Wearing Contacts On Flights Caused Traveler To Lose Vision

A simple habit many people take on long-haul flights could turn into a painful nightmare for some travelers. A recent case exposes just how dangerous this routine can be. Inside an airplane cabin, the air is incredibly dry. When you spend hours wearing contact lenses in that environment, they lose their moisture. Your eyes begin to feel uncomfortable and irritated very quickly. Experts warn that in bad cases, this simple irritation or damage to the eye surface leads to serious problems.

One traveler recently lost vision in one eye after coming home from an international trip. The New York Post reports her story. She kept her contacts in during the entire 11-hour flight back from Greece. Then she wore them for roughly another 24 hours of travel. It got worse; she wore them while swimming and showering too. Days after returning, pain hit hard. She became sensitive to light. Her vision then dropped significantly. Doctors finally diagnosed her with a corneal ulcer. Weeks of treatment with eye drops followed. Even now, she has a small scar that keeps blurring part of her sight.

Valerie Kattouf is an optometrist based in Illinois who spoke to Fox News Digital about the risks. She says wearing contacts during extended flights ramps up dry-eye symptoms. This leads to irritation and that gritty, sandy feeling in your eyes. Vision can go blurry on and off. "The cabin air has significantly reduced humidity that can actually remove moisture from the contact lens and create more dryness," Kattouf stated plainly.

Sleeping on a long flight adds another layer of danger for anyone wearing contacts. "People often sleep on long flights, which contributes to more risk with contact [lens] wear," she noted. As a lens loses moisture, it stops moving freely across the eye. Trying to remove a dry lens can disturb the epithelium. That is the outer layer of your cornea. Disturbing it causes major irritation and can hurt your vision badly.

Kattouf offers clear advice for anyone planning a long trip. Bring an up-to-date pair of prescription glasses. "Wearing glasses during a long flight is more ideal for eye health and long-term comfortable contact [lens] wear," she said. If you start the journey in contacts, switch to glasses before sleep or partway through the ride. Another option involves keeping your lenses in but using single-use vials of artificial tears. These provide extra lubrication during the flight, according to Kattouf.

This issue has sparked debate online among travelers. Some say they simply wear glasses on long trips. One Reddit user wrote, "I [always] wear glasses on long flights." Their eyes feel much more comfortable when they land. They do not have to worry about taking lenses out at the airport or dealing with sleep issues mid-air. Another traveler admitted that leaving contacts in left them regretting the choice. "My eyes were so dry at the end, even with eyedrops," they said. It is a stark reminder that what feels safe can become harmful under the wrong conditions.