmer, of Vita Eye Clinic in Shelby, North Carolina has shared some very gruesome images capturing the extreme effects that going to bed with your contact lenses could have.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Vita Eye Clinic]]

The pus-filled eyes in the pictures belong to a female patient whose cornea had been eaten at by bacteria on her contact lenses. The bacteria formed as a result of the patient regularly going to bed with her contact lenses still in.

Check out what The Doctors have to say about the dangers of sleeping with your contact lenses still in:

The patient, whose name has not been released, was administered antibiotic drops and steroids in a bid to reduce scarring.

However, the condition - referred to as a 'cultured pseudomonas ulcer' - could potentially lead to some permanent loss of vision in the patient.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Vita Eye Clinic]]

"Pseudomonas (bacteria) is an important cause of ocular morbidity and its opportunistic characteristics quickly lead to permanent blindness," Dr. Vollmer explains.

"This will be the 4th case of cultured pseudomonas that I’ve treated in my clinic. The bacteria explosively eats away at the patient's cornea in a matter of days leaving a soupy, white necrosis (dead tissue) in its wake."

Vollmer adds that sleeping in any brand of soft contact lenses should be avoided at all costs.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Vita Eye Clinic]]

"The risks outweigh the benefits every time," he said. "It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in. People need to see these images and remind themselves/family/friends to also be aware of contact lens misuse."