THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Unsafe use of contact lenses -- such as sleeping with them in place or using the same pair for too long -- is triggering serious eye injuries for many Americans, a new report finds. 
 
 In fact, eye damage occurred in nearly 20 percent of contact lens-related eye infections reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over 10 years, researchers say. 
 
 "Improper wear and care of contact lenses can cause eye infections that sometimes lead to serious, long-term damage," Michael Beach, who directs the Healthy Water Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an agency news release. 
 
 One eye specialist believes many Americans don't take contact lens hygiene seriously enough. 
 
 "There is a serious health crisis with contact lens-related eye injuries," said Dr. Mark Fromer, an ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "Unfortunately, many of the 41 million contact lens users in the United States do not think of a contact lens as a medical device they are placing on the surface of their eye." 
 
 In the study, CDC researchers analyzed nearly 1,100 cases of eye infections related to use of contact lens that were reported to the FDA between 2005 and 2015. 
 
 According to the researchers, nearly 1 in 5 patients had either a scarred cornea, required a corneal transplant or had other types of eye damage because of the infection. 
 
 More than 10 percent of the patients had to go to a hospital ER or urgent care clinic for immediate treatment. 
 
 "While people who get serious eye infections represent a small percentage of those who wear contacts, they serve as a reminder for all contact lens wearers to take simple steps to prevent infections," said study author Dr. Jennifer Cope. She's a medical epidemiologist in CDC's Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. 
 
 Even when lens-related eye infections are minor, they can still be painful and disruptive. 
 
 For example, patients may have to make daily visits to an eye doctor or use eye drops every hour to treat the infection, Cope's team said. ||||| This website is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated. 
 
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 Nearly 1 in 5 contact lens-related eye infections reported to a federal database involved a patient who experienced eye damage, according to a report published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 
 
 The infections, submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Medical Device Report Database, included patients who had a scarred cornea, needed a corneal transplant, or otherwise suffered a reduction in vision. These contact lens-related eye infections can lead to long-lasting eye damage but are often preventable. 
 
 “Contact lenses are a safe and effective form of vision correction when worn and cared for as recommended,” said Michael Beach, Ph.D., director of CDC’s Healthy Water Program. “However, improper wear and care of contact lenses can cause eye infections that sometimes lead to serious, long-term damage.” 
 
 Contact lens manufacturers, eye care providers, and patients can report adverse events related to contact lens use to the FDA, which regulates contact lenses as medical devices. The report reviewed 1,075 contact lens-related infections reported to FDA between 2005 and 2015. 
 
 More than 10 percent of the reports indicated that the patient went to an emergency department or urgent care clinic for immediate care. Whether eye infections are minor or lead to long-lasting damage, they can be painful and disrupt daily life. For instance, the reports describe patients’ daily visits to an eye doctor or hourly administration of eye drops to treat the infection. 
 
 The MMWR was released in advance of Contact Lens Health Week, which runs August 22-26 and promotes healthy wear and care practices that can help contact lens wearers reduce their chances of getting an eye infection. Contact lens wearers can help prevent infections by properly using lenses and supplies and following directions on the lens labels. More than 1 out of 4 reports of infections mentioned easily avoidable behaviors that increase the chance of getting an eye infection, such as wearing contact lenses while sleeping and wearing them longer than recommended. 
 
 “Around 41 million people in the United States wear contact lenses and benefit from the improved vision and comfort they provide,” said Jennifer Cope, M.D., M.P.H., medical epidemiologist in CDC’s Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. “While people who get serious eye infections represent a small percentage of those who wear contacts, they serve as a reminder for all contact lens wearers to take simple steps to prevent infections.” 
 
 The findings in this report highlight the need for contact lens wearers to take good care of their lenses to help prevent contact lens-related eye infections. 
 
 Three recommendations related to commonly reported and risky behaviors: 
 
 Don’t sleep in contact lenses without discussing with your eye doctor. Sleeping in contact lenses increases the chance of an eye infection by 6 to 8 times. Don’t top off, or add new contact lens solution to old solution that has been sitting in the case. Adding new solution to used solution can lower germ-killing power. Replace your contact lenses as often as recommended by your eye doctor. People who do not replace their lenses as often as recommended have more complications and report more eye problems than those who follow the replacement recommendations. 
 
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 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ||||| Woman inserting contact lenses. (Photo: julief514, Getty Images/iStockphoto) 
 
 If you wear contact lenses, chances are you've slept in them and on occasion forgot to disinfect them. 
 
 Of the 41 million estimated contact lens wearers in the United States; almost everyone is guilty of breaking the rules when it comes to contact care, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control. 
 
