Patient Suffers Corneal Infection Sleeping in Extended Wear Contact Lenses, Reports CNN

"Chad Groeschen was working on an outdoor deck for a client a few weeks ago when his left eye started itching. He chalked it up to allergies at first, and then to a sinus infection after his eye got goopy and he could not see out of it. He had no idea his contact lenses were the problem," reports CNN. "Doctors at Cincinnati Eye Institute diagnosed Groeschen with a bacterial infection that was quickly destroying his cornea, the eye's protective outer layer. "It was basically that if I hadn't had contacts [the bacteria] might not have incubated," said Groeschen, a 39-year-old builder and sculptor in Cincinnati. Groeschen had been using extended wear contact lenses, and only taking them out every week to clean. Even though these lenses are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for overnight wear, the American Academy of Ophthalmology warns that this type of use increases the risk of infection." Read more.