 Fifty percent of contact users report wearing their lenses while sleeping and 82.3% of contact wearers keep their contact lens cases longer than recommended, according to the survey. 
 
 While sleeping in contacts or "topping off" the solution in the case instead of dumping it out, may seem like a small infraction, it can cause devastating eye infections and even blindness, according to Thomas Steinemann, a clinical spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. 
 
 "The lens case can get dirty, and germs from the case get onto the lens or vice versa, and eventually they get onto your eye and attack your cornea," Steinemann told USA TODAY Network, adding that infections can happen within 24 hours of wearing a compromised lens. 
 
 Contact users answered questions in an online survey administered by the CDC in collaboration with the Contact Lens Assessment Youth group. The survey found that 99% of those surveyed are at risk for serious eye infections because of poor hygienic behaviors. 
 
 The CDC noted that contact wearers should keep all water away from contact lenses, discard used disinfectant solution from the case and clean the case each day and replace their case every three months. 
 
 One-third of those surveyed reported they sought medical help for red or painful eyes related to wearing contact lenses. 
 
 Chad Groeschen, 39, of Cincinnati, Ohio, developed a corneal ulcer infected with Pseudomonas bacteria, after sleeping in extended use contacts for almost a week. (Photo: Cincinnati Eye Institute) 
 
 Chad Groeschen, 39, of Cincinnati, Ohio, developed a corneal ulcer infected with Pseudomonas bacteria, after sleeping in extended use contacts for almost a week. 
 
 "Halfway through the day my eyes started itching, and I thought it was probably allergies, so I popped them out," he said. "The next morning the vision in my left eye started to turn cloudy." 
 
 Within days, Groeschen, who works as a sculptor at a renovation organization, was unable to see out of his left eye. His doctor said he will likely need a corneal transplant to restore his sight. 
 
 "The kind of contacts I have are called "Night and Day" contacts, and it was my impression you could leave them in for 30 days straight," he said. "I figured the less I was messing with my eyes, the better." 
 
 Steinemann said that even a brief nap in contacts could be a bad idea. 
 
 While the contact lens is fairly porous and oxygen can reach the cornea, it still acts as a barrier. When a person sleeps in a pair of contacts, their eyelid acts as a second barrier, according to Steinemann. 
 
 "Honestly, if patients ask the safest thing to do I would say take the lens out [when sleeping,]" Steinemann said. "When you have the plastic contact lens over the eye, you are depriving the eye of oxygen but also increasing the risk of germs attacking the cornea." 
 
 Steinemann said poor contact lens care is like Russian Roulette. 
 
 "People get in a routine and tend to get very comfortable with certain routines and for a while they get away with it, but eventually they wont," he said. 
 
 Tips on safe contact use: 
 
 • Replace contact lenses on time. "One thing that we see people doing a lot is using the lenses beyond the lifetime of the lens," Steinemann said. "If it's a two-week lens, they keep it four or six weeks, if it's one month, they keep it two." Steinemann said the lens can become worn and more susceptible to germs if they are used beyond the recommended time. 
 
 • Avoid water when wearing contact lens. Water from the tap is not clean enough to rinse lenses or cases, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The parasite Acanthamoeba can be found in tap water and "can cause severe eye infections resulting in vision loss," according to the academy. 
 
 • Do not sleep in contact lenses. The contact lens and your eyelid act as a double barrier, potentially trapping bacteria on the lens directly on your eye. 
 
 • Contact wearers should use clean solution each time and lens cases should be discarded after three months. 
 
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– Sleeping with contacts in or forgetting to swap in a new pair according to schedule may be the unintended result of a harried lifestyle, but it could also lead to long-term eye damage, a new CDC study reports. Researchers looked at 1,075 cases of eye infections reported to an FDA medical device database over a 10-year period ending in 2015, and of those infections, almost 20% of them ended up causing more serious eye injuries, a CDC release reports. Those injuries ranged from scarred corneas and cornea transplants to other forms of vision problems. And of those who reported infections, the issue was bad enough for more than 10% of them to go to the ER or an urgent-care clinic for treatment. Yet most people don't give a second thought to the perfunctory way in which they handle their contacts, a Lenox Hill Hospital ophthalmologist tells WebMD. "Unfortunately, many of the 41 million contact lens users in the United States do not think of a contact lens as a medical device they are placing on the surface of their eye," Dr. Mark Fromer says. In addition to replacing contacts as recommended, users should also follow other recommendations from the American Optometric Association to keep eyes healthy, per CBS News, including not sharing contacts with anyone, not using tap water to clean contacts, and no snoozing with them in, which the CDC says can raise the risk of an eye infection between six to eight times. (And then there are the eyeball-devouring amoebas.)